Vegetable oil is a fixture in most Indian homes who prefer it for its neutral taste. It's derived from seeds, grains and even fruit. They have wide applications in the kitchen from frying to baking.
Till recent times, vegetable oil had been regarded as a safe cooking ingredient. However, recent research has raised concerns about some health risks involved with vegetable oil, especially related to its omega 6 content. Here's what you should know.
What is vegetable oil?
Vegetable oil is a blanket term used to refer to oils derived from various seeds, fruits and grains. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, rice bran oil, cocoa butter, olive oil, palm oil and rice bran oil are some examples of vegetable oils or vegetable fats.
These oils, especially soybean, became popular in the 1900s, replacing lard and butter, which were common cooking fats.
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Vegetable oils have many culinary uses. Apart from frying, some vegetable fats are used as shortening in baking, others are used for flavouring.
Health benefits of vegetable oil
It's wrong to say that vegetable oil has no health benefits. It's rich in omega-6 fats that lower harmful LDL cholesterol and increase the good HDL.
These polyunsaturated fats can be found in vegetable oils like safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds.
Omega 6 also helps in keeping blood sugar levels under control by improving insulin sensitivity.
Health risks of vegetable oil
Linoleic acid is the main omega-6 polyunsaturated fat found in vegetable oils. It has been implicated as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
It is also a risk factor for increased inflammation in the body. The unsaturated fats in vegetable oils can oxidise when they are heated. This oxidisation increases inflammation, leading to many chronic health problems including cancer.
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Toxic chemicals are produced in vegetable oils when they are heated beyond the smoke point. At a temperature, this high, acrolein, a highly toxic substance, is produced.
Nutritional composition of vegetable oil
100g of vegetable oil has the following nutritional composition.
| Nutritional Fact | Measure %(DV) |
| Calories | 884 |
| Fat | 153% |
| Saturated fat | 70% |
| Carbohydrates | 0% |
| Sodium | 0% |
| Protein | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 0% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0% |
| Magnesium | 0% |
| Calcium | 0% |
| Cobalamin | 0% |
How to choose vegetable oils
It's important to choose the right vegetable oil according to its omega 6 content. Scientific wisdom suggests avoiding those oils that have a high amount of Omega 6.
The healthiest oils include coconut, olive oil, lard, butter and olive oil, which are low in omega 6.
On the contrary, oils like canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil and soybean oil are high in omega 6.
While omega 6 does offer a lot of benefits, it's important to balance it with its cousin omega 3.
In the pre-industrial times, when processed foods were a thing of the distant future, humans sourced their fats from animal sources that were rich in omega 3.
These days, however, more people have been consuming omega 6 and omega 3 consumption has been at an all-time low.
Increasing the consumption of fatty fish like mackerel, sardine, salmon and herring, and nuts like flaxseed, walnuts and chia can help in balancing both the essential fatty acids.
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