A Guide to Choosing Healthy Oils

Updated on November 10, 2008.

If you're not sure how to choose healthy oils for cooking, it's important that you understand the essential differences between saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Once you understand the basic characteristics of these fatty acids, you'll know which commonly available oils are good for your health, and which ones you should avoid whenever possible.

Here's a look at the basic differences between the three types of fatty acids that are found in all commonly available oils:

Saturated fatty acids pack together tightly, making oils that contain a large percentage of them extremely stable when exposed to heat and light. Oils that have a high percentage of saturated fatty acids are your best choice for cooking.

Monounsaturated fatty acids do not pack together as tightly as saturated fatty acids do. They are relatively stable when exposed to heat, so oils that contain a high percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids are a fair choice for cooking.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids do not pack together very well. They are unstable when extracted out of whole foods, so oils that have a high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids tend to produce significant amounts of free radicals when exposed to heat. These oils should never be used for cooking.

So in evaluating plant oils for cooking, it should be clear that oils that contain a high percentage of saturated fatty acids are more stable than those that contain a high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids. When exposed to heat and light during processing, storage, and use, oils that contain a high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids tend to contain more free radicals than oils that contain mainly saturated and/or monounsaturated fatty acids.

To put this information to use, here's a look at the fatty acid composition of fourteen oils that are commonly available at regular grocery and health food stores:

Coconut Oil:

% Saturated	% Monounsaturated	% Polyunsaturated
91.9	6.2	1.9

Coconut oil is by far the healthiest cooking oil. For information on the premium coconut oil that I use and recommend, please feel free to view: The Health Benefits of Premium Virgin Coconut Oil.

Palm Oil:

% Saturated	% Monounsaturated	% Polyunsaturated
51.6	38.7	9.7

Of all commonly available plant oils, palm oil is second only to coconut oil in its ability to remain stable when exposed to heat. If you did not use palm oil when you were growing up, you might find its taste and odor to be objectionable.

Olive Oil:

% Saturated	% Monounsaturated	% Polyunsaturated
13.8	75.9	10.3

Its high percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids makes olive oil relatively stable when exposed to heat. For cooking, it is the next best choice after coconut and palm oil. If you have difficulty maintaining your ideal weight, use olive oil sparingly, as its monounsaturated fatty acids are quite long in structure, which makes them more prone to being stored as fat than short or medium chain fatty acids. Believe it or not, butter is less likely to cause weight gain than olive oil because it contains a high percentage of short and medium chain fatty acids.

Avocado Oil:

% Saturated	% Monounsaturated	% Polyunsaturated
12.1	73.8	14.1

Like olive oil, it has a high percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids, which makes avocado oil relatively stable when exposed to heat. Avocado oil is best used for skin moisturizing purposes. Coconut oil is also an excellent skin moisturizer, and is less expensive per ounce than avocado oil.

Peanut Oil:

% Saturated	% Monounsaturated	% Polyunsaturated
18.0	48.0	34.0

Because it has slightly more monounsaturated fatty acids than polyunsaturated fatty acids, peanut oil is relatively stable when exposed to heat. If you use peanut oil, I recommend that you limit use to just a few times per month.

Sesame Oil:

% Saturated	% Monounsaturated	% Polyunsaturated
14.9	41.5	43.6

Sesame oil has almost equal percentages of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. It shouldn't be used for cooking on a regular basis, and should be used raw only on occasion.

Canola Oil:

% Saturated	% Monounsaturated	% Polyunsaturated
7.4	61.6	31.0

Although it contains a high percentage of relatively stable monounsaturated fatty acids, canola oil goes rancid quite easily, and relative to olive oil, forms high concentrations of trans fatty acids. Canola oil consumption has also been linked to vitamin E deficiency and heart disease, especially when a person is not getting enough saturated fatty acids in his or her diet. I recommend staying away from canola oil whenever possible.

Corn, Sunflower, Safflower, and Cottonseed Oils:

	% Saturated	% Monounsaturated	% Polyunsaturated
Corn	13.6	29.0	57.4
Sunflower	10.8	20.4	68.7
Safflower	6.5	15.1	78.4
Cottonseed	27.1	18.6	54.3

I recommend staying away from these oils completely. All of them contain large percentages of polyunsaturated fatty acids. They also have high concentrations of omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause a variety of health problems as described in my look at healthy vs. unhealthy fats and oils.

Hemp and Flaxseed Oil:

	% Saturated	% Monounsaturated	% Polyunsaturated
Hemp	10.0	12.5	77.5
Flaxseed	9.8	21.1	69.1

I don't recommend cooking with these oils because of their high concentrations of unstable polyunsaturated fatty acids. If their manufacturers have minimized exposure to heat and light with their processing and bottling techniques, a small amount of these oils in their raw forms can be a part of a healthy diet. But it's healthier to eat their seeds freshly ground.

Grape seed Oil:

% Saturated	% Monounsaturated	% Polyunsaturated
10.0	16.8	73.2

Grape seed oil should also be avoided when cooking. As with most other vegetable oils, it contains a high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids which produce significant amounts of free radicals when exposed to heat.

Please Note: I calculated all of the fatty acid percentages listed above using the nutrient profiles for each oil as listed under the USDA nutrient database.

Based on the information above, I generally recommend using mainly coconut oil and/or olive oil for cooking.

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