Coconut, olive, avocado, sunflower, ghee, butter, hemp oil.......what the hell should we cook with?!....
It used to be that sunflower or extra virgin olive were thought of as the best cooking oils. They come from plants so they must be good for you...... right?!
Over recent years there has been increasing research that conflicts with this standard narrative and it's obvious why when you start to look at the stability, smoke point and shelf lives of different oils.
Here are 4 KEY TIPS to consider when picking the best oil for YOU:
TIP ONE: Pick an oil that does well at a high heat:
Oils have different smoke points, this refers to the heat at which the oil will literally smoke as it breaks down into glycerol and fatty acids. At this point glycerol converts into acrolein which is the chemical found in cigarette smoke (not good!). The oils will become rancid with free radicals and oxidation occurring (damaging cells, protein and DNA).
Avocado oil and ghee are your best options here with the highest smoke points, where as olive and sunflower oil have some of the lowest!
TIP TWO: Pick a stable oil, that has minimal polyunsaturated fats:
Saturated fats are the most stable (which is why they are solid at room temperature), this would include butter, ghee and coconut oil. These fats do well a high temperatures as they're protected by the fact they have no unbound carbon atoms which prevents the binding of free radicals.
Monounsaturated fats are relatively stable with just one unbound carbon, examples would be avocado and olive oil (although olive oil has a higher % of polyunsaturated fats), and yup you guessed it...... polyunsaturated fats have many unbound carbon sites, which means that they are much more vulnerable to oxidation and free radicals at smoke point. So naturally you will want to lean towards saturated or monounsaturated fats for cooking.
These polyunsaturated oils also include your omega 6 vegetable oils which are highly inflammatory and found in a lot of processed food, such soybean oil and rapseed oil.
TIP THREE: Pick an oil with a decent shelf-life:
The structure of fats also effects their shelf life, polyunsaturated fats will tend to break down when exposed to minimal temperature rises, light and oxygen.
The oils with the best shelf lives are coconut and avocado oil lasting 12 months, the worst shelf lives are walnut and sesame oils which last only 2-4 months.
TIP FOUR: Pick an oil that is right for YOU:
Hopefully the basics of stability, smoke points and shelf lives are pretty straight forward, but of the best oils (coconut, avocado, grassfed butter and ghee) you still need to consider which works best for you !??!?
Obviously if you are dairy intolerant, you will want to avoid butter or ghee (which still has trace amounts of casein and lactose).
If you have issues with a yeast overgrowth or parasite then coconut oil would be the best option for you, due it's content of caprylic acid which is anti-bacterial. It has been found to improve gut health in those with crohns and colitis due to it's anti-inflammatory properties.
Finally, having an idea of your genetics is always useful. People with the APOE4 gene are prone to raised LDL in response to saturated fats, so would be wise to lean towards monounsaturated fats ie avocado oil.
So yeah, there's a fair amount of variables to consider, but well worth optimising your oil..... because why would you cook with something that was doing your health a massive disfavour?!
The content in this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your health.