Which oil is better for my health? Maïa Baudelaire, nutritionist and founder of her program maiabaudelaire.com – the first Diet Coaching reimbursed by the health insurances – gives you professionnal advices about the different types of oil and how to fill up your body with the “good fat”.
On a diet, we usually tend to avoid fats… but your body needs them to perform and to be healthy! So the goal is not to delete all of the fats, but to choose the good ones…
Colza oil
As olive oil, colza oil is very rich in omega-3, which are good fats for your cardiovascular health. Studies proved that eating ingredients rich in alpha-lonelenic found in colza oil reduce significantly the risk of heart attacks.
But careful, this type of oil does not resist to a cooking method over 120°C. Over 120°C this oil will taste bitter and loose all its nutrients. Use it raw, for dressings.
Sunflower oil
Rich in “good” fats, sunflower oil also has the advantage of being the one that bring you the most of Vitamin E which protects and repairs your skin and hair.
This oil resist very well too high temperatures so it can be used raw or for heating.
Nut oil
As Sunflower oil, it is rich in “good” fats, with a very fruity taste: a little sprinkle of Nut oil will be sufficient to flavour your dishes.
Very fragile, nut oil can’t be used if for heating. Keep it raw to use it in any kinds of salads or even on bread to taste it! Recommended by nutritionists, nut oil also contains a very important dose of Vitamin E.
Olive oil
We all know it, the very famous oil used in the famous Mediterranean diet! This one can be used for seasoning as well as for cooking up to 180°C. Actually, olive oil goes very well with fish or white meat.
Studies proved that regular olive oil consumption has lots of positive effects on health and cardiovascular illness: it lowers arterial tension and “bad” cholesterol.
Beware of fakes olive oils! Unfortunately, just like famous brand bags, we can still find “fake” olive oil. Some shops will sell you a mixture of different types of oil and say that it is olive oil but it’s not! If you want to make sure that the olive oil is “real”, have a look at the year of production, the name of the orchard, or even the famous french Appellations (AOP and AOC). Those characteristics will guaranty the good quality of your oil.
Palm oil
It’s the most controverted oil ever nowadays! Being criticized by everyone, palm oil is not such a “poison” for your health. For the nutritious facts, this oil has even some benefits on health. OK, less than the others we talked about in this article because it contains more saturated fats (55% whereas only 10% for olive oil), but it’s certainly not necessary to banish it totally. Palm oil is rich in tocopherol (antioxidants), which protects cells against aging.
So what’s wrong with palm oil? The big problem is mainly about the environment: be sure to choose raw palm oil from sustainable forests.
To conclude, to get all the oil benefits, vary! You can also buy oil mixes such as Isio 4 from Lesieur which is a mixture of 4 oils: Sunflower, Colza, Oléisol and seed grapes.
Enjoy!
