YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Winter 2019 | Page 13

OILS
AIN’T OILS
CATHERINE SAXELBY, APD MAIFST
Catherine is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and
Nutritionist who has researched and written on almost
all aspects of healthy eating. Her skill lies in translating
scientific research into real nutrition terms. Catherine is
the author of 12 books including her Complete Food
and Nutrition Companion (Hardie Grant). She also runs
the Foodwatch website, offering nutrition information
for consumers (www.foodwatch.com.au)).
Catherine Saxelby helps navigate cooking oils
– which to use and where.
live oil? Canola? Blended? Peanut? I’m often asked
which oil is the best for health and cooking. The
answer: there really is no single oil that is ‘best’ for all
cooking purposes, so a selection of different oils in your kitchen
makes good sense. But first, for the purpose of this article, let’s
revisit the terminology:
O
} } MUFA = monounsaturated fatty acids (good)
} } PUFA = polyunsaturated fatty acids (good, but ‘it’s
complicated’ – see below)
} } SFA = saturated fatty acids (not good)
} } Extra virgin olive oil or EVOO = highest quality olive oil,
which is not blended or refined (good)
When choosing an oil to purchase and cook with, I suggest you
consider four things:
advise) you can choose from many vegetable oils, including
olive, peanut, macadamia, and rice bran oil.
Now (getting very technical), we also consider the omega-6:
omega-3 ratio of PUFA in our diet. Our typical Western diet
tends to be high omega-6: omega-3 ratio – which in essence
isn’t ideal. Increasing our omega-3 PUFA is what we’re after –
for the anti-inflammatory and protective effects they provide.
Good choices in this sense include linseed, hemp, walnut,
canola and soybean oils.
4. Food miles
Here in Australia, we have a number of companies producing
top quality oil from local produce. Buying Australian oils means
supporting Australian farmers and industries, and reducing the
effects of transport pollution on our environment.
1. Its suitability for high-temperature cooking
(e.g. for stir fries and other frying) Here are three highly recommended oils:
For the purpose of high temperature cooking, refined vegetable
oils (that have been processed to remove impurities) are good
choices. Examples include canola, peanut, sunflower, rice
bran and blended olive oil. Recent research has shown that
EVOO also stands up well to high temperatures (although you
may want to save it for drizzling and dressing, given the price). A general purpose oil. And yes you can cook at high
temperatures with quality EVOO.
The reason that most cold pressed, unrefined oils are not suitable
for high temperatures is that they start to degrade at higher
temperatures, and can give off toxic fumes. And the more times
you heat and then cool the oil, the less stable it becomes –
meaning that reusing the oil for cooking is generally a bad idea. 
2. Its nutrition contribution
We’re talking about bioactive substances here – antioxidants
like vitamin E and polyphenols, which essentially fight disease
in our bodies. When oils are refined, heated or chemically
treated, these nutrients are stripped out.
The winners if you’re looking for antioxidants are fresh, high
quality and carefully produced oils like EVOO, cold pressed
macadamia or avocado oils. The fresher the better; just
remember to store them away from direct sunlight.
3. The type of fat
We have already discussed the negative health effects of
saturated fat (SFA) in this issue, and the benefits of
polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) and monounsaturated fat (MUFA).
For SFA, palm and coconut oil are the two big offenders to
avoid. And if you’re looking to include MUFA (as authorities
Extra-virgin olive oil
Peanut oil
Similar to macadamia oil, this oil is monounsaturated and
good for stir fries and Asian cooking.
Linseed (flaxseed) or hemp oil
For cold use (e.g. salad dressings) you could have a tablespoon
every second day. Remember to store it in the fridge to preserve
freshness.
Oils by type
Monounsaturated Polyunsaturated Saturated
Olive
Canola
Peanut
Macadamia
Avocado
Almond
Mustard seed
Rice bran
Sunola (high-oleic
sunflower)
Blended (check label) Sunflower
Maize (corn)
Grapeseed
Soybean
Cottonseed
Walnut
Sesame
Linseed (flaxseed)*
Hemp*
Blended (check label) Coconut
Palm
Note: no oil is 100% monounsaturated or 100% polyunsaturated. Oils
are mixes of the three types of fatty acids – saturated, monounsaturated
and polyunsaturated - with the predominant fatty acid giving the oil its
classification. * Good for omega-3s. A little goes a long way.
WINTER 2019 YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE
13