Can you name the 5 best cooking oils for your health?
And are you cooking with any of them?
I suppose I need to list the 5 best cooking oils for your health before you can answer those two questions!
The 5 best cooking oils for your health, in no particular order, are:
- Avocado oil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Coconut oil
- Macadamia nut oil
- Almond oil
To list the reasons these oils are good for you, we need to refer to the previous blog post, “The 5 Worst Cooking Oils for Your Health” and the 4 factors to consider when purchasing cooking oil.
Taking into account the 4 factors related to purchasing oils, the best cooking oils for your health would have:
- A high smoke point,
- No GMOs,
- Healthy omega 3 fatty acids, and
- Minimal processing.
And here is how these 5 best cooking oils stack up to the 4 factors.
Avocado oil has a high smoke point and monosaturated omega 3 fatty acids. It also has antioxidants, polyphenols, and carotenoids, and that means it has properties shown to prevent disease and slow the aging process. Purchasing cold-pressed, unrefined avocado oil optimizes its beneficial qualities.
Avocado oil is one of my go-to oils! I love its versatility and the fact that it doesn’t flavor foods cooked with it. The first avocado oil I purchased was very expensive, but I’ve since found one that I like a lot – Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil! Click on the name to check it out. It is cold-pressed and minimally refined, which means the process was done via centrifuge and not high heat.
The next good cooking oil is probably the one you guessed first – extra virgin olive oil. The smoke point of olive oil is lower that avocado oil but is still pretty stable. Olive oil is full of antioxidants and monounsaturated fats, which may allow it to stay stable at higher levels of heat.
Look for cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil to ensure the antioxidants were not damaged in processing.
There are also a lot of “fake” olive oils on the market, which makes it difficult to select a really good one. So you may want to do a little research before purchasing.
I like Costco’s Kirkland extra virgin olive oil. It is very reasonably priced, certified organic by the USDA, and was rated 5-stars by 73% of purchasers who reviewed it. If you are not near a Costco, it is listed on Amazon, though not available right now, but you can check it out here.
Amazon does show an alternative olive oil to the Kirkland brand, which was listed as very good in one of my sources, Amazon Fresh Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
A good extra virgin olive oil is sensitive to light and should be used with a few months of purchase. Notice how bottles of olive oil are packaged in opaque or dark glass. Your olive oil should be stored in a cool, dark place.
The third good cooking oil is coconut oil. Unrefined, cold-pressed coconut oil is best. Coconut oil contains MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides), which are fatty acids that may help with weight loss and cholesterol. Although there has been some disagreement about the health benefits of coconut oil, most sources still recommend it used in moderation.
Unlike most other oils, refined coconut oil is still good for you, and a major draw of refined coconut oil is that is doesn’t have the coconut taste in cooking. Here are two good ones to check out: 1) Vita Coco Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil can be found at Wal-Mart and Walgreens; and 2) Nutiva Refined Coconut Oil (Amazon link). Nutiva can also be found at Wal-Mart and Target.
The final two best cooking oils are macadamia nut oil and almond oil, which are less prevalent in the marketplace, but still available.
Check out macadamia nut oil at Amazon, (the highest rated macadamia nut oil by Consumer Reports) and the second highest rated macadamia nut oil by Consumer Reports is also available at Amazon. Wal-Mart carries macadamia nut oil, but I couldn’t verify its quality.
Almond oil is recommended more for skin and hair care than for cooking. See this highly rated almond oil (by bestreviews.com) at Amazon.
What are your thoughts now about the oil you are cooking with? Do you have any concerns?
Some of the links to the oils listed about are affiliate links, in which I may make a small commission if you should purchase through them. However, other links are simply researched links of where you can purchase the product.
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