Nouveau Nutrition's Guide to Cooking Oils

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Say "YES to some cooking oils...Say "NOOOOO" to others

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How oils and fats affect your health

When practicing a healthy eating lifestyle this means you are getting much of your diet’s fat content from whole foods and oils. Salmon or other fatty fish, grass-fed animal products, nuts and seeds, avocado, and coconut oil are all healthy sources of fat. If we choose to consume poor quality oil we will start to damage our bodies. Adding heat to these poor quality oils can further increase this damage.

Say “No” to some oils

Oils such as canola and corn have been new additions to the U.S. over the past 100 years. We were told that they were “heart healthy” substitutions to saturated fats. What has transpired over the years is an increase in inflammation, free radical damage, and reduced cellular metabolism due to consumption of these oils. Vegetable oils are highly unstable, which means applying any heat or pressure to them will make them become rancid and oxidize.

AVOID: soybean, cottonseed, corn and canola oil
 
Let’s be stable: Saturated fats are more stable at higher temperatures

Cooking with clean oils is one of the best things you can do for your health. In general, oils with more saturated fat are more stable at higher temperatures. This includes coconut oil, grass-fed butter and ghee (clarified butter). Olive oil and avocado oil are also good options for lower temperature cooking.
  
Coconut oil is becoming a favorite of many people. It’s easy to find and stays stable at medium temperatures. It’s also antibacterial, promotes weight loss, rarely goes rancid and is loved by both vegans and omnivores. There is also some suggestion that coconut oil, over time, can displace the damage in our tissues from years of vegetable oil consumption.
Is Coconut oil too "coconutty" for you??? Coconut oil that is organic and extra virgin has a more subtle taste.
 
Out to dinner
Many restaurants cook with poor quality oils. You can avoid these oils by ordering salads with olive oil and getting steamed and baked foods. Another option is to simply ask for no added oil to your meals. Protect yourself by consuming a small amount of vitamin E (100-400 IU) on days when you are eating out. 
  
Some oil for thought

  • Oils such as walnut, almond, pumpkin, and flax are best used in a raw and cold-pressed state. These oils are less saturated and more prone to oxidation and rancidity when heat is added.

  • Is your oil smoking when you are cooking? This is a sign the oil is in the beginning stage of oxidation and degradation. YIKES! This degradation increases the production of free radicals; which cause inflammation in the body. Click here to see the smoke rates of some oils.