The Art of Being Well
The Art of Being Well

Fake Avocado Oil Scandal, The Brands Sneaking Seed Oils, Quantum Consciousness & AI Making You Dumber | Thomas DeLauer

October 19, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

“47 out of 54 avocado oil products tested were not avocado oil—or had almost undetectable amounts.” That July 2024 finding from a UC Davis study sent a shockwave through the health food space. Thomas DeLauer, a longtime nutrition science communicator, joins Dr. Will Cole to unpack what the study actually found, why the brands are pushing back, and what it reveals about a broken supply chain. The conversation then stretches into seed oil science, the quantum mechanics of cellular biology, and how AI may be rewiring human cognition—for better and worse.

The Avocado Oil Scandal: What the Science Actually Says

The UC Davis study tested 53 to 54 products labeled as 100% avocado oil—chips, mayonnaise, salad dressings. They used two methods: fatty acid profiling and sterol analysis. The fatty acid profile alone was suspicious—avocado oil is dominated by palmitoleic acid, which is virtually absent in seed oils. But the sterol analysis was the nail in the coffin. Sterols are a fingerprint for plant oils; avocado oil contains predominantly beta-sitosterol, while seed oils contain a mix of other sterols. The study found very little beta-sitosterol in most products and a “smorgasbord” of seed oil sterols instead.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:06) **Introduction & Host Welcome** - Dr. Will Cole introduces the podcast and his free content at drwillcole.com.
  • 2 (01:56) **Guest Introduction: Thomas DeLauer** - Dr. Cole welcomes back Thomas DeLauer, a health and fitness educator.
  • 3 (02:37) **Episode Overview** - Dr. Cole previews the main topics: the fake avocado oil scandal, seed oil myths, quantum consciousness, and AI's impact on the brain.
  • 4 (04:01) **How the Health Space Has Changed** - Thomas discusses the increased access to information and the importance of personal resonance over raw data.
  • 5 (07:03) **AI in Health Education** - The conversation covers the use of AI for efficiency versus the risk of plagiarizing content and losing critical thinking.
  • 6 (10:52) **Cognitive Offloading & Critical Thinking** - Thomas explains how AI can encourage deep thinking if used for perspective, not just validation.
  • 7 (17:28) **Existential AI Concerns** - Thomas shares his fear about AI's exponential growth and the societal challenge of surrendering to a post-scarcity world.

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Guests on this episode

Dr. Will Cole

Show Notes

Thomas DeLauer - health and fitness educator and longtime nutrition science communicator - returns to The Art of Being Well. Thomas and Dr. Cole dig into how AI is reshaping the health and wellness space (and quietly making us dumber), the UC Davis study that found most "100% avocado oil" products on shelves aren't what they claim, the real science behind the seed oil debate, and a fascinating detour into quantum biology, mitochondria, and consciousness. For all links mentioned in this episode, visit www.drwillcole.com/podcast


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