Safflower Oil

Research on safflower oil leaves important unanswered questions. Feeding trials generally show favorable cholesterol changes when unsaturated oils replace butter, but cholesterol changes alone do not prove fewer heart attacks. An older trial in men with coronary disease reported more deaths after a diet using large amounts of safflower oil and margarine. That result deserves attention, although the intervention changed several fats and the margarine composition was not documented.

It cannot establish the effect of ordinary safflower oil by itself. A study published in 2025 found increased inflammatory activity in fat-tissue genes after high intake, while blood inflammatory markers did not differ from fish oil. These exploratory findings need confirmation before they can establish clinical harm. Small trials reporting better glucose control do not make safflower oil a diabetes treatment.

Oil form also matters: high-oleic safflower differs from the usual linoleic-rich oil. Prolonged frying changes both, and simple stability tests do not reliably predict performance during actual frying. Processing contaminants require quality controls. Louisiana will require certain seed-oil disclosures from January 2028; disclosure does not establish that safflower oil is unsafe.

Research reviewed on September 5, 2026 · 12 sources