COOKING WITH UNHEALTHY OILS?
The Answer Could Impact Your Health
Fat is an important part of a healthy diet, helping you grow, giving you energy, and increasing your body's absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K. The oils you cook with can be great sources of healthy fats. However, many cooking oils also contain unhealthy fats, which can increase your risk for heart disease—one of the leading causes of death in Canada. Learn which oils are best for you and why, so that you can be confident that you're making the healthiest choice next time you head into the kitchen.
How fats in oils can affect your health
The foods that you eat have different types of fats, including saturated, unsaturated and trans fats. Eating the wrong kinds of fats can increase unhealthy LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and lower healthy HDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is labelled as “bad” because it increases your risk for heart disease when it builds up in your blood vessels and clogs them.
In order to strike a healthy balance, you need to eat more of the right types of fats. When you're cooking, choose oils higher in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and lower in saturated and trans fats.
Triglycerides, a type of fat, have also been linked to heart disease. On the other hand, HDL cholesterol helps lower your risk for heart disease by removing excess bad cholesterol from your bloodstream.
The smoke point
Another important factor to consider when choosing cooking oils is the smoke point—the temperature at which the oil will begin to smoke. When an oil begins to smoke, it produces free radicals, which can be harmful to your health. In general, the more refined the oil, the higher the smoke point. Depending on what type of cooking or baking you're doing, some oils may be more appropriate than others:
- Oils with high smoke points: use for searing and browning
- Oils with medium-high smoke points: use for oven cooking, stir frying and baking
- Oils with medium smoke points: use for low-heat baking, sauces and sautéing