Healthiest cooking oils
The best oils for cooking depend on how you intend to use them – in salad dressing, for frying or for lightly sautéing.
Saturated fats are considered more stable and less prone to oxidation, they can tolerate being heated. They have a high smoke point and should be chosen for high temperature cooking. Coconut oil, butter, ghee.
Monounsaturated fats, they can be used for low temperature cooking, like sautéing and stir-fries due to the naturally-occurring antioxidants in these oils. Extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, macadamia oil.
Polyunsaturated fats oxidise when heated and produce free radicals that damage cells. They should only be used in their raw, cold-pressed form for pouring over cooked or raw foods.Flaxseed oil, extra virgin olive oil, walnut oil.