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Cooking oil is one of the primary staples in any well-stocked kitchen, and there are a variety of options to choose from that largely all taste the same but come with a number of different nutritional offerings. From canola cooking sprays to olive oil and everything in between, it can be difficult to choose the healthiest oil when faced with a wall of choices at the grocery store. However, there are certainly some options which provide significantly less nutritional value than others, and one which can even affect your metabolism and provoke inflammation in the body, damaging both your confidence and your physical health.
If you’re looking to make small changes to improve your overall well being, choosing the best cooking oil can be a great place to start, and with that comes knowing which oils to avoid. While in moderation you can eat nearly any food while working to lose weight, there’s one cooking oil that health experts warn to steer clear of if you want to optimize your diet for an overall healthier lifestyle.
Vegetable Oil
With the word ‘vegetable’ in the name, veggie oil can create the misleading illusion that it’s the healthiest cooking oil as it is derived from plants and therefore must provide ample nutritional benefits. Unfortunately, the reality is that the term vegetable oil is actually rather vague, and the option you picked up could come from a number of sources which are varying in nutritional value. “The term vegetable oil is used to refer to any oil that comes from plant sources, and the healthfulness of a vegetable oil depends on its source and what it's used for,” explains family physician Dr. Waqas Ahman Buttar. “Most vegetable oils on the market are a blend of canola, corn, soybean, safflower, palm, and sunflower oils. Still, vegetable oils are refined and processed, which means they lack not only flavor but also nutrients.”
You may consider your cooking oil only valuable as a means to an end in recipes, but opting for an olive oil, for example, instead of vegetable oil can provide you with healthy fats that actually benefit your body rather than functioning as empty calories. “Vegetable oil is guaranteed to be highly processed. It's called 'vegetable' so that the manufacturers can substitute whatever commodity oil they want: soy, corn, cottonseed, canola without having to print a new label,” warns Dr. Buttar.
Not only that, but vegetable oil has even been known to contain inflammatory properties which may agitate your gut, causing bloating and discomfort, negatively affecting your health over time. “If you look at the ingredients, it's made of soybean oil which can be extremely inflammatory because of the high content of omega-6 fatty acids. Inflammation doesn't do your metabolism any favors and can make you feel sluggish, fatigued, bloated, and over time, can contribute to cardiovascular disease,” says RD Megan Byrd.
Just because vegetable oil isn’t great for you doesn’t mean you have to do away with cooking oil entirely to achieve a healthy diet. “The best alternatives are olive oil and avocado oil. Both of these are higher in unsaturated, heart-healthy fats, which make them pantry staples for a healthy diet,” says Byrd. “Olive oil is great for salad dressings and homemade sauces. Avocado oil is best for baking and sauteeing because of its mild flavor.” Your body does need to consume healthy fats regularly for a well-balanced diet even for weight loss, so choosing a more nutritious cooking oil based in avocado or olives can be of value to your diet without compromising your metabolism or causing inflammation.
Although a healthy diet can realistically contain a multitude of your favorite, traditionally considered ‘unhealthy,’ foods while still working towards weight loss, it can help to make the road a little smoother in choosing the best option of some staple items. Cooking oil is an essential in every kitchen for making most dishes, and you don’t have to do away with it in order to maximize your health. Instead, making the simple switch from vegetable oil to an avocado or olive based option will find you hitting your fat intake goals from a valuable source, rather than potentially causing digestive issues or weight gain. Considering that cooking oils traditionally don’t offer profound flavor to your cooking, making the switch should be an easy swap for reaching your health goals!
