@gary –
You got it!
So I was thumbing through a recent edition of a popular newsstand fitness magazine (mainly because John Romaniello had a short article published there, which was good by the way) and then came across a rather troubling article full of misinformation in the nutrition section regarding the best fats to cook with.
Unfortunately, their number one choice (canola oil) is actually one of the WORST fats to cook with or to consume in general, and the REAL number one fat to cook with didn’t even make the list…you gotta love newsstand fitness pubs.
Anyway, so let’s go over while Canola oil sucks, and the true “best” fat to cook with.
Canola oil sucks because…
About 30% of canola oil is made up of polyunsaturated fats, very fragile fatty acids that are easily damaged by high heat processing, which is the processing method of virtually all “commercial” forms of canola oil.
Sure, it’s made up of a large portion of heat-resistant monounsaturates, but that still leaves 30% of the oil as denatured, processed crap.
And you know what happens when fragile polyunsaturates are heated to high temperatures? That’s right, they get all flustered and turn to trans fats, the absolute WORST possible thing you can put in your body, period.
Trans-fats have been conclusively linked to a million and one diseases and disorders, including heart disease and cancer. And oh yeah, their toxicity also has been shown to lead to weight gain while making weight loss harder.
But somehow, this particular publication chose canola oil as the “go to option for every day cooking”…yikes.
I really, really hope you’re not getting your fitness info from the mainstream mags…
(unless of course the article is written by me :)
So what should you be looking for in an oil, particularly an oil to cook with?
The oil should be:
1. cold pressed (not high-heat processed)
2. have a high smoke point (meaning it is relatively stable at high temperatures)
3. even better, comprised mostly of saturated fat (saturated fats are the most stable of all fats, and unlike the media has led us to believe, natural saturated fats are some of the more healthy fats available)
So, that gives us a couple options:
1. For cooking, nothing beats unrefined, organic coconut oil. Coconut oil is high in stable saturated fats, particularly the healthful medium chain triglyceride group (MCTs).
2. Organic butter is a close second.
3. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is ideal for low-temperature cooking and when used straight from the bottle as a salad dressing base or flavor booster for cooked veggies, etc (added after the cooking process).
If you want to learn about 4 other “health” foods you should NEVER eat if you want to lose fat, click below to watch the video my friend Isabel put together for you:
Enjoy the tips!
Joel
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Awesomely awesome post.
Canola oil is only good for bikini wrestling. People should be cooking with coconut.
Actually I just wanted to share this…it’s a cooking spray made from coconut oil. Chris Shugart pointed it out to me, I like it a lot:
http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=89#j266
Makes it a LOT easier.
Thanks for the shoutout man.
I saw the Dr. Oz program too and wondered. I have been using cold pressed Coconut Oil for years and love it. It gives a slight nutty flavor to the food and is really good and good for you.
If you had it pick between vegetable oil and canola oil, which would it be? I guess neither, but which is the lesser of the two evils? Also, would lard be better to use than either of these? Thanks for posting on this topic.
It is known that Canola oil is not good for high temperature cooking because of break-down – but don’t know that it is converted to transfat. Believe there must be some study carried out. Appreciate more info on this.
The other good oil for high temperature cooking are palm oil and cold pressed unrefined mustard oil.
Thanks for this valuable info.
Wow – This is some really great information….and I never would have guessed. We’ve been taught for so long that canola oil is one of the better oils. Who knew!
PUFAs are prevented from oxidation by BHT, BHA & TBHQ. I don’t like the sound of those either!
That’s why commmercial oil last for ages and can be heated to high temps – it seems to be a closely guarded secret.
Although I like your choices, whats wrong with good ole beef dripping?
@costi –
It is saturated fat, not trans fat.
Trans fats are not found in nature, they are created by hydrogenation.
Nice article man. I consider myself lucky to be living in Greece where there’s an abundance of olive trees. Extra virgin olive oil is the norm around here. And still I try to cook with as little as possible and before the boiling point. I generally (when I fry things) heat the pan beforehand and put just a little olive oil to get things going. Not sure if I can find coconut oil, though. I’ll have to look…
Hey Joel
I would also like to know what oil is the best oil to use in deep fryers
We use Safflower oil when it comes to cooking or when making homemade bread. From what we understand, using safflower oil has a lot of benefits. Your thoughts. Thanks!
Coconut oil can also be bought without the taste/smell. Not sure what processing goes into this…
Ghee (clarified butter fat) (!) has the dairy protein removed so when heated it stays clear and doesn’t brown (burn). Heat a cast iron pan drop in a small amount of ghee, quickly add lightly beaten eggs and all the things that make an omelette tasty for quick fluffy omelette. Ghee also has a high smoke point and can be used for deep frying as in Indian food. Recommend placing on paper towel to drain before eating.
Generally I use water for stir fry and add preferred oil (e.g. sesame) just before serving.
Most oils are better for humans uncooked. Organic Flax Seed Oil (keep refridgerated) is my favourite at present :-)
While most of the information here is very accurate and true, we need to realize that poly and mono fats don’t convert into trans fats JUST by heating. You also need a catalyst to do the conversion. Dr. Berardi, for one, recommends Canola oil.
Sarah, Liz thanks..! :)
Joel,
You really need to check out macadamia nut oil! Since I live in Hawaii we have a great source for it at OilsofAloha.com. It has a lot of information about the benefits of mac nut oil & the omega 3 to 6 ratio which is better than olive oil. Also it has a very high smoke point & can be used for stir frying among other things. They have a lot of great information. Check it out. Thanks for the reminder about canola oil. I had forgotten & my daughter bought a large container of it at Costco.
a good reference manual for healthy fats would be “The Zone” by Dr Barry Sears.
How do you fry or stir fry coconut oil? Won’t the food taste funny? I love coconut but how do you get a form of it without the taste or smell of coconut?
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...