Can Seed Oils Cause Chronic Pain? Research Suggests Yes | Zero Acre Farms

Can Seed Oils Cause Chronic Pain? Research Suggests Yes

WRITTEN BY: Corey Nelson

Article at a Glance

Introduction

Chronic pain — pain that lasts more than three months and usually involves increased pain sensitivity — is an expensive problem, physically, emotionally, and financially. And it's on the rise. Over a quarter of people in the United States suffer from chronic pain, which is extremely difficult to treat. Conventional over-the-counter treatment options aren't always effective, while prescription opioids are intensely habit-forming and may make pain worse over time.

One potentially overlooked contributor to chronic pain is the high levels of omega-6 fats in most diets today. Excess intake of omega-6 fat, primarily linoleic acid, can heighten pain signaling and pain sensitivity, and the average person today is eating 10-20 times more linoleic acid than people did in the past.

In this article, we'll dive deep into the causes of chronic pain, how inflammation can trigger or worsen chronic pain, the link between inflammation and seed oils, and research suggesting that reducing your seed oil intake could be a helpful approach to preventing chronic pain.

What Is Chronic Pain (And What Causes It)?

Chronic pain is any pain that lasts longer than three months. It's usually challenging to treat with safe medications, leading some patients to depend on habit-forming opioid drugs. There are many causes, and most chronic pain patients suffer from more than one type of pain.

Physicians categorize chronic pain into the following common types:

Constant pain reduces quality of life and affects every aspect of patients' lives. Over two-thirds of people with chronic pain suffer from issues like depression or anxiety, and chronic pain patients have an increased risk of suicide.

All pain, not just chronic pain, is complex. The perception of pain usually begins in tissues, with a process known as nociception. Nociception involves neurotransmitters and signaling compounds that are released by cells and then communicate with neurons. The neurons and circulating compounds transmit electrical and chemical signals to the brain, where a large network of regions including the thalamus, amygdala, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, and areas of the cerebral cortex are involved in perceiving pain.

Although scientists now have a fairly good understanding of pain mechanisms, this unfortunately hasn't led to any significant breakthroughs in chronic pain treatment.

What Is the Connection Between Seed Oils, Inflammation, and Chronic Pain?

Seed oils like soybean, sunflower, and canola oil are high in linoleic acid, an inflammatory omega-6 fatty acid. By driving inflammation, seed oil intake may contribute to chronic pain.

Increasing intakes of this omega-6 fat are also correlated with obesity, inflammation, heart disease, cancer, and other chronic health problems. Before the 20th century, people consumed a relatively low ratio of inflammatory omega-6 fats to anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats. Researchers estimate that the "evolutionary ratio" of these two types of fatty acids is around one-to-one, but the average modern intake is between 15-to-1 and 17-to-1, reflecting an extremely high intake of omega-6 fats.

As the production of industrial seed oils from soybean, sunflower, corn, and other sources increased, these inexpensive ingredients became incredibly popular as cooking oils and a low-cost calorie source in processed, pre-packaged foods. Today, most people consume between 6-10% of their calories from linoleic acid, reflecting 10-20% of daily calories coming from seed oils, a trend that's projected to increase further as time goes on.

Our bodies evolved to maintain a balance between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cellular signaling. Eating too much omega-6 fats increases inflammation, damages cells, and reduces the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory processes in the body. In fact, eating seed oils high in omega-6 linoleic acid can even deplete tissues of essential omega-3 fats.

Researchers have also investigated biomarkers of chronic pain — cells, molecules, or chemicals in tissue or blood that are higher, lower, or otherwise altered in people with chronic pain compared to those without.

As you can see, all of these biomarkers involve inflammation. In particular, they relate to low-grade systemic inflammation, a long-lasting inflammatory state that can disrupt immune function and lead to pain and other health problems.

How Do Seed Oils Contribute to Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is usually caused by multiple factors, but seed oils may contribute to chronic pain symptoms and could increase the risk of chronic pain. Seed oils like soybean and sunflower oil are high in omega-6 linoleic acid, an inflammatory fat that appears to increase pain signaling and pain sensitivity.

In a 2022 observational study, researchers examined 605 adults to learn more about the relationship between omega-6 intake and chronic pain.

The study volunteers provided answers to questions about orofacial pain, headache, lower back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and other types of bodily pain. Researchers correlated the pain data with blood levels of omega-6 and omega-3 fats, then controlled for other variables that could alter the results.

With every type of pain aside from abdominal pain, there was a strong correlation between omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, with each one-point increase in that ratio correlating to approximately a 5- to 8-point increase in pain score.

These findings show that reducing linoleic acid in your diet may quickly reduce harmful, inflammatory compounds in your body that are linked with headaches and other types of chronic pain.

The Takeaway: Can Seed Oils Cause Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is a complex problem with more than one cause. Along with injury, illness, and inflammation, factors like stress and an individual's psychological state can also come into play. However, high seed oil consumption appears to be one plausible explanation for why chronic pain is on the rise.

Even as recently as 100 years ago, our ancestors ate a low ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats. Following the widespread introduction of seed oils like soybean, sunflower, corn, and canola oil, people began consuming more inflammatory omega-6 linoleic acid from these oils. Consuming too much omega-6 appears to shift your body into an inflammatory state and increases tissue levels of linoleic acid and chemicals associated with pain signaling.