Which oil we use to cook with is a huge area of debate and there is a never ending change in believes about which is best. Coconut, olive, butter, rapeseed, sunflower, avocado – there are so many to choose from.. So what’s best?

It generally comes down to inflammation. You will always be safer getting the majority of your fat from whole food however oil can be part of a healthy diet, or it can be a massive source of inflammation which damages your body. Excess inflammation is a huge problem and contributes to a whole host of issues including heart disease, diabetes type 2, cancer and arthritis which is why Sundays post is going to be dedicated to it. However what determines whether oil will cause inflammation is:

1. Stability in Heat 

Most of us appear to be aware that oils with a higher smoking point are better. This is because those oils don’t react so much at higher temperatures and become oxidised; a process which produces something called free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive, damage surrounding tissue and cause an inflammatory response.

Oils that are less reactive and more stable are those which have a high content of saturated fat such as coconut, butter and ghee which makes them great cooking options. Some monounsaturated fats are also very stable such as avocado oil which has a very high, if not the highest, smoking point which also makes it a great option. Coconut oil is a good choice to cook with, however, it has been documented to cause problems when people consume it excessively (almost drinking it) because of the health craze surrounding it. Olive oil is another monounsaturated fat which is fairly stable and there are some thoughts that it has such high antioxidant content that this counteracts any free radical production in cooking. However avocado and the saturated fats above are much better and safer options so it’s a good idea to stick to using olive oil as a dressing to get its health benefits until further research is done.

Up until recently, national health guidelines instructed people to use caution with saturated fat. This advise was based on research carried out in the 70’s using cross section observational studies, which are are good at generating a hypothesis but don’t prove a direct cause and effect. Observational studies such as these take a group of people, see that heart disease and cholesterol levels are high aswel as saturated fat in their diets, and make a hypothesis that one caused the other. The problem with this type of study is that it doesn’t control confounding factors, so other things they may have been present at the time which could have actually caused heart disease, and collection of data is often unreliable. There may have been a correlation between saturated fat and heart disease in people in the 70s, however this doesn’t mean there was a cause and effect. Modern research which looks at cause and effect such as RCT’s and meta analysis has now shown there is no cause and effect and that saturated fat may actually reduce heart disease. National guidelines now have determined saturated fat as ‘not a substance of concern’.

AVOID vegetable oils because they are mostly polyunsaturated. This makes them prone to oxidation and turn rancid which promotes inflammation. This is often the reason why your store bought and vegetable oil containing hummus goes bad after one day. They are also often heat processed in their production so they have already undergone oxidation and had some of the beneficial fats turn to extremely damaging trans fat.

2. Nutritional Content

Fat is not just fat – there are many different types of fat which affect our body in different ways. Generally, we should get all different types to acquire optimal health however it becomes a problem when we are getting too much of one particular type. The big imbalance at the moment that is contributing to the epidemics of chronic health disease is the huge imbalance between omega 6 and omega 3.

Omega 6 fatty acids are essential, meaning we need to consume them, as they help to produce energy and also play a role in our immune system. This is why we should have a balance of 1:3/4 omega 3 to omega 6. However too much of one thing can kill you. The vast majority of us are now toxic in omega 6, having a ratio of 1:10 or more because we consume too much of it. This is mainly because we consume too much grain (bread, pasta, cereals, flour) and animals we consume are fed grain such as corn which makes them toxic in omega 6.

This is why you should AVOID vegetable oils such as sunflower, soybean, rice bran, corn and sesame. That is for both cooking with and as a dressing. As explained in last weeks post on the problems with processed gluten free products, these oils are also heavily refined and produced through industrial processes. Although rapeseed oil has a good omega 3 to 6 balance, 90% of it is now genetically modified and is produced by chemically leaching the oil from the plant/seed, and then have the chemical solvent heat evaporated off. Almond oil is one to also be wary of because of this issue as it has an omega 3 to 6 ratio of 1:1987!!

To reduce your intake of omega 6 in your oils go for grass fed butter or animal fat (grass fed will contain more omega 3 whereas corn and grain fed will be omega 6 toxic). Flaxseed oil is a great dressing as its one of the only oils which has a higher content of omega 3 to 6 at 4:1.

The take home points:

• Stop using all vegetable oils such as sunflower, rapeseed/canola, corn and soybean and if food products have these in the ingredients list – PUT IT DOWN! The scary thing is these oils are in a ton of food products now so you have to read the ingredients list on the label.
• Avoid fast food/fried restaurant food like batter and fries – they are full of these bad oils and trans fat which is one of the main reasons they are so bad and inflammatory for us.
• Cook with coconut, grass fed butter/ghee, or avocado oil.
• Dress with olive oil or flaxseed oil.
• Opt for organic (it is less likely to contain toxins used to grow the product) and cold pressed (it has not been exposed to heat which causes oxidation and makes oils more inflammatory).

We hope you find this useful, however, if you have any questions please just add a comment below and we’ll do our best to help!

Dr Jamie and Dr Judith