Is RFK Jr's Beef Tallow-Fried Turkey Actually The Healthier Option? It's Complicated

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., didn't popularize the Thanksgiving tradition of deep frying turkeys in vats of oil, but he has certainly added a dose of controversy to the seasonal golden-brown dish by claiming it's healthier to fry whole birds in beef tallow instead of seed oils.

This isn't the first time Kennedy has raged against seed oils. Even before being named as the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services during the second Trump administration, he claimed that seed oils were the underlying cause for the obesity epidemic around the nation on Instagram.

(Let's fact-check RFK Jr.'s most controversial claims about seed oils being bad for you.)

But is crisping your turkey in tallow really going to benefit you more than, say, choosing a plant-based oil that comes from a seed? The truth of the matter is a little complicated. 

A good starting place to work through this topic is to consider whether deep-frying a turkey is even a good idea. Typically, we associate deep-frying with greasy, battered foods. Wouldn't fried turkeys just be tasty fat or calorie bombs? Surprisingly, no.

In an article for the National Peanut Board, registered dietitian Sherry Coleman Collins noted that the calorie difference between roasted and fried turkey meat wasn't that significant. The reason? A turkey's skin protects the meat from absorbing oils. Therefore, as long as you don't munch on the crispy skin, you aren't going to end up consuming too much oil.

(Read about 7 foods to eat on Thanksgiving and 7 to avoid.)

That isn't to say, though, that tossing a turkey in a deep fryer isn't hazardous to your health for other reasons. It can be, if you don't follow U.S. Fire Administration guidelines, such as preparing your deep frying zone to protect humans and animals, making sure your bird is fully submerged in the pot of oil, and monitoring the oil temperature. Follow those suggestions, and you're less likely to wind up being a cautionary "what not to do" story in your local press.

But let's say that you decide to eat turkey skin and want the healthiest oil you can find. Is a seed oil like canola oil going to be more detrimental than rendered fat from a cow? The answer is "not necessarily."

To be fair, both seed oils and beef tallow have some notable good points. For instance, although it's heavy in saturated fat, all its fat may make beef tallow decent at curbing appetite — and thus, may have the potential to support weight loss. (When you follow the carnivore diet, here's what happens to your weight.) Plus, beef tallow also contains polyunsaturated fats that may actually help keep cholesterol levels in check.

However, seed oils contain heart-beneficial fatty acids — specifically, omega-3s. Seed oils also contain omega-6s, which have been labeled as unhealthy in some circles, sparking debate over whether or not seed oils are bad for the body. In an interview for Johns Hopkins University, nutrition studies expert Dr. Christopher Gardner explained that omega-3s could decrease body inflammation and bring down cholesterol levels, and clarified that omega-6s could perform some of those same functions, just not as well. "Somewhere along the line, this got flipped into a misunderstanding that ... [omega-6s] do the opposite of omega-3s." As Gardner told the American Heart Association, "Both omega-6 and omega-3 fats play a role in the inflammatory response of the body. What is optimal is a balance."

Long story short, it won't necessarily be disastrous to fry a holiday turkey in either type of fat, especially if you don't eat the skin. The best approach, perhaps, would be to consider your health goals in choosing which oil to use for frying.