The Right and Wrong Cooking Oils

In my quest to keep an eye on my cholesterol and what I can do about it, I continue to read health articles and new findings.  I am sure that my getting rid of unnecessary medications (Crestor) and picking up Krill Oil (better than Fish Oil) is already helping reverse the dangerous trend that had begun; my bad LDL's raising to a dangerous level, even though the doctor saw it as OK since the Total Cholesterol was lowered.  Ugg!  In a couple more months I'll have a new blood test done to confirm this but it will take some time for the effects to start balancing out.  I'm just glad to start the process of rebuilding my good HDL's to start countering this detrimental process that otherwise might have gone unchecked for -- who knows how long!  This is why it's important to temper the doctor's directions with your own research and common sense, sometimes! Even if that means asking for a second or third opinion, or taking some matters into your own hands after you've become educated about it.  It's sad but true that doctors are usually "in kahoots" with the drug companies and they're not likely to encourage you to stop taking any med that's gaining them favor or money with them... Yes they mean well, but they're blinded. And usually, to make matters worse, their training and research doesn't teach them to look outside of the pharmaceutical world for cures, because that's where the money is at.

Anyway, back to the purpose for this morning's post...
So I'm learning how which kinds of cooking oil can also contribute to this problem!
Yes, I really like Dr. Mercola's articles: not only do they present his own research and findings, but that of other experts as well.  He is continually interviewing others and reporting upon THEIR findings as well.  So these articles aren't just one man's thoughts and opinions.  Plus, you can Google these topics for yourself and learn what you will, once you know where to start.

Cooking with Tropical Oils – Your Healthiest Alternative

Consuming a majority of your food uncooked is a cornerstone of optimal health.

Nevertheless, most people prefer to cook their food, at least occasionally. When you do, you're going to cook with some form of oil. The question is, what's the best, healthiest type of oil to use when cooking?

coconut oil is okay to cook with. It's a saturated fat.  Your body will burn it as fuel or it will get rid of it some other way. It won't store it in your body.. So from that point of view, if you're going to use oil then that's a good one to use."

Unlike carbohydrates, which can also deliver quick energy to your body, coconut oil does this without producing an insulin spike. It acts like a carbohydrate, but without any of the debilitating insulin-related effects associated with long-term high carbohydrate consumption.

There are additional health benefits of coconut oil.

The Worst Cooking Oils of All

Polyunsaturated fats are the absolute WORST oils to use when cooking because these omega-6-rich oils are highly susceptible to heat damage.

This category includes common vegetable oils such as:

- Corn
- Soy
- Safflower
- Sunflower
- Canola

Damaged omega-6 fats are disastrous to your health, and are responsible for far more health problems than saturated fats ever were.

Trans fat is the artery-clogging, highly damaged omega-6 polyunsaturated fat that is formed when vegetable oils are hardened into margarine or shortening.

I strongly recommend never using margarine or shortening when cooking. I guarantee you you're already getting far too much of this damaging fat if you consume any kind of processed foods, whether it be potato chips, pre-made cookies, or microwave dinners...

Trans fat is the most consumed type of fat in the US, despite the fact that there is no safe level of trans fat consumption, according to a report from the Institute of Medicine.

Trans fat raises your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels while lowering your HDL (good cholesterol) levels, which of course is the completeopposite of what you want. In fact, trans fats -- as opposed to saturated fats -- have been repeatedly linked to heart disease. They can also cause major clogging of your arteries, type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems.

Personally I don't cook very much but when I do I use our Pure Virgin Coconut Oil as it is the most resistant to heating damage, but also a great source of medium chained triglycerides and lauric acid.

So, cleaning these oils out of your kitchen cupboard is definitely recommended if you value your health.

See this article for additional
Important, New Information about Olive Oil
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/30/rudi-moerck-on-cooking-oils.aspx?aid=CD945