“Salads are good for us.”

Everyone agrees with this statement as we are encouraged to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables, including salads, every day. Salads provide an essential source of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and fibre, as well as being a delicious meal or accompaniment to meals. So why are we telling you to never eat a salad naked?

As people become more aware of healthy diets, the desire for low fat, low sugar or low salt meals and ingredients increases. This is especially so with oils, mayonnaises and salad dressings as ‘low fat’ or single calorie sprays become increasingly popular. At Farrington’s Mellow Yellow we often speak to customers who are keen to eat a healthy low-fat diet, to the extent that they don’t like to put salad dressings or mayonnaise on their salad with the aim of reducing their fat intake. The logic and ambition may be good, but a quest to reduce calorie intake by eating a salad un-dressed actually deprives people of the fantastic health promoting nutrition locked up in the salad. Not only is a fat required to absorb the nutrition within a salad, dressing a salad makes it more interesting and delicious to eat, helping you to make it a regular and enjoyable part of your diet. Also consideration should be given to the choice of fat used, but more on that later.

Salads are a wonderful source of vitamins and carotenoids. Vitamins play vital roles in health and body metabolism, along with their interaction with minerals required in the diet. We need to take vitamins in small regular amounts in our diet as the body can not store them and they can even be harmful if taken in excess. Vitamins are either fat soluble or water soluble, with Vitamins A, D, E and K being fat soluble. Salads contain fat soluble vitamins, so unless a salad is dressed with an oil-based dressing or mayonnaise, it is very difficult for the body to absorb these vitamins. By eating a healthy, balanced diet, there is no need for vitamin supplements to be taken.

Carotenoids are the naturally-occurring pigments in foods, with fruits and vegetables providing most of the carotenoids in the human diet. They play important roles in the body as powerful anti-oxidants; from the prevention of various types of cancers and chronic heart disease, to the maintenance of healthy eyesight. Carrots, known to help us see in the dark, get their orange colour from Alpha and Beta-Carotene. While the yellow colour of Mellow Yellow Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil comes from carotenoids called Luteins, containing around five times more than in extra virgin olive oil.*

Carotenoids are fat-soluble compounds so, just like the fat-soluble vitamins, to get the best nutritional benefit from colourful salad ingredients such as peppers, carrots, spinach and tomatoes, dress your salad with a fat to allow your body to absorb the carotenoids. However, research has shown that the type of fat eaten also affects how well we can absorb carotenoids from food. For example, a salad dressing made with an oil rich in mono-unsaturated fats, such as cold pressed rapeseed oil, absorbs more carotenoids compared to a dressing made with oils rich in saturated or poly-unsaturated fats, such as soybean, palm, sunflower or coconut oils for example. So not only should you ensure your salad is dressed with a fat, you should try to ensure the fat is rich in mono-unsaturates.

Why you should never eat a salad naked:

– Adding fat to salad allows your body to process the fat-soluble vitamins

– Using an oil rich in mono-unsaturated, such as cold pressed rapeseed oil, helps the body absorb anti-oxidant caratonoids

– Adding flavour helps motivate you to eat healthy salads regularly by making them more enjoyable

So, whether you are a purest and enjoy your salad simply drizzled with oil, like to pimp up a lettuce leaf creatively with a salad dressing, or if you prefer an indulgent dollop of mayonnaise; remember never eat a salad naked. The best dressed salads not only taste better, but make their nutritional delights all the more enjoyable. And just pause to think if a single calorie spray oil, a low fat salad dressing or mayonnaise really is as healthy as you first thought? Not to mention what actually goes into making some of those so-called healthy options…

But as far as the clothing you chose to wear, or not, while enjoying your favourite salad, we’ll leave that up to you.

* Crude rapeseed oil contains up to 95 mg/kg carotenoids, comprising about 85-90% luteins and 7-10% as carotene (Gunstone 2004). Extra virgin olive oil also contains luteins and carotene, but at levels of up to 20mg/kg only (Bosku, 2009) i.e., it only contains around one fifth the carotenoid antioxidant properties of rapeseed oil.

Bosku D., (2009). Olive oil Minor Constituents and Health CRC press p52.

Gunstone F D., (2004). Rapeseed and Canola Oil; Productrion, Processing, Properties and Uses, Blackwell Publishing

Cooking oils are a type of fat. Fat is a macronutrient (like protein and carbohydrate) that is made up of fatty acids. With so many different cooking oils available, most people don’t know which oil they should be using in their cooking for the healthiest results and often ask us what is the healthiest oil to cook with . This article will help to explain the different factors you should consider when choosing which oil to cook with.

