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Saturday, March 21, 2015

BEST OILS to COOK WITH

What are the best oils to cook with, use for marinades, salad dressings, saute, etc.? Here is a short guide. 

1. Don't use trans fats for anything as they increase your risk for coronary heart disease, dementia, and other health problems. These are not natural fats but are generally produced artificially in food production. Generally vegetable and seed oils are used in this process of hydrogenation (very bad for your health), 

2. Monounsaturated Fats and Oils (MUFA). These oils are generally known for their positive health benefits and are usually associated with the mediterranean diet. These oils include olive, avocado, grapeseed, and macadamia nut oil. They are great for marinades, salad dressings, sauteing, and cooking. There seems to be some controversy on high heat cooking with extra virgin olive. Here is an article describing why it is relatively safe. 


3. Saturated Fats and Oils. These are very stable and are the most resistant to oxidation at  high heat. In my opinion Coconut Oil and Grass Fed Butter are the best to cook at high heat with, and have many positive health benefits (especially for your brain). In the past 40 years they have an undeserved bad health reputation, however the  Feds and Conventional Medicine have finally started to come around. 



4, Polyunsaturated Fats and Oils (PUFA). Should not be used for any type of cooking. These include all vegetable and seed oils (corn, soybean, canola, sunflower, etc.)  These oils are oxidized with heat and can cause your good cholesterol (HDL) to be converted to bad cholesterol (certain types of LDL). Another problem is these oils generally contain trans fats as they are highly processed. 

Fish Oil is a type of PUFA that is great for your brain health because it is high in omega 3 fatty acids and DHA, however it should not be used for cooking for the same reasons. 




best of health, 

emmett

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