Cooking oil is an ubiquitous element to our cooking and yet one we rarely give much thought to. This is a shame as it’s one of the most vital parts to healthy and wholesome cooking.

A Tale of Two Omegas

A major issue in the “Western Diet” is the ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acids. Fatty acids are essential to our diet and health, but increasing evidence has shown that also important is the proportion of these in our diet. An ideal ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acids is 1:1, though anything between 4:1 and 1:4 is still in the healthy range.

This is because omega 6 fatty acids tend to cause inflammation in the body while omega 3 fatty acids reduce it. Both of these are essential and when kept in balance the body operates properly and stays healthy. We see the proportion of these fatty acids at these levels in some of the diets of the healthiest places in the world, the so called “blue zones”, places like Crete and Okinawa, where there is much lower levels of the diseases that plague much of modern society. While this is not the only factor in this, it is an important one.

In the Western Diet by contrast, the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 often exceeds 16:1, meaning the balance our bodies evolved to operate on is way out of whack. I’m sure someone more motor minded could make an excellent analogy to a well tuned engine, but suffice to say this doesn’t bode well for our long term health prospects.

There are several reasons for this change in our diets, including the types of food we regularly eat, but one of the biggest is the type of cooking fats we use. Historically people used the likes of butter, lard, olive oil and coconut oil, depending where in the world they were, and while some of these are high in saturated fats and therefore should be used in moderation, they all have good levels of omega 3.

Look at the oils you have in your kitchen. Chances are they’re some sort of generic vegetable oil, or maybe sunflower oil or corn oil. If you have olive oil it’s probably refined “cooking” olive oil. This is the main issue, many of these cooking oils are highly processed, extracted at high temperatures and using ingredients high in omega 6. This means a lot of the natural benefits of these oils is destroyed and the resulting oil is high in omega 6. So if you’re having an omega 3 rich food, such as oily fish, if you’re cooking it using an oil high in omega 6 you’re probably cancelling out a lot of the benefits of it due to the ratio imbalance.

What are the alternatives?

My two goto cooking fats are Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil. Both of these are extracted using processes that don’t destroy the nutritional benefits and are high in omega 3. Flavour wise, EVOO has a sharp bite and bright flavour while CPRO has a smoother, nuttier flavour. The latter also has the benefit of being produced locally for me, and a higher omega 3 proportion, but I do use both.

You may have heard a much repeated warning to not use EVOO in cooking because of its lower smoke point and to reserve it as a finishing drizzle. Tell this to the cultures across the Mediterranean who have been cooking and frying with it for thousands of years. It’s complete nonsense with little science behind it as the smoke point is still much higher (over 200°C) than most cooking would normally reach and not much different from other oils.

All oils degrade at continuous exposure to very high temperatures, but in any realistic usage there’s no real concern, your food would likely be burnt long before the oil degraded significantly.

CPRO has a very high smoke point so has even less problem being used at higher temperatures, and while some nutrition will be lost, it’s still better than a refined oil. Regardless, the majority of cooking is at the lower and medium heat levels, so this is rarely an issue. Even deep fat frying temperatures rarely go more than 190°C.

While these oils can be a little more expensive, you’re paying for quality and health and buying in large containers can often be more economical. You don’t need to go for super expensive premium oil, just a decent quality one for cooking. Within Europe extra virgin olive oil is quite strictly controlled so you can generally be assured of its quality (so long as you avoid light or cooking styles mixed with refined oils), but I understand in the US and other parts of the world adulteration with cheaper oils is common so do your research on your chosen manufacturer if you think this is a risk. With the rapeseed oil make sure it is “Cold Pressed” (sometimes “Extra Virgin”) rather than a refined rapeseed oil (sometimes known as canola oil in the US) as refined rapeseed is used in a lot of oils and will have had it’s nutritional value destroyed.

In most of my recipes and meals I’ll let you know which oil I favour but this is just a suggestion, not a hard and fast rule. If I had to pick just one I’d probably go with the Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil due to the fact it’s locally produced, higher in omega 3 and has a more mild and versatile flavour, but that may not be the best option for you depending on your situation.

I do sometimes use other fats and oils. Butter is hard to match in some situations and flavoursome oils like sesame add a distinct flavour to many dishes. However, the majority of the time I’m cooking with the big two.

Summary

In summary, refined and processed cooking oils are slowly killing us so switching to less processed cooking fats higher in omega 3 will improve our health in the long run.

Thanks for reading,

Matthew

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