While cooking oils are all fats, the type of fats they contain determines whether they're deemed heart-healthy. Like any fats, cooking oils can be saturated or unsaturated. Choosing to the right fats can lower your low-density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, which can reduce your chances of developing heart disease, because LDL can increase plaque inside arteries.
Calories
All fats have the same number of calories, 9 calories per gram of fat. Fat has more calories per gram than either protein or carbohydrates, both of which have 4 calories per gram. American Heart Association guidelines suggest consuming no more than 30 percent of your calories per day from fat. The Harvard School of Public Health suggests consuming 10 to 25 percent of your daily calories from monounsaturated fats and 8 to 10 percent from polyunsaturated fats. Substitute unsaturated fats for saturated fats wherever possible.
Saturated Fats
Saturated fats are easy to recognize at room temperature; they're solid. Saturated fats are the current stepchildren of the fat world, because the American Heart Association states they're the type of fat most likely to raise your "bad" cholesterol levels. Saturated fats include butter, lard, vegetable shortening, palm oil and coconut oil. Coconut oil proponents claim that coconut oil does not have the same harmful cholesterol-raising effects. The Harvard School of Public Health states that recent evidence indicates coconut oil may beneficially raise high-density lipoprotein, which helps lower your LDL levels. Coconut oil may be a good choice when you need saturated fat for cooking.
Unsaturated Fats
Unsaturated fats help lower your cholesterol levels. There are two types of unsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. Both are liquid at room temperature, but monounsaturated fats start to solidify when refrigerated. Monounsaturated fats include avocado oil, canola oil and olive oil. Most nut oils, including almond, hazelnut, macadamia, peanut and walnut, are also monounsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats include corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, safflower, sesame and sunflower oil. Vegetable oil, which is made from a mixture of fats, is also a polyunsaturated fat.
Vitamins
While vitamins are generally considered a good thing in foods, high levels of vitamin K can cause bleeding in people who take anticoagulants such as Coumadin. Avoid vegetable oils high in vitamin K, which include canola oil and soybean oil, when cooking with oil. Most cooking oils are high in vitamin E, with sunflower, safflower, almond and cottonseed oils leading the list. Vitamin E, an antioxidant, can help reduce cell DNA damage caused by substances called free radicals.
References
- Harvard School of Public Health: Shining the Light on Trans Fats
- What's Cooking America: Types of Cooking Fats and Oils
- Ohio State University Extension: Vitamin E; November 2004
- Harvard School of Public Health: Fats and Cholesterol: Out with the Bad, In with the Good
- Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin K; Jane Higdon, Ph.D; May 2004
- American Heart Association: Fats
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