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 legendwhat is the healthiest oil to cook with fat comparison

 

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.

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:

health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil graph

 

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.

 

Plant sterols – What are they? Where are they found? Duncan Farrington, founder of Farrington Oils, explains.

 

Many health-related issues are a direct result of poor diets, especially Coronary Heart Disease, which is a major killer in westernised populations. One of the biggest causes of Coronary Heart Disease is from high cholesterol. Raised cholesterol levels are partly genetic, but also partly a result of poor dietary choices. By eating a healthy balanced diet, over time you can bring your cholesterol levels back to your normal level.

In recent years, interest has increased in a particular natural food component that actively reduces cholesterol, called plant sterols. Plant sterols are fat-soluble compounds found in some vegetables, nuts and seeds, including rapeseed. They are similar in structure to cholesterol, which is found in animal fats such as meat and dairy. When eaten, plant sterols compete with cholesterol for absorption into the bloodstream. Your body finds it easier to absorb the plant sterols: they block the cholesterol from being absorbed, resulting in the cholesterol passing through and out of the body via the stool.

Plant sterols’ cholesterol-lowering effects have been known for some time. They are considered to be the most effective single food that can lower cholesterol as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. Evidence suggests that eating between 1.5g and 2.4g of plant sterols each day can significantly reduce LDL cholesterol (‘bad’ cholesterol) by up to 10% (Heart UK).

These beneficial plant sterols are present in rapeseed oil. In fact, several vegetable oils contain plant sterols, with rapeseed oil being an excellent source, as shown in the table. Rapeseed oil has over double the sterol content of olive oil, and ten times that of coconut oil.

 

Total sterol content of crude vegetable oils.

Plant Sterol Comparison Chart

Adapted from Gunstone (2004) and Gunstone (2011).

 

As you can see, rapeseed oil contains the highest amount of plant sterols. This table is for crude oils, which means it is based on unrefined oils such as a cold pressed rapeseed oil. If we look at the refined versions of these oils, the plant sterol measurement decreases by up to 40%. This is caused by the bleaching and deodorising process. So, in order to consume more plant sterols from oils, an unrefined and cold pressed rapeseed oil, such as Farrington’s Mellow Yellow, is the best choice.

The knowledge of how effective plant sterols are in lowering cholesterol has led to the appearance of several successful food brands producing fortified foods, such as non-dairy spreads and yoghurt drinks with ‘added plant sterols’. The plant sterols added are actually those recovered from refined vegetable oils.

Although our rapeseed oil contains high amounts of plant sterols in comparison to other oils, I am not suggesting that Farrington’s Mellow Yellow alone will reduce cholesterol levels. To get your full 1.5g to 2.4g of plant sterols a day, you would need to drink around half a bottle of cold pressed rapeseed oil, which is obviously not realistic, nor how I suggest you enjoy our oil! However, by enjoying it alongside other plant sterol containing foods, as part of a healthy diet, you’ll increase your total plant sterol intake and be well on your way to reaching the ideal amount needed to reduce high cholesterol.

Duncan Farrington

 

For more information on this topic, see:
Gunstone F D., (2004). Rapeseed and Canola Oil; Productrion, Processing, Properties and Uses Blackwell Publishing

Gunstone F D., (2011). Vegetable Oils in Food Technology Composition, Properties and Uses Wiley-Blackwell p253-254.

Heart UK. https://heartuk.org.uk