What should we consider when looking at what is the healthiest oil to cook with?

When trying to decide which oil to cook with, we need to look at the following things. (We’ll explain each one a bit later on!)

– Saturated fat

– Unsaturated fat

– Trans fat

– Omega 3, 6 and 9

– Smoke point

– Vitamins and minerals found in the oil

What is fat?

Fat is a macronutrient (like protein and carbohydrate) and is made up of fatty acids. These fatty acids can be classified as saturated or unsaturated depending on their chemical structure. Unsaturated fatty acids include monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

All fats provide 9 calories (kcal) per gram, regardless of the levels of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, the big difference is the effect these fats have on your cholesterol levels so we need to ensure that we eat the healthiest fat we can.

Fat is a good source of energy and we need some fat in our diet to help us absorb the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.

Within the body, fatty acids form part of our cell membranes and fat also helps to insulate and protect our internal organs, contributing towards maintaining our body temperature and is involved in lots of body processes such as the development of our brains and the communications which occur between different cells. Cholesterol is needed to produce bile acids, which help us to digest food, and also some of our hormones.

What is Saturated Fat?

Saturated fat is found in foods such as fatty meats, hard cheese and butter.

High intakes of saturated fat have been shown to raise levels of ‘bad’ (LDL – Low Density Lipoproteins) cholesterol in the blood. High blood cholesterol increases the risk of developing heart disease and stroke by building up in our arteries, causing them to narrow. It is best to eat foods that contain less saturated fat.

An easy way to tell if your oil contains high levels of saturated fat is whether it is solid at room temperature, if it is, it most likely contains a high amount of saturated fat.

Chemically speaking, saturated fats have don’t have any double bonds between their carbon atoms in the fatty acid chain.

What is Unsaturated Fat?

Often called ‘good fat’, unsaturated fat help to maintain a healthy cholesterol level and have even been known to help lower levels of harmful cholesterol. Unsaturated fats are either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.

Our bodies are able to make most of the specific fatty acids we need apart from two polyunsaturated fatty acids which we must get from our diet. These two fatty acids are alpha linolenic acid (an omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acid) and linoleic acid (an omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acid). Our bodies need these for brain development, growth and for a healthy immune system.

Omega 3 and 6 are called essential fatty acids as we need to obtain small amounts of them from our diet. Alpha linolenic acid is found in rapeseed, walnut and soya oils and spreads made from these. Linoleic is also found in plant based oils such as sunflower, corn, peanut, rapeseed, olive, safflower, sesame, walnut and soya oil and spreads made from these. Both of the essential fatty acids are present in smaller amounts in foods such as meat, eggs and oily fish. Ideally our bodies need Omega 3 and Omega 6 in the right balance of one part Omega 3 to every two parts Omega 6.

What about Trans Fat?

These are the worst types of fat and should be avoided wherever possible as they have been known to increase blood cholesterol levels. Typically, foods with hydrogenated oils likely contain trans fats, such as fried foods, takeaways and hard margarines.

As you can see, the levels of saturated and unsaturated fat in your cooking oil is very important. We have broken down the most common oils in the simple table below for you.

what

* Ideal balance of Omega 3 to Omega 6.

Does Smoke Point matter?

Other than the levels of different fats in your oil, if you are cooking with oil, you need to ensure that the smoke point is suitable. It can be dangerous to take an oil over its smoke point as this can cause the chemical structure to break down, which is why we always recommend cold pressed rapeseed oil for high temperature cooking as it has a smoke point of 230°C.

Are Vitamins and minerals found in oil?

Some oils, especially those that are cold pressed, can contain naturally occurring vitamins and minerals. Plant sterols can also be found in some oils, learn more about these in our blog post.

Cold pressed rapeseed oil contains vitamin E, vitamin K and catotenoids including provitamin A. Vitamin E is an important antioxidant and vitamin K is needed for efficient blood clotting. Provitamin A is essential for healthy skin, eyesight, growth and reproduction and, carotenoids contain luteins which are an antioxidant and give the oil its distinctive yellow colour.

So what is the healthiest oil to cook with?

We want an oil with low saturated fat, high unsaturated fat (including both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated), a high smoke point and containing as many other vitamins and minerals as possible.

The obvious choice has to be cold pressed rapeseed oil (but we would say that, wouldn’t we!) From the table, we can see that cold pressed rapeseed oil has the lowest saturated fat levels, a good balance of both types of unsaturated fat, a high smoke point and also contains vitamin E and plant sterols.

what is the healthiest oil to cook with legend

All oils contain a mixture of unsaturated fat and saturated fat and the healthiest ones to use are those with the lowest saturated fat and highest unsaturated fat.

