Healthiest Cooking Oil: RD's Expert Advice

Different cooking oils offer unique nutritional profiles, flavors, and heat tolerances, making it beneficial to include a variety in your diet. It's important to remember that fats are an essential nutrient, often unfairly demonized, and are crucial for cell growth, absorbing vitamins like B, and providing energy.

Cooking nutrient-rich foods like vegetables and lean proteins in oil enhances their flavor by caramelizing natural sugars and amino acids, creating a deeper taste and longer-lasting satiety. Fat also adds creaminess to salad dressings, making them more enjoyable and reducing the need for mindless snacking after meals.

Here's a comparison of five popular cooking oils from a nutritional perspective:

Avocado oil, derived from avocados, has gained popularity in recent years due to its high content of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, oleic acid. Similar to olive oil, avocado oil is rich in vitamin E, a potent antioxidant. For optimal health benefits, select unrefined, cold-pressed avocado oil.

Avocado oil has a higher smoke point (around 480°F or 248°C) than olive oil, making it ideal for high-heat cooking. Its pleasant flavor also makes it a great base for salad dressings or an aioli to accompany vegetables.

Canola oil originated in Canada (hence its name, CANola), developed by crossbreeding the rapeseed plant to reduce its toxic compounds. Canola oil is considered “refined,” undergoing extensive chemical processing during production, which may affect fatty acid quality and nutrient content. However, it contains both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, and is rich in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid.

While omega-6 fats are essential, they can be inflammatory if consumed in excess compared to omega-3 fatty acids. The typical Western diet is significantly higher in omega-6 fats due to the widespread use of canola oil in processed foods, while omega-3 fats, found in foods like fatty fish, walnuts, and flaxseeds, are less prevalent.

Canola oil has a high smoke point (400°F or 204°C), suitable for high-heat cooking. Its mild, neutral flavor makes it versatile for various cooking methods like sauteing, stir-frying, grilling, and baking.

Coconut oil was popular a few years ago, but its use has decreased. It's still a good choice occasionally. It's made by pressing fresh coconut meat and extracting the oil. The least processed version is often labeled as virgin or cold-pressed. It's primarily made up of saturated fat and is solid at room temperature. However, its saturated fat is different from animal products like butter because some is a medium-chain fatty acid called lauric acid. Lauric acid is thought to be absorbed more quickly by the body and used for energy. However, studies have found coconut oil can raise LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, so it's not considered heart-healthy. Coconut oil does not contain significant amounts of other vitamins, minerals, or macronutrients.

Coconut oil has a smoke point of around 375–400°F or 190–204°C. It should be used occasionally when it makes sense. For instance, it can add flavor to sautéed vegetables, curry dishes, and as a butter substitute in some baking recipes.

Olive oil is a good source of vitamins E and K, which support heart and bone health, respectively. It's derived from olives, which are pressed to extract the oil. Extra virgin oil is the least processed form of olive oil and the most nutritious because of its antioxidant content; it also has the richest flavor. Olive oil is a good source of monounsaturated fats, especially oleic acid, which is important for cardiac health, reducing inflammation, and may help lower LDL and total cholesterol. Consuming a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil may help reduce the risk of breast cancer, as found in a large randomized clinical trial.

Olive oil has a smoke point of around 350–410°F (176–210°C) and is suitable for sauteing and frying at medium-high heat, roasting vegetables, and as a base for salad dressings due to its delicious flavor.