Seed oils best for lowering bad cholesterol: Study

Using seed oils -- such as those derived from sunflower and flaxseed -- may be the best choice for people looking to lower their bad cholesterol, a study has found.

Researchers from the German Institute of Human Nutrition rounded up 55 studies dating to the 1980s that assessed the effects of consuming the same amount of calories from two or more different oils on participants' blood lipids.

The study, published in the Journal of Lipid Research, showed that solid fats like butter and lard are the worst choice for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, called LDL.

"Sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, safflower oil and flaxseed oil performed best," said Lukas Schwingshackl, a researcher at the German Institute of Human Nutrition.

"Some people from Mediterranean countries probably are not so happy with this result, because they would prefer to see olive oil at the top. But this is not the case," said Schwingshackl.

Researchers caution that meta-analyses run the risk of misleading by combining several pieces of low-confidence data into a falsely confident-sounding ranking.

In this case, there was not enough evidence to choose a "winner" confidently among the seed oils.

The oils best at lowering LDL were not the most beneficial for triglycerides and HDL cholesterol, researchers said.