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October 24, 2022

Which Oils Are Actually Healthy? (And How to Cook With Them for Optimal Health!)

Oil can be very healthy – but only in moderation! Oils are concentrated extracts from vast amounts of produce, seeds, or nuts, meaning it is natural to only consume oil in very small amounts in proportion to these ratios. An even better way to get the optimal fat content into your diet is to consume coconut, olives, seeds, and nuts directly.

The essential fatty compounds in healthy oils can help nourish tissues, glands, organs, the heart, and the brain. However, since oils are concentrated extractions from vast amounts of natural produce, just like essential oils, their consumption should be kept to a minimum for the best health outcomes. The best way to consume healthy oils is in their raw form (without cooking them), and even then, they should be consumed in moderation.

Too much oil in one’s diet can slow down the digestive, assimilation, and elimination processes, robbing the body of energy and vitality. Likewise, a sluggish liver, gallbladder, and pancreas will have a hard time processing oils/fats; therefore, in order to heal the function of these organs, consuming less oil is always advisable.

Of course, there are inherently good and bad oils, but what also matters is the way oils are extracted and produced, which contributes to their nutritional value (for example, cold-pressed oils are extracted without high heat, which is known to change the oil’s chemical bonds). Likewise, whether oils are made from organic sources matters as well! Non-organic oil may carry pesticides and herbicides and do more damage than good, even if these oils are known as “health oils.”

Overall, cooking with oils may be more problematic, depending on the heat level and duration of cooking. Like any compound in nature, when heated past its natural threshold, it starts to denature certain enzymes and chemical bonds, and the higher the heat, the greater the change in the oil’s chemical composition. These changes can make healthy oils unhealthy by completely changing the chemistry of their nutrients and fatty chains.

An oil’s smoke point is basically the temperature at which the oil starts to burn or produce smoke (the highest point of chemical denaturation). It is its burning point and it most often ranges from 325F to 520F, depending on the oil and its burn threshold. According to some sources, the lighter the color of the oil, the higher its smoking point; this is because most light oils are refined and have additives that may increase the smoke point.

Interestingly enough, you can say that the lowest quality and unhealthiest oils have the highest smoke point, and that’s why they’re usually used for frying foods (a tip: that’s why you should watch out for having fried foods in restaurants!).

What happens to oils once they are heated at their smoke point is that they begin to oxidize and start to create longer polymer chains; they also form various toxic compounds, such as acrolein, which is similar to aldehyde and which irritates soft tissues in the body.

The byproduct of the oil at its smoke point is toxic gasses and compounds that can impact the body adversely when inhaled and consumed. And over time, consuming foods that were cooked and fried at a smoke point can increase one’s chances of developing cancer and other inflammatory diseases.

Overall, the most unhealthy oils (in my opinion) are refined, non-organic varieties of the following oils: vegetable oil, canola oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, palm oil, corn oil, and sunflower oil.

As far as the healthiest oils are concerned, my top 5 include: 

  1. Olive Oil
  2. Coconut Oil 
  3. Avocado Oil
  4. Grapeseed Oil
  5. Sesame Oil

The reason behind the healthy nature of these oils is that they are extracted from seeds and fruits that are highly nutritious (have vast amounts of antioxidants), have synergistic compounds that promote cellular healing and nourishment, and that are high in unsaturated fats, which decrease bad cholesterol in the body and promote the healing of chronic inflammation.

The only exception here is coconut oil, which is full of healthy, medium-chain fatty acids (saturated fats) that actually increase good cholesterol levels in the body and help improve the function of the brain, skin, heart, bone, reproductive system, and more.

It is one of the only oils found in superfoods that is composed of healthy saturated fats that are excellent for health! For example, the linoleic acid and lauric acids found in coconut oil have anticancer and immune regulatory properties and are known to fight viruses and bacterial infections.

By cooking with these oils at the lowest temperatures possible or adding them to food after cooking (even better!), they will reap the most benefits in terms of health.

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Anesa Kratovac  |  Contribution: 260