Vegetable oils serve different purposes in cooking, but they deliver little nutritional value other than vitamins K and E. Vitamin K plays an essential role in blood clotting and bone building. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that maintains healthy cells throughout the body and decreases the risk of heart disease. The value of vitamin K in vegetable oil varies depending on the type of oil.
Vegetable Oil
Small droplets of oil found throughout plants, but especially in the seeds, can be extracted by being crushed or by using a solvent. The most common sources of vegetable oil for everyday cooking are canola, safflower, sunflower, peanut, soybean, olive and sesame seed. Vegetable oils are versatile because they can be used directly as an ingredient, and since they can be heated to a high temperature before they burn, they're used to fry and saute.
Vitamin K
Vegetable oil contains vitamin K, but the amount in 1 tbsp. varies from zero percent of the recommended daily value for a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet to as high as 31 percent. Soybean oil provides the highest value of vitamin K, with 1 tbsp. containing 25 mcg, or about 31 percent of the daily value. Canola and olive oil have 8 to 10 mcg per serving, which represents 10 to 12 percent of the daily value. Other commonly used vegetable oils, including peanut, safflower, corn and sesame, contain 0.1 to 1.8 mcg, or up to 2 percent of the daily value.
Importance
Since the body does not store large amounts of vitamin K, it's important to regularly obtain it from dietary sources. Even though vegetables such as broccoli, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts and cabbage contain more vitamin K per serving, canola, soybean and olive oils are considered to be good sources, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. The recommended daily adequate intake is 90 to 120 mcg a day.
Vitamin E
Most vegetable oils also are a source of vitamin E. Canola, peanut, olive, soybean, corn and flaxseed oils all provide 1.9 to 2.4 mg of vitamin E, representing 10 to 12 percent of the recommended daily intake. Safflower oil is higher, with 4.6 mg or 23 percent of the daily intake.
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