So many healthy meals can be made with the help of a great cooking oil, and we checked in with health experts to determine one go-to option to use when working towards losing weight. While you may be aware of the more fattening and calorie-heavy options like canola or corn oil, our health aficionados point towards one “underrated” and “much healthier option: avocado oil. Read on to learn more, and find insight from Lisa Richards, registered nutritionist and creator of The Candida Diet and Reema Hannaford, NASM-certified nutritionist and health expert.
Health Benefits of Avocado Oil
Rather than using a more popular option like canola oil, Richards recommends opting for avocado, as it can provide heart-healthy fats (and tastes just as delicious). "Avocados seem to be the newest trend in health fads," Richards points out, "While consuming all things avocado may be a trend, they have the nutrients to back up their health claims." By replacing your traditional cooking oil or spray with avocado-based ones, you are "enhancing the health benefits of your meal through heart-healthy and anti-inflammatory essential fatty acids," she says.
Traditional cooking oils and sprays contain additives that are not natural to the main ingredient such as lecithin, which she notes "acts as an emulsifier and dimethyl silicone which is an anti-foaming agent." These are not included in avocado oils or sprays. An added benefit to using avocado oil spray for cooking in place of traditional oils, she adds, is its high smoke point, 520 degrees Fahrenheit. This, Richards concludes, "allows you to cook at higher temperatures and even to be used in grilling."
Out of all the cooking oils out there, Richards deems canola oil to be one of the worst for your overall health if used often. "Some oils are created in such a way that contributes to their negative health effects," she says. While Richards adds that canola oil is "at the top of this list," though it is a popular cooking oil and thought to be healthy, it is "quite the opposite." Canola oil is made using crude oil by being heat extracted from grapeseed, she says. From there it is refined, bleached, and deodorized.
"Further purification is needed due to toxic byproducts from the high heat process," Richards points out. Industrial grade carcinogens, she says, are used in the purification process, with hexane and bleach being two primary ones used. "It is considered healthy because canola oil is made using omega-3 fats, but these fats are fragile and denatured during the high heat processing," she warns. This process is known as refining and "refined oils in general should not be considered healthy," she continues.
Hannaford agrees, and also explains how avocado oil is a healthier choice. Because avocado oil is less processed, Hannaford says, "these oils maintain more micro-nutrients, are rich in antioxidants and health-promoting monounsaturated fatty acids," which is great news for your gut and your heart. Less processing, she explains, also means less inflammation." This, as anyone working to lose weight knows, can help you stay satiated for longer!
