Which Cooking Oil Is Really Best for Your Health?

No-Cook and Light-Heat Oils

Types and smoke points: Flaxseed (no cook), hempseed (330°F), walnut (no cook) Description: Most of these oils can’t withstand heat and, therefore, shouldn’t be cooked. The exception is hempseed oil, which can be lightly heated for a short amount of time. No-cook and light-heat oils are a good source of alpha-linolenic acid, a heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid. Flaxseed oil may reduce LDL cholesterol, reported a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Oils rich in omega-3s stay fresh longest when refrigerated. Best for: Drizzle over a salad, or blend into a smoothie or dip.

Medium-Heat Oils

Types and smoke points: Coconut (350°F), olive (extra-virgin, 320°F) Description: Coconut oil is higher in saturated fat and lower in beneficialmonounsaturated fat than many of its counterparts. The extra-virgin version is almost purely (92 percent) saturated fat. Although there’s been a lot of hype about the oil’s potential health benefits, it may raise both “good” HDL cholesterol and “bad” LDL cholesterol. So use coconut oil in moderation. Best for: Use in a light sauté, a stovetop sauce, or low-heat baking.

Medium-High Heat Oils

Types and smoke points: Canola (400° F), grapeseed (392° F), macadamia (390°F), olive (virgin, 420°F), sesame (410°F) Description: Olive and grapeseed oil are the stars of this group, best known for their pleasing flavors and versatile uses. “Olives are loaded with aromatic compounds, giving each variety of olive its own unique flavor,” says Briscione. “Many other oils are made from parts of plants like seeds or kernels, which are essentially flavorless.” Most chefs have two types of olive oil in their kitchen—a medium-quality extra-virgin oil for cooking and a high-quality extra-virgin olive oil for finishing foods, notes Briscione. A fine extra-virgin olive oil can be used for salad dressing, drizzling on soups or cooked vegetables, or in making pesto. Best for: Use in a stir-fry or for roasting or baking.

High-Heat Oils

Types and smoke points: Avocado (520°F), corn (450°F), olive (pomace, 460°F), olive (extra light, 468°F), peanut (450°F), soybean (450°F), sunflower (450°F) Description: These oils can be used for both low- and high-heat cooking. While frying should be minimized, you can fry food at a lower temperature to make it healthier. This usually requires a longer cooking time, but it releases less oil into the food, allowing the food to absorb less oil. French fries cooked with this method—where raw potatoes are added to cold oil and gradually heated to a little below 280°F—contained 30 percent less oil than their conventionally prepared counterparts. When using sunflower oil, choose a high-oleic version, which contains a greater percent of monounsaturated fat. As for corn and soybean oils, these two oils are higher in omega-6 fatty acids, which experts previously recommended limiting for optimal health. However, those same experts are nowrethinking this, in part due to new research suggesting that the oils may be good for you. Best for: Searing, browning, and frying.

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