Is Cottonseed Oil Healthy? A Deep Dive Into Its Nutrition Profile

Cottonseed oil may not be as well known as, say, olive oil or canola oil, but there's a good chance you've consumed it. Found in prepackaged snacks, fried restaurant meals, and home-cooked dishes, this under-the-radar oil has an undetectable flavor and offers some health benefits. But should cottonseed oil be a staple in your pantry?

Cottonseed oil is exactly what it sounds like: a cooking oil derived from the seeds of the cotton plant, says Desiree Nielsen, R.D., a registered dietitian who focuses on plant-based nutrition and gut health.

After the oil is extracted from the seeds, it's refined, bleached, and deodorized1 to remove gossypol, a toxic polyphenolic compound that serves as an insect repellent for the plant.

The oil has been extracted from the cotton plant, primarily for soaps, since the mid-19th century. But in 1911, it became a popular cooking ingredient in the U.S., thanks to the invention of Crisco, which was initially made from hydrogenated cottonseed oil2. (Today, Crisco is made from soybean and palm oils.) 

Neutral in taste, cottonseed oil has a high smoke point of roughly 420 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it ideal for use in restaurants and highly processed foods, says Nielsen.

While different cottonseed strains may have slightly different compositions, cottonseed oil's fatty acid profile is generally about 50% polyunsaturated fat (PUFA), 20% monounsaturated fat (MUFA), and 20% saturated fat, says Nielsen. You need all varieties of fat for energy and to help the body absorb specific vitamins.

Consuming too much saturated fat, however, can increase levels of low-density lipoprotein (aka LDL, or "bad") cholesterol, raising the risk for heart disease and stroke4.

On the flip side, cottonseed oil contains unsaturated fat, which may be beneficial for cardiovascular health5. Specifically, "we have plenty of research6 to suggest that monounsaturated fat is beneficial, particularly when we swap saturated fats [with it]," adds Nielsen. Polyunsaturated fats, such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, also need to be obtained through your diet to support your metabolism, she explains.

While omega-6 fatty acids have a bad rep for being pro-inflammatory, "after a decade of research, we see that omega-6-rich foods and oils are not detrimental to human health, do not cause inflammation in humans, and are beneficial," says Nielsen. "Again, when we consume more polyunsaturated fats in place of the saturated fats, like tropical oils and even dairy, we see benefits."

Refined cottonseed oil is the only variety you'll find in the grocery store or as an ingredient in processed foods.

"There are a lot of different solvents that are used to refine cottonseed oil," says Nielsen. But she notes that they're there for a reason: to remove gossypol, which is toxic to humans in high doses. "The cottonseed oil that is used for human consumption needs to have all of the gossypol removed so that it's safe to eat."

Thanks to its high unsaturated fat content, cottonseed oil may be beneficial for cardiovascular health; it's been shown to help lower LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol, says Feller.

Specifically, in a small 2018 study published in Nutrition Research8, participants who consumed a diet high in cottonseed oil for five days had lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels after the intervention. The participants also showed higher levels of HDL cholesterol, which absorbs cholesterol in the blood9, transports it to the liver, and flushes it from the body.

A tablespoon serving of cottonseed oil offers nearly 5 milligrams of vitamin E, or roughly one-third of the recommended dietary allowance for the nutrient11 for individuals 14 years or older.

The fat-soluble vitamin has antioxidant properties, meaning it helps counteract oxidative stress—caused by exercise, converting food into energy, and air pollution, among other sources—that can potentially lead to cell damage over time, says Nielsen.

Although research on this benefit is limited, some initial studies suggest that cottonseed oil may lower inflammation, says Feller. For example, researchers found that the antioxidants, fatty acids (such as linoleic acid, an essential omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid), and other natural compounds found in cottonseed oil can help fend off inflammation12.

Other animal research backs up this potential benefit. In a 2020 study13 on rodents that were injected with cottonseed oil, researchers found that the treatment reduced the activation of microglia (immune cells in the brain) and astrocytes (brain cells that hold nerve cells in place). In turn, neuroinflammation was minimized, alleviating injury caused by ischemic stroke, the researchers stated.

Although cottonseed oil is rich in heart-healthy unsaturated fats, it does contain some saturated fat, which may raise LDL cholesterol and decrease HDL cholesterol in high amounts and, consequently, increase the risk for heart disease, says Feller.

"The best, evidence-informed guidelines tend to state that [saturated fat should be] no more than 7% of energy intake or total calories per day," adds Nielsen. For a person following a 2,000-calorie diet, that means capping daily saturated fat intake off at roughly 15.5 grams. (This is equivalent to roughly 4 tablespoons of cottonseed oil.)

Of any crop grown in the United States, conventional cotton is the third greatest user of pesticides, with an average of 3.8 pounds of pesticides being used per acre grown17. And pesticide use is only growing: Between 2011 and 2019, the number of conventional cotton acres in the U.S. that were treated with pesticides increased by roughly 38%.

These pesticides can run off into waterways, 18exposing aquatic animals to toxic chemicals. They can also seep into groundwater, making it unsafe for human, flora, and animal consumption. The use of some pesticides can also cause harm to farmworkers19 and neighboring communities20.

As with many vegetable and seed oils, cottonseed oil is not inherently unhealthy, and it can be a part of a well-balanced eating pattern. However, it needs to be consumed in moderation—not in the high amounts you'll find in many heavily processed and fried foods these days.

While you shouldn't stress about adding a tablespoon or two to your skillet for roasted veggies, you'll generally want to avoid deep-frying your food in it, says Nielsen.

By the same token, be conscientious of the processed foods you're consuming: Highly processed foods—such as those that contain cottonseed oil—also often contain high amounts of sodium and sugar, which are known to have negative health impacts.

A tablespoon of olive oil has a similar nutrition profile to cottonseed oil: It offers just 2 additional calories and the same amount of overall fat as its counterpart. However, olive oil is slightly lower in saturated fat (2.17 grams), much lower in polyunsaturated fat (1.33 grams), and significantly higher in monounsaturated fat (9.58 grams)22.

Diets rich in olive oil have been linked with improved health outcomes23 like lower rates of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

Like olive oil, a tablespoon of sunflower oil contains the same amount of total fat as cottonseed oil, but it offers higher levels of monounsaturated (2.73 grams) and polyunsaturated (9.2 grams) fat24. Sunflower oil also boasts less than half the amount of saturated fat (1.44 grams) than cottonseed oil, potentially making it a better option for heart health. Sunflower oil also has a higher smoke point of 450 degrees, so it's better for high-temp cooking.

Both cottonseed and canola oils contain 14 grams of fat, but the latter offers less saturated fat (0.92 gram) than its counterpart25. Canola oil also boasts more than three times the amount of monounsaturated fat and half the amount of polyunsaturated fat as cottonseed oil, so it may have greater heart-health benefits.