Corn oil can be used for cooking and its neutral taste makes it suitable for a wide variety of dishes and recipes. The food industry also uses corn oil in many processed foods. However, not all fats have the same influence over your health and it is important to know what types of fat are found in corn oil before deciding to use it.
Types of Fat
Corn oil contains 120 calories and 13.6 g of total fat per 1 tbsp. The main type of fat found in corn oil is polyunsaturated fat, with a total of 7.4 g per 1 tbsp. The rest of the fat corresponds to saturated fat, with 1.8 g per 1 tbsp., and monounsaturated fat, with 3.8 g per 1 tbsp.
Polyunsaturated Fats
Polyunsaturated fatty acids have the characteristic of helping lowering total and LDL cholesterol, which could help you reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association recommends that the 25 percent to 35 percent of your calories coming from fat be mainly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.
Omega-6 Fatty Acids
Corn oil is rich in polyunsaturated fat and especially in a type of polyunsaturated fat called omega-6 fatty acids. Of the 7.4 g of polyunsaturated fat found per 1 tbsp. of corn oil, 7.3 g corresponds to omega-6 fats, which are also called linoleic acid. Omega-6 fats are considered essential fatty acids in the human diet.
Omega-6 to Omega-3 Ratio
Omega-6 fats constitute an important essential fat, but the problem in the American diet is that the balance between omega-6 and omega-3 is compromised. Because of the increased use of corn oil, soybean oil and cottonseed oil, Americans are getting too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3, which compromises the balance between these two essential fatty acids. The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio has increased from 2-to-1 to more than 10 to 20-to-1 in the last 50 years, according to health expert Dr. Gabe Mirkin, and this could be the cause of the higher incidence of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and autoimmune disorders, in Westernized societies.
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