By Dr. Joseph Mercola with Rachael Droege
Although mainstream media portrays olive oil as the healthiest oil, this title does not extend to cooking. Olive oil is primarily a monounsaturated fat. This means that it has one double bond in its fatty acid structure. Although a monounsaturated fat is inherently more stable than a polyunsaturated fat, the overabundance of oleic acid in olive oil creates an imbalance on the cellular level, which has been associated to an increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease. Olive oil is a smart fat to include in your diet in a non-heated form, however.
In my opinion, polyunsaturated oils, which include vegetable oils like corn, soy, safflower and canola, are the worst oils to cook with because of the trans-fatty acids introduced during the hydrogenation process, which results in increased dangers of chronic diseases such as breast cancer and heart disease.
As you can see in the chart below, coconut oil contains the most saturated fat of all edible oils. Don’t be scared away by the negative view of ‘saturated fat’ portrayed by the media. Many studies have shown that a low-fat diet is not the answer for preventing heart disease, and some scientists are calling for new dietary guidelines that reflect this discovery.
Type of Oil | Monunsaturated | Polyunsaturated | Saturated |
Canola | 58.9 | 29.6 | 7.1 |
Coconut | 5.8 | 1.8 | 86.5 |
Corn | 24.2 | 58.7 | 12.7 |
Flaxseed | 22 | 74 | 4 |
Grapeseed | 16.1 | 69.9 | 8.1 |
Olive | 77 | 8.4 | 13.5 |
Palm | 37 | 9.3 | 49.3 |
Palm Kernel | 11.4 | 1.6 | 81.5 |
Peanut | 46.2 | 32 | 16.9 |
Safflower | 12.6 | 73.4 | 9.6 |
Sesame | 39.7 | 41.7 | 14.2 |
Soybean | 23.3 | 57.9 | 14.4 |
Source: http://www.virgintogo.co.uk/
Source: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/10/15/cooking-oil.aspx