Is all cooking oil the same?
Cooking oil is an important part of our diet. Oil is purified fat from animal or plant. Most people who are on low fat diet try to cut down cooking oil because it is high in calories. However, we need fat to dissolve many different vitamin and mineral so that our body can absorb them. It is not possible to live without cooking oil, so the key is to look for the better one.
All kind of cooking oil is 100% fat and have 120 calories per table spoon. You should be careful not to use too much oil even when it is good oil like extra virgin olive oil. The main different between cooking oil is the type of fat in it and the cholesterol level. Saturated fat is the bad guy where as monounsaturated fat is your good friend. Many study found that monounsaturated fat can lower cholesterol and may help prevent heart disease.
The list of healthy cooking oil
canola oil, corn oil, grape seed oil, non-hydrogenated soft margarine, olive oil, peanut oil, pumpkin seed oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, soy bean oil, sunflower oil
The list of bad cooking oil
butter, coconut oil, hard margarine , palm oil, vegetable shortening,
Olive oil is the best among the other cooking oil. It is low in saturated fat (14%), high in monounsaturated fat (73%) and rich in anti-oxidants. Actually there is no different between extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), virgin olive oil and pure olive oil nutrition wise. EVOO has a little bit more anti-oxidants and more flavors. However, the flavor of EVOO will be gone if it is heated up. You should use virgin olive oil for cooking because it is cheaper and EVOO for salad dressing.
Flaxseed oil and walnut oil is rich in Omega 3 fatty acid. However, like olive oil, it has a low smoke point so it shouldn’t be used for frying. For salad dressing, you can try use oil from nut like Hawaiian macadamia nut oil because of its’ strong flavor. If you want to deep fry or slow cook, use safflower oil or canola oil.
The best way to reduce the use of cooking oil is to steam or boil your food. They are the healthiest way to prepare food (don’t over cook vegetable because it’s nutrition will be gone in high heat). You can also use non stick pan so your food won’t stick. Another substitute of cooking oil is non stick cooking spray from Crisco or Pam. They are really low in calories and work like real oil (without the flavor though).
What kind of oil do you use to cook at home?
Posted: July 24th, 2007 under Daily Health Tips.
Comments: 12
Comments
Comment from Timmy
Time: July 27, 2007, 12:23 pm
I always use EVOO to fry egg. No wonder i can’t taste any different
Comment from sydney
Time: August 1, 2007, 5:33 pm
I use olive oil when I cook pasta since that’s what Italians use. Otherwise I use canola oil, which is one of the healthier choices out there. I don’t use peanut oil b/c I am allergic to peanuts. However, I hear that peanut oil is healthy.
Comment from Tracy
Time: September 10, 2007, 9:34 pm
I don’t use canola oil for anything!
Can someone tell me what canola is?
I do know it stands for CANADA OIL And is made in Canada from tar and rubber. Do a google search and you will understand this OIL is dangerous for you…
It comes from NO animal or plant. So what is it? Ask you doctor to tell you what it is?
Comment from SAM
Time: September 10, 2007, 10:15 pm
Hi Tracy.
I believe get your information from a internet rumor. Check out this article about that rumor
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blcanola.htm
you can find more information about the health benefit of canola oil here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola#Health_effects
Comment from Bollocks
Time: September 26, 2007, 2:11 pm
Hawaiian macadamia nut? Macadamias are not from Hawaii and Macadamia is not even their real name. They are correctly called Queensland nuts or Bopal nuts.
Comment from weight loss diva
Time: October 31, 2007, 11:16 am
I use olive oil for most of my cooking, but I didn’t know there was a difference to using evoo. Thanks for the tips!
Comment from Jon
Time: November 7, 2007, 12:09 am
I’m a great fan of olive oil but am very wary of it for cooking. It’s OK for simple, relatively low temp and quick things like fried eggs but should not be used for high temp cooking such as stir fries. The main reason is that it has a low smoking point and therefore oxidises at a fairly low temperature. Organic oxides from unsaturated fats are potentially carcinogenic (like all free radical compounds). Better alternatives are macadamia oil and peanut oil, both of which are monounsaturated (like olive oil) but have high temp smoking points. Macadamia is particularly good because of its high omega-3 and omega-6 components. Keep olive oil for salad dressings and the like, where you can really enjoy its wonderful flavour and while not ingesting any nasties.
Comment from Amy
Time: November 22, 2007, 12:56 pm
Flaxseed oil shouldn’t be used for cooking. It can’t retain the valuable nutrients when heated– that is why you keep it in the refrigerator. It also should be used fresh and shouldn’t be exposed to light — that is why it comes in a dark bottle. The flax seeds themselves must be freshly ground to use them or they become rancid. If you don’t grind them and use them whole your body will just pass them straight through without getting much from them. Flaxseed oil is fantastic for you but should be used as a salad dressing or on cold foods only. Just so you know.
Comment from Joseph Vincent Jr
Time: January 7, 2008, 12:22 am
I can’t believe you stated coconut oil is bad. Where did you get your facts ? - Take a look throughout the web on coconut oil and you will find it has very astonishing properties.
Comment from SAM
Time: January 7, 2008, 8:51 am
Joseph.
Like most food product, there are always two camp of believe. One camp is professional doctor/ research institution that claim it is bad. The other camp is some cult like group lead by some unknown “doctor” that swear it is the last miracle cure on earth
And the funny things is all those supporting cult are trying to sell you the product. Go to all those site, they either try to sell you some book or that food.
Don’t be a fool. Do some research yourself and learn to eat better
Comment from Melody
Time: January 7, 2009, 7:19 pm
Sam,
I think you are the one who needs to do more research. Coconut oil is like the best oil on the planet! It is soooo good for you. Just because it is a saturated fat doesn’t make it bad, it is a good all natural saturated fat which doesn’t turn into something bad or harmful when it is heated like so many other oils do. Canola, olive, safflower, all of those oils cannot be used with high heat, it changes the oil into a bad oil. The saturated fat that comes from animals and coconuts are the healthiest to use; lard has been used forever and now doctor’s are recognizing that it’s gotten a bad rap but it’s very unfounded. Much better for you than any vegetable oil that turns bad when heated! Just don’t have a diet that is mainly fried foods! Good saturated fat is very good for you, just don’t live on it.
Comment from Marcus
Time: September 23, 2009, 9:50 pm
Real butter and EVOO are great, but for high temps EVOO should not be used. Saturated fats such as coconut is great. Do not use regular cooking oils as they are very unhealthy due to the processing of the oils (heat and chemical extraction). Use only cold extracted oils and make sure you do not cook beyond the point where the oil starts to smoke ever.
If you really want to know about what fats are healthy, you should read “The Skinny on Fats” by Mary Enig, PhD, and Sally Fallon, the president of the Weston A. Price Foundation. This is taken from the cookbook Nourishing Traditions: The cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.
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