What oil should I use for cooking?  What fat should I not cook with?  What about vegetable oil?  Soybean oil is in every store-bought salad dressing and that’s a vegetable so it’s okay, right?  There is so much information/misinformation “out there” about dietary fat, that even I get confused!  I read a bunch of articles from authors I trust and here’s the synopsis of my research…

If these are in your pantry, stop what you’re doing and throw them away:

• Shortening
• Vegetable oil (soybean, sunflower, safflower, canola oils)

These are highly processed and are found everywhere in the Standard American Diet.  They are unstable, pro-inflammatory, and are linked the increase of inflammatory diseases such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, arthritis, asthma, cancer, and auto-immune diseases.

For high heat cooking (stovetop cooking medium-high or above, baking above 400 degrees Fahrenheit):

• Ghee
• Grass-fed butter
• Avocado oil

For low heat cooking (stovetop cooking on low to medium temperature, baking at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or below):

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Coconut oil

Room temperature (do not heat):

• Above oils
• Macadamia oil
• Walnut oil

These are great as salad dressings, drizzled on cooked vegetables, etc., and not for cooking.

Tips:

• Store oils in dark (not clear) bottles
• Do not store on the kitchen counter near the stove
• Buy only the amount of oil you will use in 2 months
• Organic designation prohibits GMOs as well as hexane use for oil extraction
• Purchase unrefined, cold-pressed or expeller-pressed oils

Since I wrote this post, I’ve printed it and keep it on my fridge, so it’s a convenient reference when I’m cooking.  I hope you find it useful, too!