The Right Cooking Oil For You

Filipinos can't get enough of frying almost any type of food - Fried Chicken, Fried Fish, Fried Hotdogs, Fried Rice, Fried Squid (Calamares), Fried Vegetable Rolls, Fried Eggplant and the list goes on. All that frying means we have to choose the healthiest cooking oils for our everyday meals.

Our bodies need fats because it provide essential fatty acids. Doctors still encourage us though to limit both Saturated Fats and Trans Fats in what we consume because of its association with cardiovascular diseases. These fats are found primarily in meat and dairy. Butter, vegetable shortening, and margarine also contain these bad fats so you may want to reduce them in your cooking.

Choose cooking oils with high concentration of Monounsaturated Fats and Polyunsaturated Fats because they lower the bad cholesterol.

For frying foods, use oils that will not burn in high heat such as canola oil, corn oil, sesame oil, or sunflower oil.

For salad dressing, add a little more flavor by trying avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil or walnut oil.

Other tips:

1. If you want to recycle the oil, use it two (or three at most) times only. More than that is unhealthy.

2. Separate the oil for fish and pork to prevent rancid smell.

3. Use oils sparingly in your cooking and preparation.

4. Store the cooking oil in a cool, dry place to keep its goodness.