{"id":651,"date":"2020-09-03T23:30:52","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T23:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aladaymobilemedia.com\/?p=651"},"modified":"2020-09-03T23:30:52","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T23:30:52","slug":"cooking-oils-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aladaymobilemedia.com\/de\/cooking-oils-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooking Oils….The Good …Bad and the UGLY…."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As most of you know I cook. I have been employed at some of the finest restaurants on the west coast. Our site even promotes healthy food via our Good Food Good Life<\/a> page. In addition we also have a Guest Writer feature where people share old family recipes and tell their story of why the recipe is their favorite. As you’ll see at the end of this article this is a collaborated piece with numerous sources. Not something I usually do not do.However, in this case Rob inspired this article. And I figured, well since we all like to eat and many of us enjoy, contrary to what our doctors say, FRIED foods, I would put something together on this hot August afternoon. So without further ado, here is the skinny on available types of cooking oils and the hazards to watch for when selecting a particular type of oil for cooking. For a look at another perspective here is an article from another of my favorite foodie people the drop dead gorgeous Food Babe<\/a>, and the bad oils not to use when considering your family’s health.<\/p>\n

Cooking oil doesn\u2019t just add culinary flair to the average kitchen\u2014 it\u2019s a\u00a0staple\u00a0<\/em>for preparing food, and we need it for some of the best dishes and meals out there!<\/p>\n

Besides the usual suspect ingredients on your plate though, do you ever think about your cooking oil? Where it comes from? How it\u2019s made?\u00a0How it affects the planet?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Turns out some of the most commonplace cooking oils you reach for on grocery store shelves are culprits for bad health, pollution, and even environmental and species degradation.<\/p>\n

We need to think twice before we buy these oils, as much as we love them for cooking.<\/p>\n

Luckily, not\u00a0all<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0cooking oils are bad. In the spirit of keeping things positive (and we could sure use it these days), here are three\u00a0cooking oils you should be wary of\u2014followed by three\u00a0infinitely better cooking oils that you should\u00a0absolutely<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0try.<\/p>\n

\u00b7 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0BAD: Canola oil.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo FromPAT QUILTZ TOO: Mustard\/Rapeseed\/Canola ? Plant
patquiltztoo.blogspot.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is canola<\/a>???<\/p>\n

Canola is a crop with plants from three to five feet tall that produce pods from which seeds are harvested and crushed to create canola oil and meal. These plants also produce small, yellow flowers, which beautify the environment.<\/p>\n

Canola belongs to the\u00a0Brassica<\/em>\u00a0plant family as does mustard, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. Besides the United States, canola is grown in Canada and Australia as well as in Europe and China (but the crop is called \u201cdouble low rapeseed,\u201d referring to its low levels of erucic acid and glucosinolates, in the latter two countries). In America, the ratio of supply versus demand of canola oil is about 1:4, which presents a huge opportunity for U.S. producers to grow more canola. The healthy oil from this crop is consumed all over the world and number three by volume among edible oils.<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE OIL<\/strong><\/h1>\n

THE GMO FACTOR<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Canola:<\/strong><\/p>\n

GMO canola is used mostly to make cooking oil and margarine. Canola seed meal can also be used in food for animals. Canola oil is used in many packaged foods to improve food consistency. Most GMO canola is resistant to herbicides and helps farmers to more easily control weeds in their fields.<\/p>\n

Many GMO crops are used to make ingredients that Americans eat such as cornstarch, corn syrup, corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, or granulated sugar.<\/p>\n

According to the Non-GMO Project<\/a> about 95% of canola produced is genetically modified. This does not bode well for me period…<\/p>\n

This one is practically everywhere! It\u2019s hidden away in processed foods, fried foods, and the average kitchen for cooking and frying, too. But we might not realize just how bad it is \u2014 and when you do, you may want to stop using it or chuck out the bottle altogether.<\/p>\n

Because of the way it is heated and created, canola oil can cause chronic inflammation and even be bad for your heart…as well as your memory! The way it\u2019s grown and produced is no good for the environment either, as it’s almost all genetically modified and blasted with pesticides.<\/p>\n

\u00b7 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0GOOD: Extra Virgin Olive Oil.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Bertoli, My Favorite…I’m sure they won’t mind the plug<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I cook with nothing else….pure olive oil.<\/p>\n

WHAT IS OLIVE OIL???<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Olive oil<\/strong>,\u00a0oil<\/a>\u00a0extracted from the fleshy part of the ripened\u00a0fruit<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0<\/span>olive<\/a>\u00a0tree,\u00a0Olea europaea<\/em>. Olive oil varies in colour from clear yellow to golden; some varieties obtained from unripe fruit have a greenish tinge. Oils of varying characteristics and qualities are produced by almost every country that grows olives, the variations depending on the district and the ripeness of the fruit.<\/p>\n

There are at least eleven health benefits<\/a> to using olive oil. In addition any doctor will tell you if you’re looking to cut you bad cholesterol numbers switch to cooking with olive oil.<\/p>\n

