How to choose cooking oil? Stay disease-free.

Want good oil? You need to know these things!

Some fatty acids are essential fatty acids that the body cannot produce, while some can cause health problems. But interestingly, “some vegetable oils can help reduce cholesterol” , add vitamins to the body, and reduce free radicals, which are a major cause of heart disease and cancer. Therefore, if you want good oil, you should observe the main components of the oil before deciding to buy, which are:

1. Types of fatty acids, and
2. Nutrients and vitamins in vegetable oils

Types of fatty acids in vegetable oils
First, let’s understand why fatty acids are important?

The answer is that fatty acids determine the properties of different oils and affect health differently. Research by doctors and experts has found that

• Saturated Fatty Acids (SFA) increase blood cholesterol levels
• Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) reduce all types of cholesterol in the blood, including good cholesterol
• Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) reduce only bad cholesterol levels

But wait!!! It is true that good fatty acids can help reduce cholesterol, but we should not consume them expecting to lower already high cholesterol because all vegetable oils provide 9 kilocalories per gram or 45 kilocalories per teaspoon.

Nutrients and vitamins in vegetable oils

Besides fatty acids, vegetable oils also contain vitamins and antioxidants as follows:

1. Vitamin E (VITAMIN E) including tocopherols and tocotrienols groups, which help fight free radicals, a major cause of cancer, and also help reduce blood fat levels.
2. Oryzanol (ORYZANOL) which the Brunswick Research Institute in the USA has researched and found to be 6 times more effective as an antioxidant than vitamin E in aqueous conditions.
3. Phytosterol (PHYTOSTEROL) helps reduce bad cholesterol (LDL-C).

To reduce the risk of various diseases, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the American Heart Association recommend the daily intake ratio of fatty acids as SFA: MUFA: PUFA less than 10:10-15:<10 percent of daily energy intake.

Comparison table of fatty acid content in various vegetable oils (unit: percent)

Therefore, before deciding to buy vegetable oil next time, take time to study the nutritional information on the label to ensure you get truly healthy vegetable oil.

How to use oil? The right type and method

Oils used for cooking that are good for health should be oils with low saturated fatty acid content because this type of fat causes the body to produce bad cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C). For oils used in stir-frying or frying, they should have a high smoke point because oils with low smoke points cannot withstand heat and increase the risk of carcinogens more than oils with high smoke points.