Cooking Oil: Which Is The Best Cooking Oil? Here Is The Answer Straight From Experts

Best Cooking Oil: Choosing the best cooking oil can be a difficult task

Cooking oil is an important part of the food you are preparing. Oil is an essential part of the diet which cannot be ignored. But which is the best cooking oil? It is a quite popular question. You might have explored this topic over the internet many times to find the right answer. There is a huge debate about the best oil for your health. Every brand claims to be the healthiest. There are a variety of oils choose from. But which one is the best for you? In a panel discussion in Delhi, Dr. H.K. Chopra and Nutritionist Neelanjana Singh came together to talk about the various practices for a healthy heart. Both described the best cooking oil for one's health. Read on to know all the answers.

Best Cooking Oil: Which one is the best?

Nutritionist Neelanjana explained, "There is nothing like best cooking oil. It cannot be claimed that this oil is the best for health. People from different regions prefer different oil like mustard oil in the north or coconut oil in the south. People from different parts of the country love food cooked in their local flavour. To say that this specific oil is the best, it is not the right concept. Every oil has its unique fatty acid profile. It cannot be claimed that this is the best and this oil is not."

Neelanjana further explained the right practice to use oil, "It is goods to consume two oils which complement each other as every oil has a different profile. There are certain oils which have MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) which is a good kind of fat. PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) which is also required as it contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. These are required by our body from diet sources as our body cannot produce them on its own. Combine oils in such a way that deficiency of one is fulfilled by the other."

Also read: Cooking Oil: Know Which One Is The Best For You

Best Cooking Oil: Combine two oils to create the right mixture for a better health
Photo Credit: iStock

How to choose the combination?

She also explained the practical way to use this combination method, "Suppose you are taking coconut oil as the main cooking medium. Do not cook everything in coconut oil as it has a lot of saturated fat. To complement this you need to add another oil to your diet. Cook some foods items in coconut oil whereas others in something else. If you are using coconut oil, you can use rice bran oil or sesame oil to cook few food items as these oils have pufa which is not present in coconut oil."

"This is just an example you can create other combinations with other oils. The best way is to make a combination of two oils according to their composition. This is the whole concept of combining two oils. In the market you can also find ready to use combined oils," she added.

Also read: This Is Undoubtedly The Best And Worst Cooking Oil For Your Health: Tells Our Expert Nutritionist

Some other tips to choose the right cooking oil:

Dr. H.K. Chopra who is a senior cardiologist also explained, "There are many people who consume food with no oil which is not the right approach. Oil is equally important for the body. Blending of oils is a great way to maintain the right ratio."

Some other key points shared by Dr. Chopra are-

1. One should change oil time to time and should not consume the same oil for years
2.  Changing oil after every few months is recommended.
3. Do not reuse oil, reheating the oil is very harmful
4. Fresh oil should be stored properly in a clean container for use
5. Check the composition of the oils properly before combining them

Also read: Reheating Cooking Oil: 7 Health Risks Involved; Know Ways To Avoid Reusing Cooking Oil

(Dr. H.K. Chopra is a Senior Consultant Cardiologist at Moolchand)

(Neelanjana Singh is a Delhi based Nutritionist and a author)

(Inputs from the panel discussion held by Saffolalife)