7 Best Cooking Oils for a Healthy Heart

These days, a large number of cooking oils are available in the market. How do you know which ones are good for your health? Especially your heart-health.

Studies have shown that using plant-based oils that contain unsaturated fats are better for your health than using animal based cooking substances for cooking, baking and garnishing your food.

Plant-based oils include the oils derived from nuts, seeds and olives etc. Animal based cooking or baking substances include butter, cheese, lard and margarine.

Seven best cooking oils for a healthy heart—        

1. Olive Oil.

Amongst all the cooking oils that are deemed great for maintaining a healthy heart, olive oil is the best.

If you choose to use olive oil for cooking or as a pasta/salad dressing, go for extra virgin olive oil as it is made without using any chemical.

When compared to most other cooking oils, olive oil has a higher content of good saturated fats.

These kinds of fats are helpful in reducing bad cholesterol in your body. It also promotes the production of good cholesterol in your body.

Thus, it supports heart health.  

2. Canola Oil.

Want to know, which oil is best for heart and cholesterol? Canola oil happens to be one of the best. It is extracted out of rapeseed.

Packed with polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats, canola oil is really good for your health, especially your heart.

You can use canola oil for cooking, baking and frying.

Canola oil’s high smoke point makes it a good choice for frying different foods. And since it has a neutral flavour, it is suitable for baking.

Though canola oil has a low level of trans fats (non-healthy fats), it is still considered to be a good cooking oil for maintaining good health.

3. Avocado Oil.

When you are looking for the best cooking oils for a healthy heart in India or any other country, avocado oil is a good choice.

Avocado oil has a neutral flavour and a high smoke point. Which means that it is good for baking, cooking as well as frying various types of foods.

Avocado oil is packed with nutrients. So, including it in your regular diet is advised.

Plus, avocado oil has a high content of monounsaturated fats which keeps the bad cholesterol in your body in check.

4. Sunflower Oil.

Have you been wondering, which cooking oil is good for health in India? Sunflower oil is the answer to this question.

When used in moderation, sunflower oil is thought to be good for your health.

Sunflower oil contains a high amount of unsaturated fats, especially oleic acid, which is known to lower triglycerides and the bad cholesterol in your body.

It is also known to increase the levels of the good cholesterol HDL in your body.

What’s more?

Sunflower oil has Vitamin E, which is a potent antioxidant and a defence system for your heart against heart diseases.

5. Flaxseed Oil.

Flaxseed oil is one of the best cooking oils for heart health.

Flaxseed oil has omega-3 fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) to be specific. These kinds of acids support the reduction of the risk of heart disease.

They are also helpful in reducing triglycerides and bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body.

As a result, the risk of a plaque buildup in the arteries (atherosclerosis ) is cut down significantly.

Flaxseed oil can also reduce inflammation and keep blood pressure levels within a healthy range.

These two factors are incredibly important for maintaining good cardiovascular health.

6. Peanut Oil.

Peanut oil is quite beneficial for heart health.

Peanut oil contains a high amount of polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats.

These two types of fats have the potential to lower the risk of heart diseases as they are vital elements when it comes to lowering the bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body.

Additionally, peanut oil has Vitamin E and plant sterols in it. Both of which are great for your heart.    

7. Mustard Oil.

People who like to take care of their health have always asked the question, which cooking oil is good for health?

Out of the many cooking oils in Indian cuisine, mustard oil is one of the healthier ones. When used in moderation, it is good for the heart.

Mustard oil has various fatty acids— including omega-3 and omega-6— which are quite helpful in maintaining a healthy heart.

Mustard oil may have the ability to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases in individuals.

Heart Friendly Cooking Oils FAQs    

What is the best cooking oil for heart health?

Olive oil is deemed to be the best cooking oil for heart health.

In general, using cooking oils that contain unsaturated fats are beneficial for heart health. Oils with saturated fats? Not so much.

And olive oil is one such oil that is known to have unsaturated fats. This is the reason why it is so extensively used in a Mediterranean diet.

Olive oil has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that have a positive effect on diabetes, skin health and the digestive system.        

What is the number one heart healthy oil?

Oils such as olive oil and canola oil consist of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Hence, they are considered to be super healthy for your heart. These kinds of oils have been found to lower the risk of heart diseases.          

Which oil is best for heart and blood pressure?

If you are looking for the best cooking oil for a healthy heart and healthy range of blood pressure, then you need to choose flaxseed oil for a majority of your cooking needs.

Why?

Because flaxseed oil is packed with omega-3 fatty acids. These compounds reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure and restrict the buildup of plague in arteries.

These three factors combine to keep your heart healthy.      

Which cooking oil is safest for health?

There are various cooking oils that fall under the ‘safest for health’ category. These oils include olive, grapeseed, avocado, sesame and rice bran oil.

You need to keep in mind that some of these specialty oils may cost more than regular cooking oils, some may be harder to find, while some have strong flavours.

So, you can try out different oils and find the ones that best suit your preferences.

Which Indian cooking oil is best for the heart?

When it comes to Indian cooking oils, sunflower oil and mustard oil are commonly used. These two are also thought to be the best for the heart.

Sunflower oil is high in Vitamin E and very low in saturated fat.

Mustard oil, which is more widely used all over the country, has a type of composition of fatty acids that can be quite favourable when it is used in moderation.    

Which oil is best for frying?

Most oils that have a high smoke point are great for frying foods.

Smoke point is the temperature at which the oil starts burning, smoking and producing harmful compounds that can get soaked into the food.

Oils like avocado oil, sunflower oil, refined olive oil, rice bran oil and refined coconut oil are generally reckoned to be best for frying various foods.

Which is the healthiest oil for deep frying in India?

In India, a variety of cooking oils are used for deep frying. And almost all of these oils have a high smoke point.

The smoke point of an oil is a specific temperature at which that particular oil starts breaking down, producing smoke and consequently, releasing harmful substances.

If not cooked carefully and in the proper method, these harmful substances might seep into the food you are cooking.  

Remember that different oils have different smoke points. Hence, some oils are  suitable for high-heat cooking while others are more apt for low-heat cooking.

You can use ghee (clarified butter), avocado oil, olive oil, refined coconut oil, peanut oil and even mustard oil for deep frying numerous foods in India.