So, if you’re asked what is the healthiest oil to cook with, you now know that you want an oil with a low saturated fat content and high in unsaturated fat. Cold pressed rapeseed oil is ideal, find out more here and find stockists here.

Duncan Farrington takes a closer look at what are fats, the different types of fats and clears up some of the confusion surrounding them:

We often hear contradicting messages about what we should and should not eat in our diets, we are told some foods are ‘good’ and others are definitely ‘bad’. It is confusing and frustrating sometimes not knowing what to do for the best. I really believe in keeping things simple when it comes to eating a healthy diet, plus being honest with myself in the choices I make. For example, I personally enjoy spending an evening with friends over a couple of beers, but if I was to do this every evening of the week, over time it would lead to unhealthy consequences. The choice is mine.

What are fats?

In our diet, we need the right balance of macro and micro nutrients. Macro nutrients are the main food groups of carbohydrate, protein and fat. If we eat a balance of the three macro nutrients, preferably in as broader range of different foods as possible and ideally in a non-processed diet, we will also get all the micro nutrients of minerals and vitamins needed in our diet too.

As a very simple rule of thumb, a healthy diet consists of plenty of fruit and vegetables, plus around a third of our daily food intake coming from each of the main food groups – carbohydrate, protein and fat.

Carbohydrates are found in foods such as cereals and rice, bread, potatoes, pasta, sugar.

Proteins are found in meats, fish, pulses.

Fats are found in cooking oils, fats and nuts.

It can become more confusing when we consider that most foods contain a mixture of the different food groups. For example, milk and dairy foods contain carbohydrates, proteins and fats as well as important vitamins and minerals. Fruits are a great source of minerals and fibre, but also contain carbohydrates (sugars). Eggs have both protein and fat. However foods such as biscuits and cakes are equally high in fat and sugar.

Fat is a crucial part of our diet, it is the most efficient source of energy, it helps our bodies absorb fat soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A,D,E and K. Fats play crucial roles within our bodies from cell membrane formation, to the development of our brain and even communication between different cells. They also insulate organs and contribute towards maintaining body temperature.

Like other food groups, fats are also complex, they are formed from fatty acids and can be split into three main types; Saturated, Poly-unsaturated and Mono-unsaturated. These terms are simply a description of the molecular make up of the particular fatty acid in ratio of the carbon to hydrogen atoms and how they are bonded together. Don’t worry about the chemistry – I struggle with it myself. However, just as we need a balance of macro nutrients in our diets, we also need a balance of the different fats, with around an equal split between saturated, poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats being a simple rule of thumb.

The much-heralded Mediterranean diet is shown as an example of healthy eating, where the population had much lower cases of heart disease compared with northern European populations. The Mediterranean diet is low in saturated fat, mainly comprising of olive oil, oily fish which contains poly-unsaturated fats and plenty of fruit and vegetables. This compared with a traditional northern European diet which is high in saturated fat, mainly from animal fats and not enough fruit and vegetables. It is important to recognise that the total fat consumed in the two diets was similar, it was just that one was in the right balance, where the other was not.

An easy way to recognise a saturated fat is that it is solid at room temperature, only becoming liquid once it is heated. Over the years, successful health messages have resulted in greater awareness of the need to reduce our saturated fat intake in Britain, which has been largely successful. We now eat less fatty meat and more sources of plant-based fats.

Oily fish is an important part of the Mediterranean diet because it is a good source of poly-unsaturated fatty acids. Poly-unsaturated fatty acids play vital roles in the reduction of cholesterol in our bodies as well as being crucial for healthy brain and eye development. They are often called essential fatty acids, as the body can only get them in the diet and can not make them internally. These fats can also be found in certain nuts and seeds such as rapeseed, sunflower seed or peanuts. As nutritionists became aware of the need and role of poly-unsaturated fats in the diet following World War II, food companies developed non-dairy spreads to replace butter which has a higher saturated fat content with ‘healthier’ alternatives such as sunflower or corn oil, these have less saturated fat and higher poly-unsaturated fats. However, over the years, knowledge and learning about these complex fatty acids increased, to discover that poly-unsaturated fats are also made up of different types which can be broadly categorised in to Omega 3 and Omega 6. Not only did scientists discover the different types of poly-unsaturated fats, they also discovered that bodies need to consume these in an ideal balance of around two parts of Omega 6 for every one part of Omega 3.

