I have been reading a lot of about this and everyone has a different opinion.
Which of the following oils should be avoided and/or not heated:
soybean oil
sunflower oil
safflower oil
avocado oil
canola oil
vegetable oil
olive oil
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Thanks. I’m trying to be super careful about what I buy. Most products have these ingredients.
Data showing that seed oils are harmful is very inconclusive, so be skeptical of anyone who says otherwise. What doesn’t need to be backed up by evidence or some scientific study is the fact that seed oils are a very low nutrient density food. You get some Omegas and some Vitamin E, but that’s really about it, and if you’re chasing those nutrients, there are much better sources of them.
I chose to eliminate all seed oils from my diet, and was shocked at how many foods that I ate regularly had contained seed oils. By my best estimate, I was consuming about 600 calories per day of just seed oils that were hidden in the foods I was eating. That’s essentially 600 empty calories that I have now replaced with higher nutrient density whole foods.
yeah, the engine oil from you car would be really unhealthy, and probably anything from commercial deep friers - not such a good option.
olive and avocado oils are definitely proven to be healthy, and ok for not-too high-temperature sauteeing. If you must fry at high temperature, check the smoke point/temperature of the oil you want to use: once it smokes, it is disintegrating into stuff that’s not healthy. I never fry anything at high temperature, but if I remember correctly peanut, avocado, sun-coco, or even ghee or duck fat might be reasonable choices.
Overall, you ought to be quite safe with most olive oils.
All refined vegetables should be avoided IMO. It’s not about the quality in the natural oil as it is formed in the plant, but about the industrial processes and our evolutionary inability to deal with it. It’s just not healthy food for humans.
Certain edible oils may be unhealthy if they are heavily treated or if they are used in excessive quantities. It is important to select healthy oils and use them sparingly as part of a balanced diet.
A few examples of healthful oils include olive oil, avocado oil and coconut oil. These oils are minimally processed and contain beneficial fatty acids and antioxidants.
However, some oils which are often highly processed and may be unhealthy if consumed in large quantities include soya oil, corn oil and vegetable oil.These oils are often rich in unhealthy refined vegetable oils and may contribute to a number of health issues in case of excessive consumption. It is important to read the labels and choose oils that are low in processing and high in healthy fats.
[health-concerns-transfat-mediated-decline](https://consensus.app/details/health-concerns-transfat-mediated-decline-hydrogenated-wilson/6cccba73a1745d9285816dfd47e5dc35/)
they are fine. There is a lot of content out there these days that paints seed oils as “toxic,” but they aren’t providing the whole story.
if you’re cooking at home with canola, avocado oil, vegetable oil… there is a good chance you’re not using nearly as much as they would be using at, say, a fast food restaurant. Some people consume too much fast food, and therefore they eat a lot of highly processed oils…
But the same thing is true of things like salt, sugar, and other ingredients that you tend to use a lot less of in home cooking. So it’s not really the oils that are the issue, as much as it’s everything that’s making those food items taste better (more salt, more sugar etc) and a lot of seed oils just happen to be in that mix
Also notice in the article that restaurants often have to heat, then reheat the oils over and over in a restaurant. This is very different than if you were to take oil that’s been sitting in your pantry at room temp, or a cool dry place at home, then heating it once to make 1-2 batches of fries (or whatever it is)
If you’re spraying canola oil on your pan before cooking, or using it on cookie sheet, or even occasionally deep frying at home… this is perfectly fine. It only becomes an issue if things like fried fast food items become a staple in your diet. But, again - the same can be said about sugar, salt, etc.
The thing is, a lot of this stuff about seed oils being toxic, etc., is coming from influencers. You’ll see them on TikTok in the grocery store, trying to demonize Skippy peanut butter. And they do a great job of putting fear into people - what they fail to do, is prove what ill effects, if any, will come from eating skippy, or mazola, or olive oil.
Id add grape seed oil to the list of what not to take. If you’d like some insight from a professional, try listening to Max Lugavere. He goes over oils on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast #1870. He also has his own podcast if you are interested, but #1870 is directly related to your post.
Avocado and Olive oils are the only ones we should be consuming. All the rest of them have high omega 6s, which promote inflammation, and it turns into cancerous free radicals when heated.
Olive oil is healthy but should not be heated. Just use in salad dressings.
Avocado oil has a high smoke point, thus can be heated.
There is no conclusive evidence any of them are a problem. The concerns over Omega-6 in seed oils and inflammation remains unproven and an average dietician wouldn’t tell you to avoid them.
Of those you listed my preference would be olive oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil. They are low in saturated fat and high in polyunsaturated & monounsaturated fat. Favoring these over other fat sources will benefit your cardiovascular health.
I like sunflower oil for cooking, it doesn’t impart flavor on food and doesn’t make food feel greasy. Olive oil is the best choice of you want a flavor suspension (garlic etc) and as a finishing oil.
think about how often preagricutural man would come across oils. how many tiny, dry, non-artificially selected olives they have to save to press into a cup of oil. it was just never a major part of our diet until very recently. anything concentrated is. so its going to be super high in fats and calories, things we already have abundant access to. nothing is inherently unhealthy (except maybe trans fats). but most people are probably fine without ever having oil
Soy is one of the top 6 allergens. As someone with a very strong allergy to it, I can say that it is utterly sneaky in all the forms it takes which means I avoid processed foods and still get struck by it occasionally. Then it has devastating physical, mental and emotional effects.
Soybean is ok, fishy tasting and heat treated so that’s not the best.
Sunflower has too much vitamin E, does bad things to certain organs.
Really cold pressed olive oil is the best. Advocado has some fans.