Fed A Lie: The Hidden History of Seed Oils and the Rise of Modern Disease

Why a new documentary (Nov. 2024) featuring Paul Saladino MD, Nina Teicholz PhD, Chris Knobbe MD, and Bethany Hamilton is shaking the foundations of modern nutrition.

For over a century, Americans have been told a story—a carefully crafted narrative about “heart-healthy vegetable oils,” low-fat diets, and the supposed dangers of natural animal fats. This narrative shaped ...

• government guidelines,

• food industry marketing, and

• ultimately the health of millions.

But what if that story was never true? What if we’ve been fed a lie?

This is the premise behind Fed A Lie, a new documentary presented by Heart & Soil Films and produced by Cumberland Creative. Featuring the sharp insights of leading researchers and physicians—Paul Saladino MD, Nina Teicholz PhD, Chris Knobbe MD, and world-renowned athlete Bethany Hamilton—the film uncovers the unsettling truth about seed oils, also misleadingly labeled as “vegetable oils,” and their devastating impact on modern health.

The Truth About Seed Oils: A Manufactured Food with Real Consequences

Seed oils—canola, soybean, corn, safflower, cottonseed, sunflower—are not ancient foods. They are modern, industrially-produced products extracted through chemical solvents, high heat, pressure, and deodorization.

For decades, they were marketed as the solution to heart disease and the key to better health. Instead, they quietly became the dominant fat in the American diet—and chronic disease skyrocketed.

In Fed A Lie, Dr. Paul Saladino exposes how these unstable, highly-oxidized oils overwhelm our cells with inflammatory byproducts that accelerate metabolic damage.

Dr. Chris Knobbe presents compelling epidemiological data showing that as seed-oil consumption increased around the world, obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, macular degeneration, and autoimmune conditions followed the same trajectory.

And Nina Teicholz—whose groundbreaking 2014 book The Big Fat Surprise disrupted the nutritional status quo—brings the historical clarity needed to understand how this all happened: government missteps, weak science, industry influence, and the silencing of dissenting voices.

Taken together, their message is unmistakable: Seed oils are one of the most destructive dietary introductions of the last 150 years.

Bethany Hamilton🏄🏼: A Story of Resilience Meets a Story of Health

The inclusion of professional surfer Bethany Hamilton brings a human dimension to the film. Her commitment to nourishing her body—especially as an elite athlete and mother—demonstrates how ancestral nutrition principles can support strength, recovery, and longevity.

Bethany’s presence reframes the issue: avoiding seed oils isn’t a fringe movement; it’s a path chosen by individuals who depend on peak health, physical resilience, and long-term well-being.

Behind the Lens: The Team Exposing the Lie

The documentary is crafted with the care and seriousness the subject deserves. Directed by Tom Dyer and supported by an experienced crew—including Director of Photography Chris Haggerty and Editor Erik Sharpnack—the film blends investigative storytelling with striking visuals and expert commentary.

A dedicated research team, including Dillon Randolph MS PA-C and Wyatt Breese, ensures that every claim is grounded in published data, historical records, and biochemical evidence.

Graphic designers Amy Renée Miller and Shelby Lowson bring clarity to complex concepts with accessible visuals that help viewers understand what seed oils do inside the human body.

Honoring the Pioneers of This Movement

The documentary stands on the shoulders of influential thinkers who dared to question official dietary dogma:

• Nina Teicholz, whose work in The Big Fat Surprise exposed the flawed science behind the war on saturated fat.

• Dr. Chris Knobbe, whose research in The Ancestral Diet Revolution links the global spread of seed oils with the global rise of chronic, degenerative diseases.

Their courage helped open the door for this conversation—and Fed A Lie pushes it even further into the public conscience.

The Bigger Picture: Reclaiming Human Health Through Ancestral Nutrition

At the heart of Fed A Lie is a simple, powerful message: Our bodies were never designed to run on chemically-extracted industrial fats.

Before seed oils existed, chronic metabolic disease was rare. Traditional diets—rich in animal fats, whole foods, and unprocessed ingredients—supported robust health for centuries.

By returning to real, nutrient-dense foods and eliminating toxic industrial oils, we can reclaim our metabolic health and reverse the trends that have plagued modern society.

The Mission Behind the Film: Heart & Soil

The film is presented by Heart & Soil, a company founded by Dr. Paul Saladino with one mission: to help people reclaim radical health through the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet—beef organs.

Heart & Soil has already helped hundreds of thousands of people improve energy, digestion, skin health, and metabolic function through animal-based nutrition—an approach that excludes seed oils entirely and embraces the foods humans have thrived on for millennia.

To learn more, visit HeartandSoil.co or follow them on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook.

Why This Film Matters Now More Than Ever

We live in a time of unprecedented chronic illness. Obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, infertility, and metabolic disease are affecting people younger and faster than ever before.

Fed A Lie is more than a documentary—it’s a wake-up call.

It challenges the myths we were raised on.It exposes the nutritional errors that shaped our food supply. And it invites us to return to a way of eating that supports healing, vitality, and true human wellness.

For many, this film will be the first time they hear the truth.For others—those who have already removed seed oils from their own kitchens—it will be a powerful affirmation of lived experience.

Either way, its message is clear:

It’s time to stop consuming the oils that are consuming us.