Grapeseed oil has been growing in popularity over the past few decades.

It’s often promoted as healthy due to its high amounts of polyunsaturated fat and vitamin E.

Marketers claim it has all sorts of health benefits, including lowering your blood cholesterol levels and reducing your risk of heart disease.

This article takes a close look at the available research to separate the facts from the fiction.

What is grapeseed oil and how is it made?

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Grapeseed oil is processed from the seeds of grapes, which are a byproduct of winemaking (1).

From a business perspective, producing this oil is a brilliant idea. For thousands of years, wine manufacturers have been left with tons of this useless byproduct.

Due to technological advances, manufacturers can now extract the oil from the seeds and make a profit.

The oils are usually extracted in factories by crushing the seeds and using solvents, such as hexane, which help pull more oil out of the seeds. This solvent extraction process is used for many kinds of vegetable oil, such as soybean oil (2, 3).

Some people are concerned that traces of toxic solvents, such as hexane, could adversely affect people’s health.

Virtually all solvents are removed from vegetable oils during the manufacturing process, but very small amounts may remain (3).

It’s currently unknown whether traces of hexane in vegetable oils cause harm in people over time. But hexane can harm food production workers if it is inhaled during oil production. It can also act as an environmental pollutant if it is released into the air. Research now focuses on developing greener alternatives (2, 3, 4).

If your oil doesn’t explicitly state how it is processed, then you should assume that it was extracted using chemicals like hexane.

Summary

Grapeseed oil is extracted from grape seeds, a byproduct of winemaking. This process usually involves various chemicals, including the toxic solvent hexane.

Grapeseed oil is low in most nutrients, but high in omega-6 fatty acids

The health claims for grapeseed oil are based on high amounts of vitamin E and polyunsaturated fats (6).

The fatty acid composition of grapeseed oil is the following:

• Saturated: 10%
• Monounsaturated: 16%
• Polyunsaturated: 70%

It’s very high in polyunsaturated fats, mainly omega-6. Scientists have speculated that a high intake of omega-6 fats, relative to omega-3s, may increase inflammation in the body (7).

However, other studies show that linoleic acid — the type of omega-6 fatty acid in grapeseed oil — does not increase blood levels of inflammatory markers (8, 9).

Whether a high intake of omega-6 fatty acids promotes disease is currently unknown. High-quality studies examining the effects of omega-6 fatty acids on hard endpoints like heart disease are needed (10).

Grapeseed oil also contains significant amounts of vitamin E. One tablespoon provides 3.9 mg of vitamin E, which is 26% of the DV (11).

Vitamin E has antioxidant effects that may benefit the nervous system and protect against tumor growth (6).

Like many other vegetable oils, grapeseed oil is not a good source of other vitamins or minerals.

Summary

Grapeseed oil is high in vitamin E, which acts as an antioxidant. It’s also a rich source of omega-6 polyunsaturated fats. Scientists have theorized that eating too much omega-6 may be harmful.

How does grapeseed oil affect your health?

Very few studies have investigated the effects of grapeseed oil on human health.

One two-month study in 44 overweight or obese females compared the health effects of taking either grapeseed or sunflower oil daily.

Compared to taking sunflower oil, grapeseed oil improved insulin resistance and reduced levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a common inflammatory marker (12).

It also seems to have anti-platelet effects, meaning it reduces your blood’s tendency to clot (13).

However, an older study suggests that some grapeseed oils may contain potentially harmful levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are known to cause cancer in animals (14).

It’s unknown how widespread this problem is or whether it’s a real cause for concern. Other vegetable oils, such as sunflower oil, may also be contaminated with PAHs (15, 16).

While there are some indications that high-quality grapeseed oil may have some benefits, no strong claims can be made at this point.

Summary

There’s a lack of research on the health effects of grapeseed oil in humans. However, the current evidence suggests it may reduce blood clotting and decrease inflammation.

Is it a good oil to cook with?

Grapeseed oil has a moderately high smoking point (1).

For this reason, it’s advertised as a good choice for high-heat cooking like frying.

However, this may be bad advice, as grapeseed oil is also high in polyunsaturated fatty acids. These fats tend to react with oxygen at high heat, forming harmful compounds and free radicals (17, 18).

Because grapeseed oil is incredibly high in polyunsaturated fats, it may be one of the worst oils you could use for frying.

The healthiest cooking oils for high-heat frying are those that contain mostly saturated fats or monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil, because they are less likely to react with oxygen when heated (19).

For this reason, you should avoid using grapeseed oil for frying. Instead, you can use it as a salad dressing or an ingredient in mayonnaise and baked products.

Summary

Grapeseed oil is sensitive to high heat and should not be used for frying. However, it can be safely used as a salad dressing or in baked goods.

The bottom line

Grapeseed oil is processed from grape seeds, which are an abundant byproduct of winemaking.

It’s relatively high in vitamin E, as well as a rich source of omega-6 fatty acids. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research on grapeseed oil, so its health effects are not fully understood.

While there is nothing wrong with using grapeseed oil in salad dressings or baked goods, its high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids make it unsuitable for high-heat cooking, such as frying.

If you are looking for a healthy cooking oil, olive oil may be one of your best choices.