Cooking Oils For Better Health

Among the three major food sources, fat and oil remain key to health. They provide energy, heat and help in hormone production and transmission in the body. Without oil the body will be dry, squeaky without vigour.
Some scientists liken the work of oil and fat as that done by engine oil in a car. The quality of engine oil used in a car determines the efficiency of automobiles in terms of movement, fuel consumption and ability to withstand stress of traffic jam and long journey.
The same goes for the body as well. The oil we use for cooking has positive or negative bearing on our health and well being.
While good fats are key to healthy living, bad fats make the body vulnerable to diseases. Thus, we will focus on those oils that are healthy for us and free from cholesterol to a large extent.
Among the best oils healthy for cooking and for internal use are:
1. Olive Oil: Olive Oil is one of the best vegetable oils to promote healthy living. Olive oil protects the heart with its rich polyphenols and essential fatty acids, which the body cannot make but needed for normal brain function and effective transmission of nerve impulses.
Olive Oil lowers cholesterol and prevents hardening of the arteries. It boosts the health of the heart, brain, liver, blood vessels, joints and nerves.
Incorporating Olive oil into your diet with as cooking oil, supplement and as salad dressing is a practical step to protect yourself and your family against many life threatening diseases.
2. Palm Oil: There are a lot of misconception about palm oil over its cholesterol levels. Fortunately, our ancestors who discovered it have used it for aeons of years without any challenge until science began preaching about its contents.
The good news is that palm oil is the best cooking oil. It contains the highest natural source of pro- Vitamin A. It contains 15 times more beta carotene and alpha- carotene and beta- carotenes than carrots and 300 times more than tomatoes.
Palm oil is the best source of super powerful form of Vitamin E known as tocopherol. Red palm oil also has a variety of other nutrients such as Vitamin K, flavonoids, lycopene and some 20 other carotenes.
3. Groundnut Oil: Also known as peanut oil. It’s extracted from peanuts or groundnuts. It is a very good source of monosaturated fats, the type of fat that promote healthy heart.
Groundnut oil is also a good source of Vitamin E, niacin, folate and manganese. It has a pleasant taste and low saturated fat content. Using peanut oil to cook regularly in moderate amounts lowers the Low- Density Lipoprotein(LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides, and increases the High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol which protects the heart.
To be Continued…