Which oil should I use?

I always understood that olive oil is on the list of oils that we are advised not to use at very high temperatures.

I use rapeseed oil because the brand I buy is grown and processed locally. Since I never deep fry and rarely use more than teaspoon of oil in any cooking, I see no reason to need to bother with lists like this.

I have always used butter, never margarine of any kind. Again, we do not use a lot.

Personally, I take all these recommnedations with a pinch of salt. We have always had a healthy diet, as the result of a medical problem I had as a child, which I have always controlled with a diet that is high in fibre, keeping well hydrated and being active.

DH and I are both 78. I am not overweight, physically fit, on no medication and with no underlying medical problems. DH is obese and has been for decades, he has diabetes, but in remission for the last 10 years, high blood pressure and had aa heart attck and triple bypass surgery just over a year ago?

Make of that what you will.

I noticed that DD has swapped to rice bran oil for cooking; they always used olive oil and still buy it for salad dressings etc.

For frying (eg eggs) I use rice bran oil. Tasteless and very high smoke point.

For salad dressings a light olive oil usually.

I use rapeseed oil for most things these days as it's It’s lower in saturated fat, higher in vitamin E and has a higher smoke point than olive oil but I still have some good quality olive oil for use in some recipes when I want that taste. I also use coconut, walnut and sesame oils for some recipes but generally in very small quantities. I also use butter but again in moderation. If I could only use one, it would be rapeseed.

I think it might all be to do with Free Radicals - I thought they were a band!

The best article I could find on cooking with olive oil theconversation.com/amp/fact-check-is-it-bad-for-your-health-to-eat-food-fried-in-olive-oil-79680
The bottom line: ‘While there are clearly healthier ways to cook foods, frying food with olive oil is unlikely to be significantly bad for your health.’

I now use sunflower oil for my air fryer if making chips - only needs a spoonful and I don’t make them often. I use good quality Olive oil for dressings - particularly mixed with balsamic and walnut oil and lemon juice - with other bits - for a really nice salad dressing. I do also use coconut oil which is solid most of the time for stir fries etc.
For greasing baking sheets I use butter as it does not burn and become sticky like oils.
The nurse told me years ago that DH. could eat anything I cooked or baked as they would not contain the very worst fats like shop bought jobs do.
At my last blood test the dr commented how my cholesterol levels were spot on.
Forgot to say - goose fat for roast potatoes!

For cooking oil, I mostly use rapeseed oil now, British, in glass bottles. If there’s an alternative to plastic, I go for that now. Dh got a ticking off recently for buying mayonnaise in a squeezy plastic bottle - I hate them! With a jar it’s easy to scrape the last bits out with a spoon.

Also stir-fry oil in glass - it’s partly sesame seed oil. We have quite a lot of stir-fries,
Olive oil for some things plus of course any salad dressing, but apparently it’s not the best at higher temps.

I do try to avoid palm oil, but it’s in virtually every non-dairy spread that I’ve ever found* and in spreadable butter. I do prefer butter for spreading.

For cakes I usually use soft Stork for cakes, and block Stork or equivalent for pastry. Not that I make either very often. I actually prefer the taste of cakes and pastry made with those.

*If anyone knows of a non-dairy spread without palm oil, do please tell!

Trans fats are very bad for you.

With having high cholesterol, I mainly use only olive oil and spreads like Flora light. And skimmed milk only.

kittlester DH I was astonished by the nutritional leaflet given to DH when he came out of hospital last year - admittedly he'd lost weight but the advice was to eat cream, drink whole milk, fatty foods, cakes etc in order to gain weight.
It went in the bin.

It seems a very Americanised list to me. I'd go with reputable advice from something like the BHF, as another poster has already said.

Oh dear not a reliable source of nutrition then. Can’t understand why people go to them for advise. The BHF is the best for accredited research advice on heart disease and diet. Bet it costs for advise too.

Olive oil can become toxic if used to fry at high temperatures. Rapeseed oil for me always. Grown and produced in the U.K. Cold pressed rapeseed oil can be used the same as cp olive oil, but for me a nicer taste.
www.thecookingacademy.co.uk/rapeseed-versus-olive-oil?back=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fclient%3Dsafari%26as_qdr%3Dall%26as_occt%3Dany%26safe%3Dactive%26as_q%3DIs+rape+seed+oil+better+than+olive+oil+for+health%26channel%3Daplab%26source%3Da-app1%26hl%3Den

We use mainly olive oil and butter, just because we like the taste. Rapeseed oil if we’re frying, because it doesn’t have that lingering smell.

Olive oil and butter.

My brother, who has heart problems, has been told not to use any other oils than olive and to cook with hard fats

Hard fats have a higher smoke point so are supposed to be safer when cooking at very high temperatures as they don't release free radicals which are bad for you.

I'm sticking with olive oil.

I only use Olive oil and butter.

I use Butter for baking, all other fats have other chemicals added to them, apart from Lard, which I never use.

I only shallow fry and don’t own a deep fryer.

Thank you Shandy. I learnt quite a bit from that list. Most worrying for me being that whole milk is on the "bad" list. I drink lots of milk, whole and semi-skimmed, but prefer the whole milk.

Well, now I am totally confused.

My brother was given that leaflet at his post op clinic.

Thanks Shandy57. Very straight forward and helpful.

Following my husband's heart problems I always refer to the BHF site.

Here's the link to the page on fats

www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/support/healthy-living/healthy-eating/fats-explained

I am surprised to see ghee and lard in the “good” section.

kittylester

My brother, who has heart problems, has been told not to use any other oils than olive and to cook with hard fats. I mentioned it to my daughter who see.ed very au fait with it.

Who told him, kitty?

Dr Cate's ideas seem to be in contrast to recommendations by other experts and nutritionists.

She claims:
Dr. Cate Shanahan is the leading authority on nutrition and human metabolism
Some claim!

In May of 2018, she started working as Director of Metabolic Health for ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, a progressive, family-run company interested in saving money for the betterment of health

So she claims that seed oils cause ill health and inflammation but works for a company which runs liquor supermarkets.

I just use olive oil because it's more healthy than other oils I think. Butter is lovely, but a treat.