How to Choose a Vegetable Oil

[Warph]

How to Choose a Vegetable Oil

In the past 15 years olive oil has taken on the status of a health food, especially for those trying to lower their cholesterol and protect their heart. The fact is, corn, sunflower, and other polyunsaturated oils are just as good at lowering cholesterol as olive oil. But there are other health issues besides cholesterol.

Why olive oil became HOT
Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fat (see box below for more on the types of fat), delicious if you like it, and historically important as well. It has been the basic cooking oil around the Mediterranean since the Bronze Age. Four thousand years or so later, in 1958, the Seven Countries Study gave olive oil a boost when it found that men who ate the lowest amounts of saturated fat had the lowest blood cholesterol and the lowest rates of heart disease. Amazingly, though, the very lowest rates were found in Greece, on the isle of Crete, where the diet was high in fat—but the fat came primarily from olive oil. Perhaps more important, the Cretans ate very little meat and lots of grains and vegetables; they also did hard physical work every day. (One often overlooked fact: the Japanese, who ate no olive oil at all, but did avoid saturated fats, were also found to have a very low rate of heart disease.)

Smart marketing played a big role, too. The olive oil industry tirelessly promoted its product, along with the "Mediterranean diet," not only among consumers, but also among nutritional experts.

So which oil is best for lowering cholesterol?
Since 1958 much research has been done on the relationship between dietary fats and blood cholesterol. Most studies found that polyunsaturated fats, such as safflower or soybean oil, lower total blood cholesterol impressively; others tilted toward monounsaturated fats, such as olive or canola oil. The consensus now is that, as far as cholesterol goes, it doesn't matter which of these you choose. The most important thing is that the oil replace saturated fats in your diet. If your chief concern is blood cholesterol, you have nothing to gain by choosing olive oil or another monounsaturated oil over corn, soybean, or other polyunsaturated oils. None of these oils contain any cholesterol, of course, since only animal products do.

But what about HDL?
It used to be thought, on the basis of a few early studies, that polyunsaturated oils also lower HDL ("good") cholesterol, while monounsaturated oils do not. But since then, most research has found that all these oils, in the amounts commonly consumed, have little or no effect on HDL. If raising or maintaining your HDL is a primary concern, keep in mind that one drawback of going on a low-fat diet for some people is that it lowers HDL levels. That's one reason to replace the saturated fats found notably in meats, whole milk, and cheese with healthy unsaturated fats such as those in oils (fish and nuts are also good sources of healthy fats). This will lower both total cholesterol and LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and maintain HDL or boost it slightly.

Olive and canola may have other benefits

Monounsaturated fats do have the following potential health advantages:

• Beyond their effect on cholesterol, these fats may reduce other cardiovascular risk factors. For instance, there's some evidence they reduce the tendency of the blood to clot, which may lower the risk of a heart attack or stroke. And preliminary research suggests that a diet rich in monounsaturates may reduce blood pressure.

• They are less likely to contribute to—and may even reduce—the oxidation of LDL ("bad") cholesterol in the blood. Oxidation contributes to the development of dangerous plaque in the arteries.

• They can help some people with diabetes control their blood sugar, according to the latest guidelines about diabetes. In addition, they are recommended for those with Metabolic Syndrome, which typically features elevated blood sugar.

• Oils high in monounsaturated fat are healthier for cooking, because polyunsaturated oils are more susceptible to oxidation in cooking. Oxidation creates cell-damaging free radicals and other by-products. This is more of a problem, however, when the oil is heated at very high temperatures and for prolonged periods—as in some restaurants. Reheating the oil is especially damaging.

• Canola, walnut, soybean, and especially flaxseed oils supply alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid related to those in fish. Several studies have found that this polyunsaturated fatty acid can reduce the risk of heart attacks.


Bottom line: Choose olive oil if you like it. Canola oil is nearly as high in monounsaturated fat as olive oil and costs less—plus it has heart-healthy alpha-linolenic acid. (Internet rumors about the health risks of canola are untrue.) Safflower, corn, sunflower, peanut, and many other oils are also good.

But when these oils are used in packaged foods, watch out for the words "partially hydrogenated" before them in the ingredients list. Hydrogenated oils are more saturated and contain trans fat, which is especially bad for your heart.

