Healthy Alternatives To Substitute Ordinary Cooking Oil

Cooking oil (HomeMaker-Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Currently, some people have stayed away from ordinary cooking oil for health reasons, such as avoiding cholesterol, heart disease, and stroke. However, because it is difficult to let go of the desire to eat fried foods, alternative oils can be a solution.

However, determining the healthiest oil is not that easy. Because, most oils still contain at least a little saturated fat and trans fat which is not good for health. The choices are very diverse, sometimes it makes you even more confused.

Says Yasi Ansari, MS, RD, CSSD, assistant director of performance nutrition for UC Berkeley Athletics, a consideration for choosing a healthy oil is to ensure it has a greater presentation of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

At the same time, the labeling of healthy or unhealthy foods can be tricky. Nutrition is a complex science, so the healthy and unhealthy categories can differ from person to person.

One of the easiest ways that can be done is to use different types according to what you want to cook and how the cooking process is.

Each oil has a different smoke point, some are more suitable for salads, light cooking, baking, or high heat resistance such as frying without giving a bitter taste.

Cara Harbstreet, MS, RD, LD, of Street Smart Nutrition says that heating oil more than its smoke points can damage and produce potentially dangerous free radicals.

In general, the purer an oil, commonly labeled with the term virgin, the higher the smoke point and can be used in high heat without compromising its quality.

Meanwhile, more refined or unrefined oils may be flavorful, volatile, and less able to handle heat.

If you want to fry food, you can choose oil with a neutral taste and has a high smoke point. Suitable oils include canola oil, refined olive oil, avocado oil, vegetable oil, safflower oil, and peanut oil.

Meanwhile, for making cakes or toast, you can choose canola oil and vegetable oil because it tastes neutral. For dishes such as sauteing and roasting, you should choose oils with a low smoke point, such as canola oil, extra-virgin olive oil, safflower oil, peanut oil and sesame oil.

Like to eat salads with additional oil dressings? For this menu, smoke points are not a problem. You may want to try extra-virgin olive oil.