GMO FACTOR<\/h4>\n

According to Olive Oil Times<\/a>,\u00a0 The GMO controversy is not related to olive oil. Currently, there are no GMO olive cultivars in any commercial orchard or nursery anywhere in the world.Let’s hope this is something that stays that way.<\/p>\n

If you have this grade of olive oil in your kitchen, you\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n

Olive oil is chock full of healthy fats and produced in a way that\u2019s gentle on the environment. But, if you get extra virgin (the cr\u00e8me-de-la-cr\u00e8me of olive oils), your olive oil will have a unique grade of antioxidants that could boost heart health, metabolism, and much more.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo from
Palm Oil: Is It A Healthier Choice? – Longevity LIVE
longevitylive.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BAD: Palm oil.<\/strong><\/p>\n

WHAT IS PALM OIL<\/strong><\/h4>\n

According to Healthline<\/a>, Palm oil comes from the fleshy fruit of oil palms. Unrefined palm oil is sometimes referred to as red palm oil because of its reddish-orange color.<\/p>\n

The main source of palm oil is the\u00a0Elaeis guineensis<\/em>\u00a0tree, which is native to West and Southwest Africa. Its use in this region dates back more than 5,000 years.<\/p>\n

A similar oil palm known as\u00a0Elaeis oleifera<\/em>\u00a0is found in South America, but it\u2019s rarely grown commercially. However, a hybrid of the two plants is sometimes used in palm oil production.<\/p>\n

In recent years, oil palm growth has expanded to Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Indonesia. These two countries currently produce more than 80% of the world\u2019s palm oil supply (1Trusted Source<\/span><\/span><\/a>).<\/p>\n

Like\u00a0coconut oil<\/a>, palm oil is semi-solid at room temperature. However, its melting point is 95\u00b0F (35\u00b0C), which is considerably higher than 76\u00b0F (24\u00b0C) for coconut oil. This is due to the different fatty acid compositions of the two oils.<\/p>\n

Palm oil is one of the least expensive and most popular oils worldwide, accounting for one-third of global plant oil production (1Trusted Source<\/span><\/span><\/a>).<\/p>\n

Palm oil comes from palm trees native to Africa, where it has been consumed for thousands of years. It is semi-solid at room temperature and differs from palm kernel oil in nutritional composition.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that palm oil should not be confused with palm kernel oil.<\/p>\n

While both originate from the same plant, palm kernel oil is extracted from the seed of the fruit. It provides different health benefits.<\/p>\n

GMO FACTOR<\/h4>\n

According to National Library of Medicine<\/a>, Oil palm is an important economic crop for Malaysia. Genetic engineering could be applied to produce transgenic oil palms with high value-added fatty acids and novel products to ensure the sustainability of the palm oil industry. Establishment of a reliable transformation and regeneration system is essential for genetic engineering.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Like canola oil, palm oil is just about everywhere. Yes, you can buy it as a cooking oil,\u00a0but it\u2019s more likely you\u2019ll find it hidden in all sorts of processed foods.<\/p>\n

Palm oil is absolutely terrible in more ways than one. Because it\u2019s processed and heated so much to be created it\u2019s really bad for heart health. But what\u2019s\u00a0truly<\/em>\u00a0bad about it is that pristine forests are being rapidly destroyed just to make way for palm oil production.<\/p>\n

This is terrible to both wildlife\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>the local human populations that live near these oil farms.<\/p>\n

\u00b7<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo from
Is Coconut Oil Bad for You? Here’s What the Facts Say …
fortune.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GOOD: Coconut oil.<\/strong><\/p>\n

ABOUT COCONUT OIL<\/h4>\n
\n

Coconut oil<\/a> has grown in popularity in recent years, amid claims that it can do everything from supporting weight loss to slowing the progression of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Many manufacturers have begun to use coconut oil in packaged products, and many people use it for cooking. Many products, such as fried foods, sweets, shampoos,\u00a0coffee<\/a>, smoothies, contain coconut oil.<\/p>\n

HOW IS IT MADE???<\/strong><\/h4>\n

If Google Trends is any indication<\/a>,\u00a0coconut oil<\/a>\u00a0continues to proliferate in pantries and medicine cabinets as the go-to slick of choice among the health conscious. Whether it ends up in your brownies or in your\u00a0hair<\/a>, all coconut oil starts out in a coconut (of course). But, how does it get from\u00a0drupe<\/a>\u00a0to store?<\/p>\n

Myself I have not jumped on the coconut oil bandwagon. While there are benefits to using coconut oil, well, dang-it all I’m just stuck on olive oil. Have been ever since Maria took me into her kitchen to teach me Italian food.<\/p>\n

This oil is the focus of many a health craze, and I\u2019m happy to report that its impacts on the environment are pretty low. So, keep using it for cooking, detox, skincare, natural toothpaste, and all those other rad alternative health uses!<\/p>\n

Coconut oil is here to stay as a less environmentally harmful and healthier oil. Like extra virgin olive oil, it\u2019s full of healthy plant-based fats that are great for heart health, the immune system, and curbing inflammation.<\/p>\n