Last words: Sorting out fats

All vegetable oils are pure fat, and all are combinations of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. They are categorized according to the predominant type of fatty acid. Canola oil, for instance, is called monounsaturated, since 61% of its fatty acids are monounsaturated (21% are polyunsaturated, 8% saturated). Safflower and corn oil are called polyunsaturated, since they are respectively 71% and 57% polyunsaturated. Fatty acid molecules vary in length and in degree of saturation (that is, how many hydrogen atoms they carry), both of which help determine whether a fat is solid or liquid (oil) at room temperature.

Saturated fatty acids carry all the hydrogen atoms they can hold. Highly saturated fats come chiefly from animal sources and include butter, whole milk, and meats. Three vegetable oils—coconut, palm, and palm kernel—are also highly saturated. But these tropical oils do not act like other saturated fats in the body, and may not be as unhealthy as once thought.

Unsaturated fatty acids, primarily from plants and fish, do not have all the hydrogen atoms they can carry. If one pair of hydrogen atoms is missing, the fatty acids are called monounsaturated (olive, canola, and peanut oils contain mostly monounsaturated fatty acids). If two pairs or more of hydrogen atoms are missing, these fatty acids are called polyunsaturated (safflower, sunflower, flaxseed, walnut, grapeseed, corn, soybean, and cottonseed oils are primarily polyunsaturated). "High-oleic" sunflower or safflower oil is made from seeds specially bred to contain a higher percentage of monounsaturated fat. Sesame oil contains equal amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat.

Kitchen advice
There is no perfect oil for every purpose. For Mediterranean dishes, many cooks prefer olive. For Asian fare, peanut and dark sesame oil are often good choices. For salads, walnut oil adds a light, nutty flavor. For everyday cooking, canola, with its neutral taste, might be best. There are many things to consider when choosing oils, including the flavor: a bland or mild flavor may work better for certain cooking needs than oils with a full flavor, such as olive or peanut oil. In addition, olive or canola oil is usually better for high-temperature frying (see above).

UC Berkeley Wellness Letter 2009

[Teresa]

I use Lard and bacon grease... Guess it doesn't have a category for those in that article.. 

[Catwoman]

I love frying eggs in the grease left from frying bacon...I also fry bacon and then put it into my green beans.  When some of my more health-concious friends come over, I just use the bacon grease, without the bacon...And they LOVE the green beans...Inhale them, actually...And I just smile, knowing that they'll shortly be going back to their stringent ways.  For a little while, they were given something great-tasting!

[Jo McDonald]

I never throw bacon grease away -- I strain it and keep it in the fridge.  Best seasoning ever!!  I make my cornbread with bacon grease and it is good for biscuits too.  YUM!!  Always fry potatoes in meat grease--actually we are the "meat grease family...so was my Mama and Fred's Mama too.
I'm sure there are some of you reading this that are just about to have a clogged artery attack.  Sorry~~~~~~~~~

[Cheyenne]

An older lady and I were talking the other day while getting hay and she said to rub olive oil on your body for joint and muscle pain relief. She also said that dark vinigar works the same. Has anybody ever heard of that before?

[Wilma]

Jo, I have already had the clogged artery thing so I guess I can enjoy all the bacon, etc. that I want.  Actually, I am on a clogged artery watch.  My carotid arteries are just under the surgery level.  Have another scan coming up this month and hopefully, we will find that nothing has changed.

What I have always wondered is does animal fat really cause clogged arteries, high blood pressure, high cholestral and what does high cholestral have to do with clogged arteries?  Jim had heart surgery and carotid artery surgery and he never had high cholestral.  I have high cholestral and I never ate the fat, etc. that he did.  Answers?

[Warph]

Recent Studies Suggest Margarine as Bad as Animal Fats in Artery Clogging Potential
John Deane M.D.

What is a person to do about conflicting diet advice on avoiding heart disease?  Recent studies suggest margarine is worse than animal fats in its artery clogging potential.  

Doctors have known for some time that saturated fats, the ones that stay solid at room temperature, are not as good for you as unsaturated fats such as vegetable oils.  Americans like spreading solid fats on their toast and bread rather than using liquid oils as the Mediterranean cultures have done with olive oil for centuries.  

To produce vegetable oils which stay solid at room temperature, they are hydrogenated, a process whereby hydrogen gas is bubbled through the oil, "saturating" it with hydrogen.

Both saturated animal fats (butter) and plant oils (margarine) have been shown to be unhealthy for the heart. The solution?  Use one of the new olive oil spreads which are in a tub or which have been mixed with water and other natural stabilizers to make them semi-solid at room temperature.  

