Hi,
I am expecting my second child this September and I am really worried about the increasingly unhealthy food offered in Singapore. Thus, I am thinking of cooking home instead. Any advice on what oil to use?
Came across this website but am not sure about the credibility of it.
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/RiceBranOil.htm
Please let me know what cooking oil you use and why you use it?
Thanks!
I think it is important for us to treat each cooking oil as a tool just like we would when we are using technology to improve our productivity - each one has its advantage and disadvantage.
My take is: use different cooking oils for different purposes.
My suggestion is to use extra virgin olive oil to fry vegetables, eggs or other meals that required low to medium temperature frying so that we could reap the benefits of both ingredients used in preparing the meals.
And use other cooking oils for high temperature frying - anyway we should try to avoid deep- frying food as generally it may not be good to our health though deep frying may give out good taste.
Extra virgin olive oil is a major part of the Mediterranean diet, which has been proven health-enhancing and heart-healthy because of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidants. It is cold extracted and no chemical and heat are used to extract the oil. In the west, they call it "olive juice". Good quality extra virgin olive oil is non greasy.
Rice Bran Oil is a healthy oil too, and has a higher smoke point. Good for deep frying, i.e. high-temperature cooking/frying. But use it with care. Explanation is below.
It has Vitamin E more than extra virgin olive oil. Both have the antioxidants needed by our body. The health benefits are very much similar to extra virgin olive oil.
However, Rice Bran Oil has high polyunsaturated fatty acid, about 35% versus the polyunsaturated fatty acid in extra virgin olive oil which is only about 11%.
Polyunsaturated fat consists of omega-3 and omega-6. Too much of omega-6 is not good to our health - it is pro-inflammatory, especially if we are taking meat at the same time, this will increase the intake of omega-6 in our body and hence causing problems. Whereas omega-3 is anti-inflammatory.
The best ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 is 1:1 but 1:5 or in between is considered good or balanced, and in US, it is 1:10 according to studies.
The ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 in Rice Bran Oil is 1:35 because it virtually does not have omega-3 in it. Whereas the ratio for extra virgin olive oil is about 1:10.
Moreover, Rice Bran Oil is not cold extracted being a seed oil. Hence, chemical refining and high heat are involved in the extraction process where good nutrients are likely lost. Being a seed oil, we also have to be careful that it is not a genetic modified seed, like canola oil. For reading
http://draxe.com/canola-oil-gm/
Extra virgin olive oil has one advantage that other cooking oils do not normally enjoy, besides its health-enhancing and heart healthy benefits, and that is, it has aroma and flavour that could enhance our meals.
For reading about Rice Bran Oil, here is one article you may refer to
http://preventdisease.com/news/13/0...sadvantage-Outweighs-All-Its-Advantages.shtml
To read more about the health-benefits of extra virgin olive oil, you can refer to
http://onlyoliveoil.vas.com.sg/health
To read more about the use of extra virgin olive oil:
http://onlyoliveoil.vas.com.sg/use/