Most foods that are prepared on a daily basis are processed with oil. Cooking oil splices ingredients and spices in our everyday meal, while improving the taste of our food, makes it yummy and delicious The fact that oil comes as the most used ingredient spiced to our everyday meal, experts urge to navigate which oil is best or worse for our health. According to Leah Mfiteyesu, a nutrition- specialist at Nutri-mediPlus, many individuals have a bad perception about cooking oil, yet some have totally stopped consuming foods that contain oil. She adds that the important thing is to know is which oil to stop using and the right oil to use as you prepare your everyday meal. “Oil plays an important role in the body, including nutrients that stimulate the body, assisting some vitamins penetrate well inside the body such as vitamin A, D and K., whereas when you lack foods that contain added oil or those that are naturally created with their oils, you are not able to receive those vitamins in the body, which makes it important for us to consume oil,” Mfiteyesu says There are numerous types of oils, including those that considered unhealthy such as oils that contain saturated fats and trans-fat. Such oils, according to Mfiteyesu, can be identified from the normal room temperature, the saturated oil becomes solid, whereas in hot temperature or under heat, the oil become liquid. These oils include pork oil, coconut oil, butter, cheese and many more. She adds that oils with saturated fats also come from processed oils, where they are extracted from natural plants. These oils are transformed to solid, to sustain it stay it for a longer period of time, including margarine. “These fats have negative impacts to our muscles and heart since they add bad cholesterol in the blood that blocks the muscles and these may lead to heart diseases. We need to stop such oils or use it at low pace to avoid any negative effect.” Mfiteyesu further adds that, cooking oils that are considered healthy include oils from natural plants. They come in different forms; Monounsaturated fat: This fat is in avocado, nuts, and vegetable oils, such as canola, olive, and peanut oils. Polyunsaturated fat: This type of fat is mainly in vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, sesame, soybean, and corn oils. According to Healthline, it’s also important to consider whether the oil is still healthy to consume after you’ve heated it during cooking. This is because cooking oils have a range of smoke points, or temperatures at which they’re no longer stable. You should not use cooking oils to cook at temperatures above their smoke point. Oils like avocado’s, sesame, sunflower, olive oil can handle high heat cooking. Some of these oils, research has found that they contain heart-healthy compounds and may help prevent conditions like obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes Experts say that the more variety you have in your diet with the types of fats you consume, the more nutrients you get. Enjoy a variety of oils that are higher in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and lower in saturated fats.
