Don't always use the same oil for cooking! Choose cooking oil based on these two points. Many people make mistakes.

When cooking at home, oil is of course indispensable, but many people are confused about which oil is healthier for cooking.

After all, there are so many types of edible oils, such as peanut oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, lard, butter, etc., which are completely confusing.

How should you choose cooking oil? The answer is actually very simple. Just remember two points: 1. Give priority to vegetable oil and change it frequently; 2. Look at the smoke point.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Why is it recommended to change cooking oil frequently?

To sum up in one sentence: Changing your diet frequently can help you consume more types of unsaturated fatty acids and be healthier.

The edible oils we usually use can be divided into vegetable oils and animal oils:

Common vegetable oils : soybean oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, sesame oil, corn oil, olive oil, etc.

Common animal oils : lard, beef tallow, mutton fat, cream (butter), etc.

The chemical structure of fat is triglyceride, which is a glycerol molecule connected to three fatty acids. According to the different structures, fatty acids are divided into two categories: saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids. Among them, unsaturated fatty acids are divided into monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The main difference between different edible oils is that the composition of these fatty acids will be different. According to the recommendations of my country's "Dietary Nutrition Guidelines for Chinese Residents" (2022), the intake of saturated fatty acids needs to be controlled, while unsaturated fatty acids should be appropriately consumed more.

Translation: Animal oils have a higher content of saturated fatty acids, while vegetable oils have a higher content of unsaturated fatty acids. It is recommended to give priority to vegetable oils.

From the above figure, we can find that the content of monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids in common edible oils varies greatly. It is difficult to find a single oil that fully meets the composition of the three fatty acids. Long-term consumption of a single oil may affect the nutritional balance.

In summary, it is recommended to give priority to vegetable oils for cooking oil, and change them frequently, so that a more complete structure can be achieved. However, there are two types of vegetable oils that should not be chosen, coconut oil and palm oil, because their saturated fat is higher than that of animal oils, close to or exceeding 80%.

Why should we consider the “smoke point” when choosing cooking oil?

When cooking with oil, many people have an intuitive and annoying feeling - smoke.

During the heating process of oil, the temperature at which smoke begins to appear is called the "smoke point". When the oil smokes, the smoke contains acrolein, which is a strong irritant to the eyes and respiratory tract. In addition, oil smoke, like the haze particles in the air, can also increase the risk of lung cancer.

When cooking, we need to pay attention to different methods and choose oils with different smoke points. For example, when stir-frying or frying, the temperature is high, so choose oil with a high smoke point. When cold dishes are served, the temperature is low, so choose oil with a low smoke point .

Smoke points of common oils and fats

At this point, many people may ask, there are so many kinds of oil, and the smoke points are different. It’s impossible to remember them all. What should I do?

Let me teach you a trick: just choose oil with a high smoke point. The higher the smoke point, the more scenarios it can be used in .

In addition, the smoke point of edible oil is closely related to the processing technology of oil. Usually, "refined" vegetable oil has a higher smoke point. This is because after refining, the impurities that may exist in the oil can be removed, greatly improving the smoke point. For example, the smoke point of crude oil of soybeans and peanuts is around 160°C, while after refining, it can reach more than 230°C.

If you see the words "virgin", "extra virgin" or "cold pressed" oil, don't use it for cooking at high temperatures, such as frying or deep frying. Because they have not been refined, the oil contains a lot of polyphenols and other antioxidants, and the taste is very fragrant, but the smoke point is relatively low, so it is still good for cold dishes.

Finally, I need to remind everyone to try not to stir-fry !

Because the temperature during stir-frying is usually between 180℃ and 240℃, and the smoke points of common peanut oil, soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower seed oil, etc. are generally no more than 240℃. This means that stir-frying easily produces a lot of oil smoke.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Finally, let me summarize and emphasize the key points of oil selection:

1. Give priority to vegetable oils and change them frequently to ensure a diverse intake of unsaturated fatty acids, which is healthier;

2. If you do more cooking and frying, prefer refined vegetable oil as it has a higher smoke point. If you do more cold dishes, you can choose virgin, primary cold-pressed, or extra virgin vegetable oil.

References

[1] Sun Changhao. Nutrition and Food Hygiene[M]. 8th edition. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2017: 48

[2] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)[M]. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2022.

[3] Yang Yuexin, Ge Keyou. Encyclopedia of Chinese Nutrition Science (Second Edition)[M]. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2019.

[4] “Scientific Research Report on Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2021)” [J]. Acta Nutrimenta Sinica, 2021, 43(02): 102. DOI: 10.13325/j.cnki.acta.nutr.sin.2021.02.001.

[5] Scientific understanding of the relationship between dietary total fat, saturated fat and health[J]. Acta Nutrimenta Sinica, 2022, 44(04): 313-315. DOI: 10.13325/j.cnki.acta.nutr.sin.2022.04.014.

[6] Total fat intake for the prevention of unhealthy weight gain in adults and children:WHO guideline. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240073654

[7] Saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake for adults and children: WHOguideline.https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240073630()

Planning and production

Author: Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Review丨Zhong Kai, Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Planning丨Lin Lin

Editor: Lin Lin