It’s Fry Time, Guys! (IIIrd and Last Part)

Continuing with our series on the healthiness of the cooking oils as shared by Nutritionist Shilpa Mittal, we are posting the It’s Fry Time, Guys! (IIIrd and Last Part):

It’s Fry Time, Guys!:

Mustard seed oil:
Used mostly in Eastern and North Eastern India. It is believed to have miraculous properties and therefore is used as a remedy to treat cold, boost immunity, encourage hair growth, provide nourishment to the skin (especially in case of babies who are massaged with mustard oil during winters), oral health, so on.
Mustard oil (sarson ka tel) is extracted from mustard seeds (black, brown and white), and is reddish brown or amber in color. Mustard oil is highly recommended because it is full of monounsaturated fatty acids, which is very essential for our health. It’s good for the heart, lightens skin, helps in hair growth and prevents premature graying of hair.
It has an ideal N6 to N3 acids ratio and a high smoking point.
Bad effects
The FDA had published risks associated with mustard seed in 2011. “Expressed mustard oil is not permitted for use as a vegetable oil. It may contain 20 to 40% erucic acid, which has been shown to cause nutritional deficiencies and cardiac lesions in test animals. Expressed mustard oil is reportedly used by some cultures as a cooking oil.” Erucic acid is known to cause the following health risks: Accumulation of triglycerides in the heart; development of fibrotic lesions of the heart; an increase in the risk of lung cancer and anemia. Studies show that erucic acid was found to be harmful to rats in high doses but had no harmful effect on human beings.
Canola oil:
Canola oil, or canola for short, originally known as low erucic acid rapeseed, is a vegetable oil derived from a variety of rapeseed that is low in erucic acid.
It has a relatively low amount of saturated fat, a substantial amount of monounsaturated fat, with roughly a 2:1 mono- to poly-unsaturated fats ratio.
In 2006, canola oil was given a qualified health claim by the United States Food and Drug Administration for lowering the risk of coronary heart disease, resulting from its significant content of cholesterol-lowering unsaturated fats.
It’s higher in the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) than any other oil except flaxseed oil. ALA is particularly important to have in your diet because your body can’t make it.
ALA helps protect the heart through its effects on blood pressure, cholesterol and inflammation.
Bad effects
Canola oil contains the infamous chemical warfare agent mustard gas and can cause several problems. It can cause liver and heart problems. The partially hydrogenated vegetable oil can cause inflammation and calcification of the arteries. These enhance the risk factors for coronary heart disease. The euroric acid in canola oil is harmful and may cause retardation of normal growth.

Soybean oil:

Soybean oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean (Glycine max).
This oil is extracted from soybeans and is a good source of healthy fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and polyunsaturated fats. It is a source of vitamin E and phytosterols. This oil has a high smoking point so it is good for frying. It is one of the stable cooking oils; having a long shelf life.

This helps reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. It helps lower inflammation and reduces your risk of arthritis.
Bad effects
Soybean seeds and its products are one of the common allergenic food substances around. Symptoms of soybean oil allergy are a type of hypersensitivity response in some people to food substances prepared with using this oil.

Hence, the choice of cooking oil should be as follows:

Rotating between them is essential to ensure one gets all the different fatty acids. Also further depending on the health conditions like digestive issues one can use coconut oil, for hair, skin related issues olive or sesame seed oil, for good cholesterol HDL groundnut oil, canola oil, for omega 3 mustard and canola oil. Using the oils after taking the help of a qualified dietician is recommended.
According to studies, an ideal quality fat for good health is the one which maintains a balance, so as to give a ratio of polyunsaturated/ saturated (PUFA/ SFA) of 0.8-1.0 and linoleic/a-linolenic (n-6/ n-3) of 5-10 in the total diet.
Groundnut or Sesame or Rice bran+ Mustard
Sesame or Rice bran or Groundnut + Soybean
Groundnut or Sesame or Rice bran+ Canola
Palmolein + Soybean
Safflower or Sunflower + Palmolein + Mustard
An additional way of increasing alpha-linolenic (n-3) acid intake is to ensure regular consumption of oils and foods rich in alpha 6, which provides preformed long-chain n-3 PUFA. Ideally, part of visible fat and/or invisible fat from animal foods may be substituted by whole nuts and legumes with a good proportion of -linolenic (n-3) acid, which are also good sources of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Finally, oil is oil and each tsp will give you 45 calories, any excess amount is going to harm you, so use it sparingly.