Stethoscope

Stethoscope

Stethoscope on a printed sheet of paper

As a homemaker your responsibilities are endless. You want the best for you family and health comes first in the list of priority. Choosing the right edibles that provide nutrition is one of the goals every homemaker focuses on.

Today, oil has become a controversial ingredient (due to the healthy eating propaganda). While kitchen-in-charges at home are giving a radical makeover to their diets with zero fat foods, food lovers are looking for ways to enjoy their favorite fish & chips minus the extra fat.

So, how do oils influence the diet? It all depends on the type and nature of the fat it contains. Selecting the right culinary oil can connect the dots between health and taste.

Why body needs oil?

Fats present in oils are infamous for the adverse effects they have on the human body. However, human anatomy is very much dependent on fats that come from oils. Dietary fats are essential for the body.

  • Fats are the source of energy that body requires to perform activities.
  • Fats are the source of fatty acids that we need for development and functioning of the body but cannot be produced.
  • Fats envelop nerve cells and help transmitting electrical messages and also a significant portion of human brain is made of fat that keeps the functioning error “free.
  • Fat works as a gatekeeper for the body cells; it oversees the incoming and outgoing of elements in cells.
  • Fats promote healthy skin.
  • Fats keep bones healthy.
  • Fats help in producing steroid hormones in the body needed for regulation of many biological processes.
  • Essential vitamins like A, D and K are soluble in fat, so, fat is needed for the absorption of these vitamins.

The right choice

You walk into a departmental store and the long isle displaying a variety of edible oils, making it hard to decide which one to pick. The fallacious marketing strategies are adopted to get you invest a hefty amount in a bottle of oil that will affect your health adversely. However, the fundamentals of buying good oil that will add aroma, texture, and taste as well as provide healthy benefits are tricky but not impossible.

So, before embarking in buying healthy cooking oil for your family, here is a guide everyone must go through.

Understanding fatty acids-Fats are micronutrients essential for the development. There are three types of it- saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and trans fat.

Saturated fats are fats that contain a high proportion of saturated fatty acids. This type of fat is infamous for causing heart diseases and increasing bad lipids in blood plasma. Hence, their consumption should be regulated.

Mostly found in plant oils, unsaturated fats remain liquid at room temperature and can be categorised in two types depending upon the nature of fatty acid present in it.

  • Monounsaturated Fats-monounsaturated Fatty Acid (MUFA) are found in nuts and vegetable oils. Consuming foods that are high in monounsaturated fats can potentially lower “bad” LDL cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats may also keep “good” HDL cholesterol levels high.This may also benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control, which can be especially helpful if you have type 2 diabetes.

Sources of MUFA

  • Avocado oil
  • Oils from nuts
  • Vegetable oils
  • Canola
  • Olive
  • Macadamia nut oil
  • Sunflower Oil.
  • Tallow
  • Grape-0seed oil etc.

But eating more unsaturated fat without cutting back on saturated fat may not result in good level of lipids in blood

  • Polyunsaturated Fats(PUFA)- Found mainly in vegetable oils, this fat remain liquid at room temperature. It has great health benefits. Consuming polyunsaturated fat in lieu of saturated fat can help lower the risk of heart diseases, and bad cholesterol in the blood. The two most important fatty acids present in polyunsaturated fat are omega 3 and omega 6.With an array of health benefits, consuming polyunsaturated fats in a balanced ratio may decrease the risk of high cholesterol and heart diseases.

Sources of PUFA

  • Soybean
  • Sesame Oil
  • Safflower
  • Chia Seed oil etc.

Trans Fats- can be categorised into two types, natural and artificial. While natural trans fats have been part of our diet ever since we began eating the meat and dairy from ruminant animals, artificially produced trans fats pose great threat towards health as the chemical treatment of the oil changes its chemical structure, turning it from a liquid into a solid and significantly increases risk of heart diseases.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants are the nutrients that reduce burning impairment to the body tissues. The most common nutrient is Vitamin E, although oils contain mixtures of tocopherols and tocotrienols that differ in their contribution to the constancy of oils and also vary in their implication for human nutrition. Oil having more than one antioxidant holds good value in terms of nutrition.

Smoke Point: Smoke point is the oxidative stability, which is, how resistant the oil is in reacting with oxygen before breaking down and potentially producing harmful compounds while exposed to continuous heat. The higher the smoke points the more convenient to expose such oil to extreme heat. However high smoke point oils are great for saut©ing, oven baking and stir-frying.

 Best Oil practice

  • Buy Oils in small bottles to keep them fresh (Small bottles are equal to shorter storage time)
  • Buy organic oils that come in dark glass containers.
  • Preserve oils in a cold and dark place. (Temperature and light can alter the chemical composition of the oils)
  • Avoid buying polyunsaturated oils in a plastic bottle.

Oils for Health

Excess oil consumption has its shortcomings. The key to healthy oil consumption is quantity and variants. While consuming on saturated fat can be harmful to the heart, only vegetable oil intake can also result in a deficit of many nutrients. Smartly blending different oils in the diet can supply the adequate amount of fat, antioxidants and other nutrients in the body.

(Disclaimer: Writer is Priyanka Kharbanda, Sr Brand Manager, Modi Naturals Ltd, Educator,  Public Health Nutrition. Views expressed are personal opinion.)

Be a part of Elets Collaborative Initiatives. Join Us for Upcoming Events and explore business opportunities. Like us on Facebook , connect with us on LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter , Instagram.

Related Wellness


whatsapp--v1