The Healthy Cooking Oils and How to Use Them
From a weight loss perspective, all fats are bad and it may come as a surprise to learn that all vegetable cooking oils contain 100% fat. Each tablespoon of vegetable oil contains 14 grams of fat and 125 calories. All foods contain a combination of fats which are a high calorie food and from a cholesterol standpoint, we want to use oils (or fats) that are low in saturated fat which is bad for us and high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats which help us reduce the levels of bad cholesterol. The ones that fit this category best are almond, canola, olive, peanut, sunflower and safflower oils. The worst fats are coconut & palm oil and butter. And we should absolutely avoid hydrogenated or trans-fats like some margarines.
However, it is important to know how to use these different fats for the healthiest results. For example, cold pressed oils like extra virgin olive, sunflower or safflower are best used with salads as dressings and olive oils can be used for cooking. These fats change their composition when heated, with each having a different “smoking point” beyond which they should not be heated. Canola oil has a smoking point of 475 degrees Fahrenheit, sunflower, safflower and peanut oil all have a smoking point of 450 degrees and olive oil, 420 degrees.
Using these guides, we find that the best oils for deep frying are the ones with the highest smoking point, ie. canola, corn, safflower or sunflower oil. For stir-frying and salad dressings, the best oils are the ones with low saturated fats like canola, corn, flax seed, olive, peanut, safflower, sunflower and walnut oils. A couple of very important pointers here are to never heat cooking oils beyond their smoking point and never reuse oil that has been used for frying as they can become carcinogenic when used repeatedly. For the same reason, it is never a good idea to add fresh oil to some that has already been used for frying.
Storage of oils can have an effect in composition too. Studies have shown that after three months of storage, olive oil lost about 40 percent of its antioxidants even though the antioxidant activity remained the same. The same study recommends that we store extra virgin olive oil in smaller glass bottles in a dark location at low room temperatures.