With this new-found knowledge, it was also realised that the oils traditionally used to make non-dairy spread, were good sources of Omega 6, but had little or no Omega 3. Additionally, people who eat a high proportion of processed foods, much of it using sunflower, corn or palm oils for example, were in fact eating an unhealthy ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 of up to 20 times to 1, compared to the ideal of 2 to 1, causing other bad health issues in our diet. Some responsible food manufacturers have recognised this problem and have replaced such unbalanced fats with better options. A good example is a leading brand of non-dairy spread which used to be made with sunflower oil, which had the strap line in advertising campaigns in the 1980’s about it being ‘high in poly-unsaturates’, even though sunflower oil has no omega 3. The recipe was completely changed to replace sunflower oil with rapeseed oil, which has the perfect balance of poly-unsaturated fats in a ratio of 2.6g of Omega 6 for every 1g of Omega 3.

The final type of fat we need in our diet is mono-unsaturated. Mono-unsaturated fats are found in plant foods such as nuts and seeds, with olive oil and rapeseed oil being rich sources of these fats, as well as avocados for example.

For more information on what are fats and the role of fats in our diet, look at https://www.farrington-oils.co.uk/interesting-oil/ which also includes three excellent articles form the British Nutrition Foundation.

As I said at the start, information and advice can be confusing and frustrating, but for my part I stick to my own rules of:

Eat a well-balanced diet, around a third each of carbohydrate, protein and fat

The broader the diet of different foods and meals I enjoy, the better

Eat a well-balanced diet of the different fats

‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ foods don’t really exist, it is just the quantity of each that makes a difference

Be honest with yourself – I know what treats to enjoy sparingly and what I should eat more of. More cabbage, less biscuits!

For more information, The British Nutrition Foundation has written independent articles for us on The Importance of Fats, Introduction to Healthy Fats and A Comparison of Different Culinary Oils.

Did you know that cold pressed rapeseed oil is a great, heart-happy oil? Are you looking to improve your health? Well we have one simple change for you that will help you with this goal. Mellow Yellow Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil is a brilliantly healthy, British cooking oil that is grown, pressed and bottled in Northamptonshire. Read on to find out more about all the fantastic health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil…

Top 4 Health Benefits of Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil

Low saturated fat

A balance of Omega 3 and Omega 6

Contains Vitamin E

Naturally occurring plant sterols

Low saturated fat

Saturated fat is usually found in high levels in fatty meats, full fat dairy products, coconut oil and lard. For many years, health professionals have advised against consuming high amounts of saturated fat as they have been shown to raise your LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) levels. LDL is known as ‘bad’ cholesterol as high levels of LDL blood cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease by building up in our arteries and causing them to narrow. Cold pressed rapeseed oil, however, has very low levels of saturated fat. This is one of the major health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil! For more information from the British Heart Foundation, click here.

A balance of Omega 3 & Omega 6

Mellow Yellow Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil contains both Omega 3 and Omega 6. These are essential fatty acids that the body is unable to produce itself so we need to ensure that we consume these in our diet. These two essential fatty acids contribute to brain development, growth and maintaining a healthy immune system. It is important that we consume these two fatty acids in the correct ratio as found in cold pressed rapeseed oil. It is this ratio that makes this one of our top health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil. We have more information on Omega 3 and 6 on our Health and Nutrition page.

Contains Vitamin E

Another of the health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil is that it contains vitamin E. Vitamin E occurs naturally in cold pressed rapeseed oil and is needed for a strong immune system and healthy eyes and skin.

Naturally occurring plant sterols

Last but not least in our top health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil are the naturally occurring plant sterols found in this brilliant oil. Plant sterols are fat-soluble compounds found in some vegetables, nuts and seeds, including rapeseed. They are similar in structure to cholesterol therefore when eaten, plant sterols compete with cholesterol for absorption into the bloodstream. Our bodies find it easier to absorb plant sterols as they block the cholesterol from being absorbed. This results in the cholesterol passing through and out of the body via the stool. Find more information here.

Comparison of oils:

With these brilliant health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil, it’s easy to see why so many people are swapping to Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil! Find out where to buy here.

If you want to know more about cold pressed rapeseed oil, how we produce it, how it grows, the simple way we press the seeds to produce our cold pressed rapeseed oil and more on what is so special about cold pressed rapeseed oil, have a look at this article!

For recipe inspiration on what to cook with cold pressed rapeseed oil, visit our Recipe page here.

Weight gain and obesity are a twenty-first-century health issue. With all of this temptation surrounding us, it’s easy to go up a dress size without even noticing it. However, by adopting these simple healthier lifestyle steps shared with us from the British Nutrition Foundation into your daily regime, alongside a careful exercise programme, you can drastically reduce the extra weight you’ve been carrying.

