When cooking, it is important to choose the most heart-healthy oils/fats. Our bodies need fat for energy, insulation of organs, vitamin absorption, and more. But too much of the wrong kind of fat can lead to severe health issues, majorly heart disease. There is a lot of confusion when talking about to fats. It is important to note that healthy fats form an important part of a balanced and healthy diet. But, what do we mean by healthy fats, and how you should manage them and use them in daily life?
According to the National Institute of Nutrition in India, about 20% of your diet should be devoted to fats, in all three kinds of fat – polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids.
- Peanut or Groundnut Oil: Peanut oil has a high content of monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats help to lower your bad cholesterol levels. It also contains some amount of natural antioxidants – vitamin E, which is good for the heart. It does not contain any trans-fat, is cholesterol-free and low in saturated fats.
- Olive Oil: The main type of fat found in olive oil is a monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFAs) a healthy dietary fat. Extra virgin olive oil is extensively used in salads as a dressing, and can even be used for light sautéing while regular olive oil has a high smoke point, and can be used for frying. While buying olive oil understand well the difference between extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) and regular-pomade olive oil. EVOO has more antioxidants, color, flavor, and aroma than light or extra-light olive oil. It has the same healthy mono-unsaturated fats. On the other hand, pomace oil is something that does not contain a good amount of antioxidants and MUFA.
- Rice Bran Oil: Rice bran oil is often considered one of the best cooking oils for your heart. It has a perfect balance of polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) and monounsaturated fats (MUFA). It has a mild flavor and is neutral in taste. It is light and has a mild nutty flavor.
- Safflower Oil: Safflower oil is known to contain a large amount of Omega-6 fatty acids (also known as linoleic acid), which controls the cholesterol in the body, prevents the hardening of the arteries, and thus, minimizes the risk of heart disease.
- Avocado oil: Avocado oil is a rich source of monounsaturated fat (70% MUFA content), and it has one of the highest levels of monounsaturated fat among cooking oils, second only to olive oil. Like olive oil, it is also low in PUFA content (10%). It has a mild flavor similar to avocado, and fruit and the oil can withstand high cooking temperatures being high in smoke points, making it suitable for sautéing, grilling, roasting or using in salad dressings.
- Grapeseed oil: This versatile cooking oil is extracted from grape seeds left over from the winemaking process, considered a good all-purpose oil that can be used for sautéing and roasting, or in salad dressings. Grapeseed oil has a high percentage of polyunsaturated fat.
- Sesame oil: sesame oil is a good mix of polyunsaturated fat (46%) and monounsaturated fat (40%). The remaining 114%is saturated fat. It’s not usually used as a cooking fat and is used more for its intense flavoring, but used in dressing and topping. Sesame oil lends a nutty flavor to any dish, especially toasted sesame oil, which has a darker color and bolder flavor.
- Flaxseed oil: Flaxseed oil is high in omega 3s and has a very low smoke point, which means it also should not be used for high-temperature cooking. Flaxseed oil can only be used for dressing or topping of salads. As it is easily susceptible to oxidation it should be stored at low temperatures, better to refrigerate it.
- Mustard Oil: Mustard oil has a near-ideal fat composition but not very well, as it contains high amounts of erucic acid ranging from 35 to 48%. It is suggested not to use mustard oil as the sole cooking medium. It has a high smoking point and is very good for deep-frying.
The National Institute of Nutrition suggests that you must use a variety of cooking oils and not stick to just one cooking medium to reap maximum health benefits. This is called rotation of oil, i.e., change your oil every month. Like suppose choosing mustard oil for 1 month, switching to safflower or peanut oil and so on.
In fact, some cooking oils are better when used in combination with others like sunflower oil and mustard oil. Know a day’s trend is going of blended flaxseed and olive oil with high content of MUFA and PUFA’s. Although it is difficult to take home based blended oil because some sort of processing is required for better shelf life. Instead, what you can do, simply use 3 different oils in a day, like for salad adding flax seed for olive oil, followed by mustard oil in vegetable and sesame oil for spread etc.
Always choose oils based on what kind of cooking you will go for and check for the smoke point of the oil. Like vegetable, peanut and sesame, pomace olive oil has a higher smoke point than others, and thus they are not oxidized while cooking. Oxidation of fat while cooking/frying changes there configuration and thus makes it unfit for consumption.
Storing of oils
Heat and light can have a degrading impact on the taste and quality over time. Oil should be stored in a cool, dark place and replaced if it smells bitter or “off.” Grapeseed and walnut oils become quickly rancid, so better to store it in the refrigerator. Refrigeration may cause oils to become cloudy, but that clears up once they return to room temperature.
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