Choosing the right cooking oil can be difficult with so many options lining supermarket shelves. In addition to the health benefits of various oils, you have to consider their flavor, price, smoking points, and whether you’re frying or sauteing.

Should it be polyunsaturated? Or monounsaturated? Is saturated oil good? Or bad? Everything’s so confusing, with conflicting claims abounding.

In general:

Refined oils are the ugly. The process of refining exposes the oil to high heat, pressure, and industrial solvents, such as hexane. This destroys any anti-oxidants present in the oil, and the chemicals used can cause hormone imbalances in the body, leading to chronic illnesses.

So it doesn’t matter if its sunflower or canola or whatever, refined oils are the ugly of oils. Go for cold pressed oils or filtered oils, where the oil is extracted by simply applying pressure, and may be filtered just to remove suspended particles.

Vegetable oils are the biggest sources of Omega-6 in the diet. We need optimum ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats, and excess omega 6 is inflammatory and can cause illnesses such as heart disease.

Often, chemicals are added back after refining, to give the oil an appealing color and fragrance. Which makes them even worse.

Mono- or Polyunsaturated?

This refers to the free carbon bonds present. The more the free bonds, the greater the likelihood of forming free radicals when exposed to high heat. So the more unsaturated, the more it is unsuitable for cooking at high temperatures. And definitely for frying and reusing.

Processed polyunsaturated oils are the most inflammatory inside our bodies because of their high reactivity to heat and light. This inflammation is what causes many of our internal problems, and the development of conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Polyunsaturated fats are common vegetable oils that contain Omega-6 and are highly susceptible to heat damage. Once Omega-6 has been altered, it turns into Trans fat, which not only clogs arteries, it increases risk of breast cancer and heart disease, and hardens into margarine. This is why I always recommend butter over margarine. You also get these kinds of fats in processed food and for that reason you should avoid those as well whenever possible.

Examples of polyunsaturated fats are-

Corn, Safflower, Soy, Canola, and Sunflower.

The bad:

Monounsaturated oils are more stable to heat. And saturated fats are the healthiest to cook with. Really. Because they are much more stable in cooking conditions and less inflammatory than polyunsaturated oils with cooking.

Olive oil is mostly monounsaturated, so its ok for cooking at low temperatures. I know I see chefs and Italians using it even for frying. But the fact is, it is unstable at high temperatures and should be used only at low temperatures. And it should be extra virgin, cold pressed, not a mixture or refined or chemicals added. Obviously. And it should be stored away from heat and light.

Recently Consumer Reports revealed that approximately 20% of all olive oils are fake and have been mixed with other cheap oils, while still claiming to be 100% pure. So be very careful.

The Good

This is why tropical oils such as palm and coconut oils (and even animal fats such as lard and butter) are best for cooking… they have very little polyunsaturates and are mostly composed of natural saturated fats which are the least reactive to heat / light and therefore the least inflammatory in your body from cooking use.

That’s also why natural butter (NOT margarine) is one of the best fats for cooking. This all goes directly against what you hear in mainstream health talk… because most health professionals don’t truly understand the biochemistry of fats, and falsely believe that saturated fats are bad for you… when in fact, they are actually neutral in most instances… and saturated fats from tropical oils are actually good for you as they contain mostly medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) which are lacking in most people’s diets.

Ghee – clarified butter – has stable saturated bonds and so is a lot less likely to form dangerous free radicals when cooking. Ghee’s short chain fatty acids are also metabolized very readily by the body. It is rich with antioxidants and aids in absorption of vitamins and minerals from other foods, serving to strengthen the immune system. A high concentration of butyric acid, a fatty acid that contains anti-viral properties, is believed to inhibit the growth of malignant tumors.

So the best fats to cook with:

Virgin Cold pressed Coconut oil.

Ghee.

Organic Butter.

 

Nuts contain polyunsaturated fats, which get oxidized on roasting. So prefer eating your nuts raw, not roasted. And not salted.

And, of course, choosing good fats is not license to go go overboard! Fats still have 9 calories per gram, and should be used in moderation. Although some thought leaders currently recommend that the diet should consist of 50 – 80% fats!

Remember: Sugar makes you fat. Fat makes you thin.

Stay Healthy!