One of the most polarising debates I’ve seen lately is that between what fats and oils should be included in the diet. So in terms of cooking, I thought I’d share with you what I’m using and what I’m not, and the reasons behind this.
The mainstays in my kitchen:
Olive oil:
For the majority of my cooking, I choose olive oil. The traditional oil of the Mediterranean diet, olive oil is a good option for every day use. It’s high in the heart healthy monounsaturated fats and contains beneficial antioxidant components called polyphenols which are anti-inflammatory.
Despite what you may have read, extra virgin olive oil is suitable for cooking with. A good quality extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of 185 and 210 °C, which is perfectly fine for oven baking and sautéing. In fact, olive oil has a higher smoke point than coconut oil, which is often promoted for it’s high smoke point. Unrefined coconut oil has a smoke point of approximately 180°C.
Research has shown that the beneficial compounds in olive oil are not destroyed by heating (see here and here).
Macadamia nut oil
This nutty oil is great for baking. I’ve used it in a few recipes now and it gives quite a buttery, but delicate taste. It can also be used for frying. Macadamia nut oil is high in monounsaturated fats and has a high smokepoint of 230°C.
Occasional use:
Coconut oil
Coconut oil is pretty hot right now, but many of its health benefits are over exaggerated. This post sums up the science. I use coconut oil in baking and raw treats occasionally, but not in every day cooking. It does have a flavour that complements Asian dishes quite well too.
Butter:
Again, I’ll use butter occasionally if I’m baking for a treat, or add it to mashed potato. If I eat bread, I tend to use avocado or a nut butter (I love peanut butter) instead.
What to take into consideration when looking at oils:
Smoke point:
The smokepoint of an oil is the temperature at which it breaks down to produce compounds such as free radicals which can be harmful to the body. For high temperature cooking, you want an oil with a high smoke point. Oils with a low smokepoint such as flaxseed oil should only be used cold.
Oxidation:
Oxidation of fats can occur due to exposure to air, heat and light and this affects it’s quality and smokepoint.
There is some evidence that indicates that oxidised fats may contribute to development of atherosclerosis (plaque build up in the arteries).
When it comes to fats, polyunsaturated fats (which includes the important omega 3 fats) are most prone to oxidation, followed by monounsaturated then saturated fats. For this reason, you need to pay particular care to how you store your oils and also where you get them from. Store your oils in a cool, dark place with their lids firmly on.
You can store oils in the fridge to help protect from oxidation. Just bring to room temperature before using. It does not effect their taste.
To avoid buying oil that is already oxidised, buy locally made NZ oils, and aim for darker bottles over clear. It’s harder to know the quality of imported oils.
Processing:
I prefer my oils to have minimal processing. Seed oils need a lot of processing to get the oil out, therefore you could classify these as a highly processed food. It’s fairly simple to extract oil from olives, nuts and avocados so these oils require minimal processing.
Seed oils are often said to be toxic. They aren’t. Toxic is a bit of an overstatement. But they are very processed. Seed oils are high in the essential omega 6 fatty acids, but these tend to be abundant in our diets today. It’s the omega 3 essential fatty acids that we need to include more of in our diets (from oily fish and seafood primarily, but also some from walnuts, chia and linseed. We also get a little omega 3 fatty acids from meat).
What about saturated fats?
The topic of saturated fats is probably one of the most debated in the nutrition world at the moment. Lots of headlines proclaim “butter is back” or “saturated fat is now good!” but it’s not that simple. While saturated fat isn’t the dietary villain it once was thought to be, the research doesn’t exactly give it a green light to go all out on it. I cannot see a benefit from switching from olive oil to a mainly saturated fat for cooking.
Writing about saturated fat is a post in itself, but I think this post, titled “Rethinking Saturated Fat” gives a good overview of the topic.
An important point is we don’t eat nutrients in isolation, we eat foods. Foods are a combination of nutrients, and this includes fats. Fats and oils are a mixture of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, but contain one type of fat is found in higher amounts than the others. Higher fat foods will also contain a mixture of fats. For example, salmon is well known for it’s high omega 3 fat content, but it still contains some saturated fats.
With food, we shouldn’t just think about one nutrient, it’s the package which is important. Cheese contains saturated fat, but it also contains essential nutrients such as calcium and vitamin A and vitamin B12. Compare this to a packet of chippies. It contains saturated fat, but they provide very little nutritional value. We can’t judge a food by one nutrient- it’s a package. Basically, choosing a less processed, mainly whole foods diet you have already taken a big step in the right direction to eating well.
Loren Cordain, the original founder of paleo diet movement writes in his paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that our ancestors would have consumed diets lower in saturated fat (wild meat is generally very lean), yet many paleo advocates choose saturated fats over other options.
I’m happy to have some saturated fat in foods that contain mainly saturated fats such as milk, cheese and yoghurt, and a little from meat. But when it comes to cooking, I prefer mainly unsaturated options.
Leave a Reply