Best Cooking Oils: What Is A Healthy Cooking Oil

Saturday, August 18, 2012

What Is A Healthy Cooking Oil

Heart-healthy fats are derived primarily from plant oils, so the following cooking primer relates to oils only. But, like fats, not all oils are created equal. A single oil cannot be used for all your cooking. Instead, fill your pantry with a variety, says Melissa Ohlson, MS, RD, LD, a registered dietitian with Cleveland Clinic’s Preventive Cardiology and Rehabilitation ProgramBecause of their chemical makeup, some oils are better suited for lower-heat cooking than others. This is important because heating oil above its smoke point — the temperature at which the oil begins to smoke — produces toxic fumes and harmful free radicals (the stuff we’re trying to prevent in the first place). A good rule of thumb: The more refined the oil, the higher its smoke point.Relative to other oils, canola (made from the seeds of a yellow-flowered plant) and olive oils are rich in monounsaturated fats—the kind that help reduce “unhealthy” LDL cholesterol and boost “healthy” HDL cholesterol. But new research suggests that virgin (and extra-virgin) olive oils—those produced purely by mechanically pressing the oil from olives, with no chemical processing—have an edge: antioxidants called polyphenols.