What about Olivio, an olive oil containing spread promoted by former Chrysler head Lee Iacocca. Unfortunately it still has some possibly harmful trans-fatty soybean. Smart Balance, another olive oil containing spread, has no trans-fatty acids but contains some saturated palm oil.   Your best bet? Dip or drizzle unsaturated or monosaturated oils like olive oil!  

Or, with pump spray gadgets like Misto you can spray your toast with your favorite oil instead of spreading margarine.


What You Should Know About Cholesterol
Cholesterol is necessary for our bodies to function, and it is found in every cell in our body. About 80 percent of the cholesterol in our bodies is manufactured by the liver, while the other 20 percent comes from the foods that we eat.

However, a diet high in cholesterol can cause our bodies to make too much cholesterol, resulting in high levels of blood cholesterol. When blood cholesterol levels get too high, it can clog arteries and increase our risk for coronary heart disease.

The following answers on Cholesterol at: http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/heartdisease/HD_cholesterol.html

What is cholesterol?

How does high cholesterol increase your risk of coronary heart disease?

The different types of cholesterol.

What affects blood cholesterol levels?

Do all types of fats raise blood cholesterol levels?

Does cholesterol in foods raise blood cholesterol?




SATURATED ANIMAL FAT IS GOOD FOR YOU.... cough.... cough

There are some people who believe that the world is flat, and there are some people who believe that saturated animal fat is good for you, and there are some people who believe that soymilk is hazardous to one's health.

If you met a believer of 'the world is flat' theory, would you have trouble taking seriously anything else that person might tell you?

Sally Fallon and Mary Enig believe the last two statements.  They argue that saturated animal fat is a blessing in disguise.  These two nincompoopers also preach that soy is dangerous, despite the fact that societies using soy for thousands of years (Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans) have extremely low rates of cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

I have not yet asked either Sally or Mary about whether they believe that the world is flat, or why the sun rises or sets.  Regardless, let the sun set on their pro-animal fat theory..... could it be that theory is gold to Sally because she might have married into the "John Morrell Meat" family

Sally's website:
http://www.realmilk.com

Sally and her "SATURATED ANIMAL FAT" theory:

Most physicians, dieticians, nutritionists, and health officials advise that saturated animal fat be limited or eliminated from one's diet.

I decided to analyze the amounts of saturated animal fat in some common foods.  How much saturated animal fat and how many calories are found in one quart of the following liquid refreshments?

Water = 0 grams of saturated animal fat, 0 calories
Soymilk = 0 grams of saturated animal fat, 323 calories
Skim milk = 1 gram of saturated animal fat, 343 calories
Beer = 0 grams of saturated animal fat, 400 calories
1% milk = 6 grams of saturated animal fat, 410 calories
2% milk = 12 grams of saturated animal fat, 488 calories
Whole milk = 20 grams of saturated animal fat, 595 calories

Ben & Jerry's Melted Vanilla Ice Cream = 97 grams of saturated animal fat (no wonder Ben had quadruple bypass surgery), 2,352 calories (there goes the New Year'sresolution!)

HAVE YOU SEEN THE LITTLE PIGGIES?

20 medium slices of cooked bacon (raw product packed so to the pound) contain 730 calories and 22 grams of saturated
fat.

One would consume 47% more satured animal fat and 6% more calories by eating one quart of Ben & Jerry's rich vanilla ice cream than you would by eating three pounds (60 slices) of bacon....(I wonder if that is Morrell Bacon).

One would consume 6% more calories in a glass of skim milk that in an equal portion of soymilk.

Is there fat in soymilk? Of course there is. Omega 3 and Omega 6. Now, that's healthy!

[srkruzich]

On the soy product,  i agree that the asians have used it for a long time, no one argues the benefit of what they use.  The problem is that we don't process soy like they do.  They ferment their soy, we heat our soy products to high temps which make the soy dangerous to consume. 
Its all in the processing.

As far as the milk, the milk is actually a food if it is raw and whole.  if its pasturized homoginized, gamaized ect... its dead and has no nutritional value.  You lose all the enzymes the body needs to process the nutrients such as calcium in the milk. 

I think that this couple may have it all wrong as to why and how but is on the right track. 
Now as far as the cholesterol and fats, their right. There is a ton of fat in milk.  But its all about moderation. 

Last of all, My cardiologist has told me that he would rather me use REAL butter than margerine as the butter is a natural better product that has less fat and cholesterol than margerine.  But i do use it as well as olive oil on my breads. just depends on what i want that day.