Healthiest Oils to Cook with (and Those to Avoid at All Costs)
You already know high-quality foods are necessary for good health—but what about the oils used to cook those foods?
It’s important to choose the highest quality, healthiest oils to cook with and add to your meals. So, below are the healthiest cooking oil options, when to use them, and which oils you should steer clear of completely.
Healthiest Oils to Cook With Everyday: High vs Low Heat
The best oil choice depends on your cooking needs, such as low heat or high heat. It all comes down to smoke point, the temperature at which an oil breaks down and releases harmful free radicals.
Best High Heat Cooking Oil Options
Anything with a high smoke point, such as coconut oil or macadamia nut oil, is best for deep frying, cooking, or baking at high temperatures. That’s because the fatty acid compositions stay intact at high heats.
Besides oils, grass-fed beef tallow, ghee, butter, or pasture-raised lard are good options for frying or high heat cooking.
Keep in mind that deep frying on high heat is not the best way to get healthy fats into your body. As much as possible, opt for stir-frying, sautéing, or baking over deep fried methods.
Best Low-Heat Cooking Oil Options
For foods and recipes that require low heat, use high-quality extra virgin olive oil or refined avocado oil for cooking, sautéing, or baking.
If using olive oil, besides extra virgin, look for organic, local if possible, and a dark glass bottle. Also, always check the expiration date and make sure the oil smells fresh and fruity after you buy it. (Read more about choosing healthy olive oil here.)
A high-quality sunflower oil is also okay to use sometimes, but stick with the healthiest oils to cook with listed above most of the time.
Healthiest Oils to Use Cold
Some healthy oils should only be consumed cold because they have low smoke points—meaning: heating them is unhealthy and harmful.
These healthy oils are great for drizzling on top of meals or in salad dressings:
- Avocado oil that is cold pressed and unrefined: Primal Kitchen makes a great one.
- Walnut oil: Make sure it doesn’t smell rancid and is stored in a dark-colored glass bottle, as it’s easily broken down by heat and light.
- Flaxseed oil: Use soon after buying so it doesn’t go out of date, check for rancidity, and keep it refrigerated.
- Krill oil: Contrary to popular belief, fish oil is not the best source of essential omega-3 fatty acids because it goes rancid easily and often contains heavy metals. Krill oil is the cleanest choice with additional natural antioxidants.
- MCT oil: MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) are extremely healthy but damaged by high heat cooking. Supplement with a high-quality MCT oil powder to get the full benefits of MCTs.
Oils That Wreck Your Health
The following oils are the worst to consume and are detrimental to your health. As much as ou can help it, avoid these oils completely:
- Canola oil
- Soybean oil
- Sunflower oil
- Safflower oil
- Soy oil
- Corn oil
These oils are highly unstable, highly processed, and easily oxidized. They promote large amounts of inflammation in your body and even make it harder to get into ketosis.
If you eat mayonnaise or other low-carb products that contain these oils, look for brands made with the healthier alternatives listed above. Primal Kitchen has several good options.
Remember that we must consider health in all aspects of life, including in the oils used to cook and flavor the food that nourishes our earthly bodies.
Keto Zone Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The healthiest oil you can use for cooking is olive oil.
The best olive oil available is grown in Greece. This is because Greek olive oil is high antioxidant polyphenols which scavenge free-radicals and prevent oxidation of the delicate monounsaturated fatty acids found in olive oil. You want to always look for 100% organic cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil for maximum freshness.
Look for a high-polyphenol (high-phenolic) oil in a dark glass bottle with a recent harvest date. Learn more about the science-backed benefits of olive oil.
Check Out More Keto Articles Join Our Keto Group
Was this helpful?
Get Dr. Colbert's weekly health tips
Simple, faith-filled health tips in your inbox once a week. Plus a free gift: the 21-Day Keto Zone Challenge.
Unsubscribe anytime. We never share your email.
What stood out to you most, and have you tried any of this yourself?
Tell us on Facebook
