Sunflower and canola oil are some the best choices for sautéing and stir-frying. They contain heart-healthy fats, have a mild flavour and are not expensive. Other good choices for high-heat cooking include light olive oil, sesame oil and rice bran oil. Use spray oils as much as possible to limit adding extra calories.
Good quality extra virgin olive oil is the safest and healthiest oil to cook with and here in Australia we are fortunately to have some of the best quality oil in the world.
Canola oil as one of the healthiest cooking oils because it offers blends of heart-healthy fats (as do olive and soybean oils). “Canola oil is also a great source of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs),” says Sollid.
Canola oil is recommended by leading health authorities because of its health properties, in particular, the low level of saturated fat and relatively high levels of omega 3 and 6 fats. These properties makes canola oil an ideal choice for people wanting to improve their overall health.
Canola oil is suitable for frying. Some research suggests that it can improve insulin sensitivity and help reduce cholesterol levels compared with other sources of fat.
Some of the healthier cooking oils that can withstand higher cooking temperatures include olive oil, avocado oil, sesame oil, and safflower oil. Plus, they contain various unsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants, and other compounds that may offer health benefits.
Choose plant-based oils rich in unsaturated fat.
The heart association suggests the following cooking oils, which meet its health standards: canola, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, soybean and sunflower, as well as specialty oils like avocado, grape-seed and sesame.
We generally try to reach for monounsaturated fats when pan-frying. These healthy fats are liquid at room temperature (as compared to saturated fat like lard, butter and coconut oil that are solid at room temp). Our favorite healthy fats for pan-frying are avocado oil, canola oil and olive oil.
Nutrition and cooking experts agree that one of the most versatile and healthy oils to cook with and eat is olive oil, as long as it's extra virgin. “You want an oil that is not refined and overly processed,” says Howard. An “extra virgin” label means that the olive oil is not refined, and therefore of high quality.
Heart-healthy oils like canola, corn, olive, peanut, and sunflower oils contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. They help to lower harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and raise healthy high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.
Canola is often considered better than sunflower oil due to its higher oleic acid content, which decreases bad cholesterol, but studies have found that the two have the about same effect when it comes to preventing heart disease.
Olive and canola oils are suitable for pan frying and medium-heat cooking, while canola oil is better for deep frying and high-heat searing. For dips, dressings, and toppings, extra virgin olive oil is preferable due to its strong flavor.
The oils which should be avoided for cooking are oils like soybean, corn, canola, sunflower, and safflower. These oils have unstable fats and will decimate the nutritional properties of your food. Oh, and they'll give you a big fat health risk in the meantime.
Olive oil has a lower smoke point-the point at which an oil literally begins to smoke (olive oil's is between 365° and 420°F)-than some other oils. When you heat olive oil to its smoke point, the beneficial compounds in oil start to degrade, and potentially health-harming compounds form.
Monounsaturated Fats
According to MayoClinic.com, consuming MUFAs improves your blood cholesterol levels, reduces your risk of heart disease and may help stabilize blood sugar levels. Foods high in monounsaturated fats include olive, canola, sunflower and sesame oils, avocados, pecans, almonds, salmon and herring.
Notably, olive oil is healthier than canola, as it provides many disease-fighting antioxidants and is good for your heart. If you're looking for a healthy, versatile cooking oil, olive oil is a terrific choice.
Besides the more robust flavor, high-quality olive oil is also healthier for you than canola oil. It contains antioxidants as well as monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat (aka the good kinds of fats).
Both of them have relatively good levels of vitamin E, which helps defend against free radical damage. However, olive oil is higher in vitamin K, which helps contribute to blood clotting and strengthens bones. Because of this, olive oil has an edge when it comes to nutritional value.
Canola oil is mainly heart-healthy unsaturated fat. It has 1 gm of saturated fat, about 9 gm of monounsaturated fat and 4 gm of polyunsaturated fat per tbsp. Canola oil has zero cholesterol. High oleic canola oil has a high smoke point of 475 deg F, while refined canola oil's smoke point is 400.
7. Apples, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruits. These fruits are rich in pectin, a type of soluble fiber that lowers LDL.