Let food be thy medicine ~ Hippocrates, father of medicine.
Food is information - "The very foods you choose to eat are changing the expression of your DNA" ~ Dr. David Permutter, MD.
So what does all that mean? Simplified it means that every morsel of food, every molecule, is affecting your health. Therefore, if health is your end goal, you will want to put in mostly nourishing, health giving foods and limit or eliminate toxic or health robbing foods.
Let's start with something we use everyday for almost every meal - cooking oils and fats.
The Requirements
It's real food and it's healthy - no Frankenfoods.
Flavor - It has to either taste good (i.e. Olive oil on a salad) or not adversely effect the flavor of my food.
Smoke Point - We need to have at least one oil we can cook with at high heat without damaging the fat which then makes it toxic. If your oil begins to smoke this is an indicator that it is now acrid, full of free radicals and unhealthy for you ( it won't taste good either) - throw it out and start over at a lower heat.
The Short List
Avocado Oil - This is my go to cooking oil. It doesn't add any flavor to the food I'm cooking and has a smoke point upwards of 500°F which is plenty hot for anything I might be preparing. Health benefits include being high in Oleic Acid - a heart healthy monounsaturated fat, it is said to improve arthritis symptoms and also has other reported benefits. Avocado oil can also be used cold, like olive oil.
Olive Oil - The health benefits of olive oil are well documented. Among them are being high in antioxidants, monounsaturated fats, heart protective, etc. Extra Virgin Olive oil has a smoke point of around 350°F - therefore it's best used unheated as a dressing for your salads and veggies or to lightly sauté your vegetables at a low heat.
Coconut Oil - Coconut shrimp anyone? Or Chicken? This oil has a high smoke point 350°F for extra virgin and 450°F if refined. It does, however, taste like coconut. So if coconut is not your favorite flavor then you may want to pass on this one. Health benefits all revolve around the medium chain triglycerides (MCT), including capric acid, found in coconut oil.
Grass Fed Butter - I use the Kerry Gold brand to be specific. The flavor is wonderful the smoke point not so much. With a smoke point of around 300°F it should be used for low heat cooking. Eggs are probably my favorite thing to cook in butter or mixed half and half with olive oil for delicious sautéed veggies. Health benefits include anti-inflammatory due to butyric acid, good source of vitamin A and cancer fighting conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). NOTE: Ghee - which is clarified butter has a much higher smoke point around 450 °F you can make your own or buy a grass fed variety.
Disclosure: The grass fed ghee is an affiliate link to Amazon. If you buy it through the link you won't pay one penny more but I'll get a very small commission}
A Word About Canola Oil, Corn Oil and the Other "Industrial Seed Oils"
Pursuant to point #1 We are going to immediately disqualify the entire class of "Industrial Seed Oils" (corn, cottonseed, soybean, safflower, sunflower, etc) because they are toxic. Remember we are looking for real food not something that has to be so harshly refined.
Here is how you make corn oil (Which is basically the same process for all the industrial seed oils)
Almost all corn oil is expeller-pressed, then solvent-extracted using hexane or 2-methylpentane (isohexane). The solvent is evaporated from the corn oil, recovered, and re-used. After extraction, the corn oil is then refined by degumming and/or alkali treatment, both of which remove phosphatides. reference
In Chris Kresser's post 9 Steps to Perfect Health - #1: Don't Eat Toxins he goes through an in-depth explanation about industrial seed oils if you're interested in further information.
Conclusion
Becoming healthy is a step by step process. First we have to eliminate those things that are detracting from our health. Let's start by cleaning out the pantry. If you are currently cooking with canola, corn, soy, grapeseed or any of the other industrial seed oils get rid of them. I realize you can find information about why those oils are healthy, you can also find a lot of information about why they aren't. Let's just play it safe and stick with the ones we know are doing us no harm. And remember - if your oil starts to smoke throw it out and start over at a lower heat. Do you have other healthy cooking oils you love? Let me know in the comments.
In Peace, Love and Health
T
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References:
11 Proven Benefits of Olive Oil
Smoking Points of Cooking Fats & Oils
Why Avocado Oil got Rx Status in France
Eat This, Not That - 20 Benefits of Coconut Oil
7 Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Butter