Your body and mind need the right nutrients to stay healthy, but a common belief is that certain types of cooking oil cause more harm than good.
To better understand the impact of oil on health and the best options for different types of cooking, we spoke to a nutritionist Emily Van Eck, and here are the options she recommends.
Nutritionist recommends ‘best cooking oils’
We asked Emily what are the best options of oils for cooking and she said there are a couple of them depending on what you intend to use them for. The nutritionist recommends using a neutral oil for high-heating cooking.
“For high-heat purposes, like popcorn, stir-fry, grilling, and pan-searing, a neutral cooking oil like canola oil is great. If you’re feeling flush with cash one month, you could spring for avocado oil, but I wouldn’t say you “should” do this,” she told The Focus.
These oils are believed to contain high amounts of mono and polyunsaturated fats, which are beneficial for health as opposed to others with high unsaturated fats.
“It is pretty clear from decades of good quality research that higher unsaturated fat in the diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and that higher saturated fat increases risk. These oils are both rich in poly and monounsaturated fat,” she explained.
More options for low-heat cooking
You can’t resort to the same cooking oil for all food items. So, Emily recommends different ones for low-heat cooking.
“For low-heat like sautéing or no-heat like salad dressing, I suggest extra virgin olive oil. I also like having sesame oil around for Asian sauces and occasionally buy walnut oil for a special salad dressing recipe,” she told The Focus.
The nutritionist also debunked a common myth about seed oils as many think it’s a health hazard. But she doesn’t recommend against them.
“The fear-mongering about seed oils is basically nonsense, so you can be sure that cooking with these oils is safe and healthy,” she clarified.
Emily Van Eck is a Registered Dietician, Nutrition, and Health Writer with a decade of experience. Currently, she’s working as an Intuitive Eating Counselor.
She’s a graduate of Texas State University, running her own nutrition and wellness company in Austin. Her work is focused on teaching her clients to “Learn To Trust Your Body.”
