Guide to selecting nutrient-rich, heart-healthy options
Published: 02:01 PM,Jan 10,2024 | EDITED : 06:01 PM,Jan 10,2024
The grocery store aisles are flooded with an array of edible oils all claiming to be super healthy and loaded with minerals and nutrients making it tougher for you to pick the suitable oil to safeguard your health and wellbeing.
Before you make the final verdict to incorporate any particular oil in your diet and keep abiding by it, let’s scoop in on what you need to look for about your dietary oil choices.
Beginning with how oil is sourced and processed, look for mechanically pressed, cold pressed, virgin, or extra virgin; they are least processed and hence have their nutrients intact. Refined oils, contrarily go through heat or chemical processing to extract the oil and thereby contain less health-promoting antioxidants.
Further, the “smoke point” of oils helps to determine when an oil disintegrates into its smaller components, trans fats, and begins to produce smoke on heating.
Reheating and refrying in the same oil again and again gives rise to toxic free radicals that are consumed as well as inhaled through fumes.
Therefore, we must comprehend the usage of different oils in hot and cold dishes as per their smoke points and use the oils accordingly.
For instance, olive oil, canola oil, sesame oil, and avocado oil, have higher smoke points (400 and above) and are worth picks for cooking purposes. Safflower, corn oil, and sunflower oil also have higher smoke points but they are often highly processed.
So far, olive oil has secured a safe and top position when it comes to baking, cooking, drizzling, and dressing preparations owing to its medium smoke point, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancerous properties as well as beneficial for heart and brain health. It doesn’t break down even after attaining its smoke point into toxic components; hence, sustaining its nutrient properties.
Regarding saturated vs unsaturated fats, they are present in cooking oils and affect health in various ways. Saturated fats stay solid at room temperatures (coconut, palm, butter, animal fat), and unsaturated fats - Mono Unsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) and Poly Unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) stay liquid at room temperatures (olive, canola, sesame, etc.)
The American Heart Association reports that a lower intake of saturated fat coupled with a higher intake of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and other major causes of death.
As per Harvard Health Publishing regarding butter and margarine story from the standpoint of heart disease, butter remains on the list of foods to use sparingly mostly because it is high in saturated fat. The older stick kinds of margarine turned out to be worse for you than butter.
Some of the newer margarines that are low in saturated fat, high in unsaturated fat, and free of trans fats are fine as long as you don't use too much as they are rich in calories.
Speaking of palm oils and trans-fat shortenings, they are usually used in cold preparations and packaging and preserving foodstuffs. They shouldn’t be used for cooking or frying purposes owing to their reports for raising bad cholesterol. That all being listed, you would have been quite sorted by now to pluck your oil from the aisle!
About the author:
She is based in Salalah, Oman and can be reached at www.healthyvows.com / dr.nisma.healthyvows@gmail.com
Before you make the final verdict to incorporate any particular oil in your diet and keep abiding by it, let’s scoop in on what you need to look for about your dietary oil choices.
Beginning with how oil is sourced and processed, look for mechanically pressed, cold pressed, virgin, or extra virgin; they are least processed and hence have their nutrients intact. Refined oils, contrarily go through heat or chemical processing to extract the oil and thereby contain less health-promoting antioxidants.
Further, the “smoke point” of oils helps to determine when an oil disintegrates into its smaller components, trans fats, and begins to produce smoke on heating.
Reheating and refrying in the same oil again and again gives rise to toxic free radicals that are consumed as well as inhaled through fumes.
Therefore, we must comprehend the usage of different oils in hot and cold dishes as per their smoke points and use the oils accordingly.
For instance, olive oil, canola oil, sesame oil, and avocado oil, have higher smoke points (400 and above) and are worth picks for cooking purposes. Safflower, corn oil, and sunflower oil also have higher smoke points but they are often highly processed.
So far, olive oil has secured a safe and top position when it comes to baking, cooking, drizzling, and dressing preparations owing to its medium smoke point, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancerous properties as well as beneficial for heart and brain health. It doesn’t break down even after attaining its smoke point into toxic components; hence, sustaining its nutrient properties.
Regarding saturated vs unsaturated fats, they are present in cooking oils and affect health in various ways. Saturated fats stay solid at room temperatures (coconut, palm, butter, animal fat), and unsaturated fats - Mono Unsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) and Poly Unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) stay liquid at room temperatures (olive, canola, sesame, etc.)
The American Heart Association reports that a lower intake of saturated fat coupled with a higher intake of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and other major causes of death.
As per Harvard Health Publishing regarding butter and margarine story from the standpoint of heart disease, butter remains on the list of foods to use sparingly mostly because it is high in saturated fat. The older stick kinds of margarine turned out to be worse for you than butter.
Some of the newer margarines that are low in saturated fat, high in unsaturated fat, and free of trans fats are fine as long as you don't use too much as they are rich in calories.
Speaking of palm oils and trans-fat shortenings, they are usually used in cold preparations and packaging and preserving foodstuffs. They shouldn’t be used for cooking or frying purposes owing to their reports for raising bad cholesterol. That all being listed, you would have been quite sorted by now to pluck your oil from the aisle!
About the author:
She is based in Salalah, Oman and can be reached at www.healthyvows.com / dr.nisma.healthyvows@gmail.com