How can I maintain a healthy body weight?
Being overweight increases the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. In order to maintain a healthy body weight, it is necessary to consume roughly the same amount of energy (calories) as your body uses for normal bodily functions and physical activity. Reducing fat intake can often help cut back on calories but it is also important to reduce your amount of ‘free sugars.’ ‘Free sugars’ are added to foods by manufacturers, cooks and consumers (such as table sugar) as well as sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juice. It’s worth noting that sugars found in fruits and vegetables and in milk and milk products such as plain yoghurt and cheese are not classed as free sugars. Foods that are often high in fat and/or free sugars include cakes, biscuits, pastries, desserts, deep fried foods, crisps, butter, cream, chocolate, sweets, some cheeses and oils/spreads, so try to eat these foods less often.

Remember the following when selecting and preparing food to help reduce your daily calorie intake and aim to consume a healthy, balanced diet:

Base meals on starchy foods, whole grain and high fibre versions where possible, such as wholemeal bread, wholemeal pasta, brown rice and potatoes with skins and plenty of fruits and vegetables
Remove visible fat from meat, skin from poultry, buy lean cuts wherever possible and try replacing some meat in your diet with pulses
Grill, bake, poach or steam foods instead of frying or roasting them
Choose low-fat, unsweetened dairy products (e.g. skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, reduced-fat cheese and low-fat plain yoghurt)
Use reduced fat spreads where possible and opt for those high in unsaturated fats, see our article Make Sure You Eat the Good Fats for more information on this
Choose tomato-based rather than creamy sauces
Cook from scratch wherever possible
Opt for low-calorie drinks such as unsweetened tea and coffee or plain water rather than sugars-sweetened options
Limit fruit juice to 150ml per day. Try diluting it with water to make it go further.
If you are hungry between meals, snack on fresh fruit and vegetables rather than foods high in fat and/or free sugar
Eat more fibre – adults should be aiming to consume 30 g fibre per day to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and colon cancer. Fibre-rich foods include wholegrain foods, potatoes with skins, fruit and vegetables, pulses, nuts and seeds.

Although sugars have been stealing a lot of media coverage recently, it is still important to think about the amount and type of fats in your diet in relation to weight gain and health.
The following article by the British Nutrition Foundation explains why Mellow Yellow is a great source of the ideal type of fat we should be including in our diet.

What is fat?
Fat is a macronutrient (like protein and carbohydrate) and is made up of fatty acids. Fatty acids can be classified as saturated or unsaturated depending on their chemical structure. Unsaturated fatty acids include monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. All fats provide 9 calories (kcal) per gram, which is more than double the number of calories provided by each gram of protein and carbohydrate that we eat (4 kcal per gram each). A high fat diet can, therefore, lead to weight gain over time.

Why do we need it?
Fat is a good source of energy and we need some of it in our diets to help our bodies to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Within the body, fatty acids form an integral part of our cell membranes, helping to insulate and protect our internal organs, maintaining our body temperature and is involved in lots of body processes such as the development of our brains and the communications which occur between different cells. Cholesterol is needed to produce bile acids, which help us to digest food, and also some of our hormones.
We are able to synthesise most of the specific fatty acids we need apart from two polyunsaturated fatty acids – alpha linolenic acid (an omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acid) and linoleic acid (an omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acid). Your body needs these for brain development, growth and for a healthy immune system. They are described as ‘essential fatty acids’ as we need to obtain small amounts from our diet. Alpha-linolenic acid is found in rapeseed, walnut and soya oils and spreads made from these. Linoleic acid is also found in plant-based oils such as sunflower, corn, peanut, rapeseed, olive, safflower, sesame, walnut and soya oil and spreads made from these. Both of the essential fatty acids are present in smaller amounts in foods such as meat, eggs and oily fish.

How much fat should we be eating?
UK dietary guidelines recommend that adults consume no more than 35% of the energy from their foods from fat. This equates to roughly 90g of fat per day for men and 70g for women. Our fat intake in the UK has been falling since the 1960s and, on average, we are now eating around these amounts. While low-fat diets were promoted in previous years, diets containing a moderate amount of fat can be easier to adhere to. So while it is important to try to cut down your total fat consumption, if you are struggling to do this, focus on choosing healthier types of fat.

Saturated fat intake should be restricted to no more than 11% of food energy, which equates to roughly 30g for men and 20g for women, per day. This is because a high intake of saturated fat has been linked to high blood cholesterol, which is a well-known risk factor for heart disease. Aim to replace saturated fat in your diet with small amounts of unsaturated fats by opting for foods rich in unsaturated fats or complex carbohydrates such as wholegrain foods.