Healthy And Not So Healthy Fats And Oils For Cooking

I was planning to write a blog article today, so when one of my clients asked me last night about using sunflower oil for cooking I thought I would write about that subject. These days there are so many options and so much marketing around the cooking oil industry that it is hard to know what to use and when for healthy living. I suggest going back to basics and using butter and lard for much of your cooking and frying, extra virgin olive oil for salads and drizzling, and coconut oil for baking, frying and general health as well as fat loss.

Here is a brief summary of some common fats and oils:

Organic beef dripping and lard are both largely saturated fats, and are therefore stable when heated to high temperatures, making them suitable for frying in the kitchen. If you get high quality lard from outdoor reared livestock it will also be a good source of vitamin D.

Butter is also high in saturated fat, and is a stable fat to use for cooking, baking and frying, also offering a subtle taste to the food that you are preparing. When the butter is from organic, pasture-fed dairy herds it is rich in the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, as well catalysts that help the body to absorb the nutrients in the rest of the meal.

Olive oil contains 75% oleic acid, a stable monounsaturated fat, with small amounts of saturated fat as well as Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids. Due to the low saturated fat content it is only suitably for frying at low to moderate temperatures, and is best used cold, drizzled on salads and in dressings and sauces. Extra virgin olive oil is best, is rich in antioxidants and is the safest of all the vegetable oils. Do not over use this oil though as the longer chain fatty acids tend to contribute towards the storage of body. I would not use olive oil on a daily basis.

Coconut oil is one of the finest fats available for human consumption, rich in lauric acid, a powerful antimicrobial agent. It has been used by athletes and bodybuilders for generations, and research has shown that it can increase metabolism and the body’s ability to burn fat. Not all coconut oils and products are equal though, and many are ruined by modern production techniques. I recommend extra virgin coconut oil, and buy mine from www.naturalfoodfinder.co.uk.

Vegetable, sunflower, corn and soy oils are all high in Omega-6. There is extensive research into the negative effects of consumption of excess Omega-6, and to that end these oils are best avoided. They should never be heated up and then consumed, due to being very unstable at high temperatures.

Peanut and sesame oils share a number of characteristics and are both relatively stable when heated so can be used for frying and cooking. They both have high levels of Omega-6 though and to that end should not be used regularly, instead use them for the occasional stir fry as they taste great.

That was a quick summary of some common cooking fats and oils, and if you have any questions or want to know about other fats, just leave a comment or email me.

Reference: Fallon, S (1999) Nourishing Traditions