Top 5 Cooking Oils that are a must have in your Kitchen and Daily Diet

Firstly, should we even include oils in our daily diets? The answer is YES!!!

You must add oil to your food for various reasons like, to add flavour, taste and most importantly retain the moisture in our skin. Although there are plenty of expensive ways for doing this, but how about just adding 2 spoons of oil daily to your diet? Better than many overpriced creams and so-called ‘organic oils’.

We will recommend our top 5 oils that you can choose from as per your digestive system, sensitivity to your body, taste buds and most importantly pocket!!!

Here we go…

1. Olive oil

It’s a rather lengthy process to derive olive oil from the vegetable, they first with cleaning the olives (which is a unique and tiresome process), grind the olives into a paste, malaxation and then separation the oil from the vegetable water.

How good is Olive Oil?

Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats What’s that? They help in protecting against cardiovascular disease. According to a 2017 review, people in Mediterranean countries who consume more of monounsaturated fats showed a decrease in overall cancer incidence, diabetes and early death.

Olive oil is also rich in antioxidants which boosts the overall skin, hair and body health. It also had anti-inflammatory properties that keeps bowel syndrome at bay, if you suffer from lupus helps your body fight it better and will not let you feel depressed.

You may choose to consume only Olive Oil for a week to see differences for yourself. But it is imperative to keep the quantity in mind. If you are on a weight loss diet, we suggest not more than 1 tablespoon a day. Otherwise you could consume up to 2 tablespoons in the entire day.

Also, keep in mind that if you utilize Olive Oil as a replacement of cooking oil it may get heated much faster than the normal oil due its scientific properties. If you opt for extra Virgin Olive Oil, you may want to not cook it at all as in less than a minute of cooking, most of it’s properties may get destroyed. That’s why Olive Oil is best used as a salad dressing.

2. Coconut Oil

Coconut as we all know is called Shreephal and all it’s biproducts are a boon to mankind. One such is coconut oil.

Did you know coconut oil helps fight back and prevent serious diseases like Alzheimer’s?

This oil is high in medium chain triglycerides fats, these fats are metabolized differently than most of the other fats. These amazing fats are responsible for a lot of health benefits to the body.

They also digest better than other fatty food. We must still be mindful of the quantity in which the coconut oil is consumed in as it is heavier to digest. We suggest you do not consume coconut oil everyday in your diet rather 3 times a week with maximum of 2 teaspoons a day.

3. Sesame oil

Sesame oil is high in protein which can boost your overall health like nothing else. It is recommended you do not heat this oil a lot due to its low smoke point. It is in fact better if you don’t cook it at all and use it on vegetables, lentils etc. after they are cooked.

This oil is said to promote skin health in the best ways possible. It is also said to be great to be used in oil pulling and overall dental care. We recommend you try this for oil pulling and you’ll be speaking in favour of it too.

Sesame oil can be used in multiple ways and not just in food. You may add few curry leaves, let it stay for a fortnight, strain the oil and use it as a champi oil.

Related post: Is Ghee Really Beneficial?

For body message and relaxation too as this is a fantastic and best oil. Add few drops of lavender essential oil and you’re set for a relaxing massage on your way.

4. Peanut Oil

Peanut oil as we all know has distinct taste and flavour but fewer people know of its distinct health benefits.

The oil is naturally believed to be trans fat free and does not shoot up the cholesterol levels like the others. It is high in vitamin E which has more than one benefit on our skin and hair. It also boosts our immune system if had in the right quantity.

You may choose to cook this oil vs. an olive oil but try to not overheat it. Long known fact that peanut oil is rich in potassium, fibre, sodium, Omega 3 fatty acids (great for vegetarians) but not many people use include it in their daily diet due to it’s strong fragrance and rather thick texture.

We suggest you start with using 1 teaspoon oil twice a week in your veggies and gradually make it a daily dose. Once, your body gets accustomed to the taste it will be easier to have veggies that smell of peanuts. Those allergic to nuts could avoid this oil.

5. Vegetable oil

Surprised? How can vegetable oil be on our list of top 5 oils to be used in your food?

So far, we spoke about the oils that are good for your body however, can have adverse effects or no benefits at all if used beyond their smoke point. A few cannot even be used while heated.

Vegetable oil though, is derived through a chemical process, it may not have plenty of skin and hair benefits it is the only oil you should be used for deep frying foods. I am sure you’ll agree occasionally we all binge eat and feel like cooking something completely unhealthy and fried. This is the oil you must be using for such foods. The chemical process sure depletes the natural mineral content.

Expert tip: Try varied oils in your food and experiment with what suits your body the best. Always keep the quantity in mind. It is a myth around the world that the more the oil the tastier your food will be, we suggest try adding fresh herbs to your food with minimal quantity of oil.

Anchal Anurag Jyoti