Top 5 Healthiest Cooking Oils For Your Health

by Paul M. Tyson [MD]
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When it comes to cooking, you must always use one of the healthiest cooking oils.

This is because oils are a must ingredient in almost every dish. Be it a salad, a vegetable that is cooked, or any kind of gravy dish, oils add to the flavor and make sure that the food is properly cooked.

Although there has been a lot of negative buzz around various types of oils, you cannot neglect the fact that oils are an important part of the diet.

Thus, you might not be able to totally eliminate oil completely from your diet. But when you use any of these healthiest cooking oils, there are high chances that they might not harm your health in the longer run.

Luckily there are a variety of oils present that might help you in cutting down the problems caused due to harmful chemicals but may also provide good fat.

This good fat could help you with high nutritive significance. Hence, you should look at the benefits of oils before consuming them and make sure that they are not bad for your health.

At the same time, you might want to avoid these worst cooking oils for your health.

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5 Top Best Healthiest Cooking Oils For Your Health That You Must Use

  1. Olive Oil

    In recent years, this oil has emerged as the best cooking oil there is and the best of nutritionists agree to it. Olive oil, as compared to other oils has a lower smoke point (325°F – 375°F).

    This means that unlike other oils it will reach the smoke point early and it won’t be kept on the heat for a longer time. If oils are heated for a long time, not only do they degrade and their flavor changes but they also release free radicles.

    These free radicles are the reason behind fast aging and a lot of types of cancers caused due to mutation. This implies that Olive oil is not the best choice for deep frying.

    Olive oil contains monounsaturated fats along with some polyunsaturated fats. These are often referred to as ‘healthy fats’ and these serve as the daily dietary requirement of fats.

    Olive oil is said to be excellent for cardiovascular health as these healthy fats present in the body can help with lowering bad cholesterol and low-density lipid (LDL) levels in the body.

    This can drastically reduce the chances of cardiovascular diseases or strokes. It also maintains good heart health as it contains antioxidants.

    These can be used as a dressing on salads or normally used to stir fry, sauté, or grill. Although the simple Olive oil is good to use it is better if the oil is “extra virgin” which means that it is not overly processed and is not a refined oil.

    More on it here.

  1. Avocado Oil

    Avocado oil has the same taste as avocados but not a strong flavor. It is usually used for deep frying as it has a higher smoke point (510°F). This means that continuous higher heat does not damage its nutritive quality. But keep in mind, beyond the smoke point, it becomes harmful.

    Just like Olive oil, this also contains heart-healthy fats such as Oleic acid. Studies have suggested that continuous use of Avocado oil helps in significantly lowering the blood pressure along with the low-density lipids. it contains a good amount of nutrients.

    The oil is full of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and also contains Vitamin E. it helps with joint pains and inflammations as well. Just like “extra virgin” olive oil, it is not refined which makes it a good choice for maintaining good heart health.

    More details here.

  1. Canola Oil

    Canola oil is a type of vegetable oil. It is derived from rapeseed, which is a flowering plant. But, unlike other vegetable oils, canola oil does not contain harmful fats. It has a very little amount of saturated fat and almost no amount of trans fat.

    The oil is mainly composed of monounsaturated and has a decent amount of polyunsaturated fats. it has a high smoke point and can be used for high heat cooking.

    Although it has no harmful effects, it is not ‘cold pressed’ or 100% unprocessed. It tends to be processed which results in loss of a few nutrients and overall, it has a little number of nutrients as compared to other oils.

    It has also been noticed that consuming Canola oil can result in weight loss as it helps to cut down excessive abdominal mass. Most importantly, it is heart-healthy and has a good amount of omega-3 fatty acids.

    It could be beneficial in TC and LDL levels as per this governmental study.

  1. Sesame Oil

    Sesame oil can be used for general cooking or salad dressing. They have a strong flavor that affects the taste and aroma of the food. Roasted sesame oil has a stronger, nutty flavor as compared to regular sesame oil. Thus, a little amount of it goes a long way.

    It has a lot of health benefits. It is said to have sesamol and sesaminol, which are heart-healthy antioxidants that not only maintain good cardiovascular health but are also potential neuroprotectors against problems such as Parkinsonism.

    Also, a study found that people with type 2 diabetes who were using sesame oil continuously, had better control on their blood sugar levels and it significantly improved them for a long time.

    Detailed study here.

  1. Sunflower Oil

    Sunflower seed oil is made of good fat and contains Vitamin E along with omega-6 fatty acids as a type of Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) that helps in healthy skin and hair growth.

    It is also known to improve brain function, bone health, and improve metabolism. It has a high smoke point but the flavor is not too strong and it can be used for general cooking as well as a stir fry.

    It is rich in fat-soluble nutrients that are necessary to protect the cells from age-related damage. The benefits of this oil also come from the fact that it has a good amount of Oleic acid or good fat that decreases the bad cholesterol in our body while increasing High-density lipids (HDL), also called ‘good cholesterol’.

    It also maintains good levels of blood pressure in the body. But, everything in excess is bad. So excessive intake of the oil can raise the levels of omega-6 fatty acid which can be harmful if similar levels of omega-3 fatty acid are not provided.