Oil, the major ingredient for cooking in every kitchen of India. But, how to choose between a variety of oils available in the market….
Which oil is best for your family’s health?
Which oil is wholesome and provide all the necessary nutrients?
Which oil contains fewer fats?
And too many questions like this….
Oils can be differentiated on the basis of fats content, smoke point, stability, nutrients content and, quality of raw ingredients.
According to experts, Olive oil is considered as best oil for health.
Fats in Olive oil
All cooking oils are composed of three different types of fatty acids, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and saturated fats. And oils are categorized based on which type of fatty acid is dominant in it.
Experts says to choose the oil which is lower in saturated fats and higher in other types of fats that are healthier. Polyunsaturated fats maybe little healthier for heart.
Nutrition and cooking experts say that, most healthy and versatile oil to cook and eat is Olive oil. Overly processed and refined oils are not healthy to eat. That is why extra virgin Olive oil is considered best for cooking. Extra virgin Olive oil contains monounsaturated fats dominantly and some polyunsaturated fats.
Smoke Point of Olive oil
Talking about smoke point of Olive oil, smoke point of oil stops simmering and starts smoking. More stable the oil, higher the smoke point. When we heat oil past its smoking point, its nutrients and healthy components start decomposing and toxic fumes start generating, which creates harmful free radicals.
Usually, polyunsaturated fats are unstable and oils rich in polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats have low smoke point, so they can catch fire easily. And to reduce this, oils with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are refined. But, refinement process makes oil unhealthy.
And Olive oil also have low smoke point, so olive oil must not be used for deep frying and cooking at higher temperature.
Nutritional Value of Olive oil
According to USDA, one tablespoon (13.5 g) of olive oil contains,
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119 calories
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13.5 g fat, out of which only 1.86 g fat is saturated and rest is monounsaturated and polyunsaturated
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1.9 mg vitamin E
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0.3 mg sodium
Health Benefits of Olive oil
1. Olive oil is rich in healthy monounsaturated fats, which reduces inflammation and have beneficial effects on genes related to cancer.
2. Olive oil contains high amount of antioxidants and vitamin E, and help to protect blood cholesterol from oxidation.
3. Olive oil also helps to prevent strokes, that are usually caused by blood clotting in brain.
4. Olive oil protects against heart problems.
5. Olive can help to fight from Alzheimer disease and type 2 Diabetes.
These are proven benefits of olive oil and is considered as best according to experts, still one point is to be remembered that, olive cannot be used for deep frying and cooking at higher temperature. So, for that purpose, other oils can be used.
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