Living With Fibro

You have heard it said, time and time again, that fried foods will kill you. You love the flavor of fried foods and nothing will make you give up eating fried foods no matter how healthy or unhealthy they are for you. So, what’s the solution? How can you eat fried foods, but make them healthier for you? The secret to healthier fried foods lies in the type of cooking oil that you use to fry the foods in.

Some oils are unhealthier than others. At the same time, some oils have specific health benefits. Olive Oil is an example of oil that has specific health benefits. Olive Oil raises your good cholesterol (also known as HDL) in your body. Nut based oils such as peanut oil and cashew oil can be very unhealthy for people with a nut allergy, who could go into anaphylactic shock from fried foods cooked in those oils. Most cooking oils are high in saturated fat, while you can’t (and don’t want to) cut saturated fat from your diet all together, a high amount of saturated fat can lead to coronary heart disease, obesity, and other health problems. The cooking oils highest in saturated fat are coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil. Cooking oils that are lower in saturated fats and high in unsaturated and monounsaturated fats are healthier than cooking oils that are high in saturated fats.

Common cooking oils include: butter, clarified or purified butter, canola, coconut, corn, cottonseed, grape seed, lard, margarine, olive, palm, peanut, safflower, sesame, soybean, and sunflower.

Butter is high in saturated fat, containing 66% saturated fat and only 30% monounsaturated fat.

Clarified butter, also known as purified butter, claims to be healthier than regular butter. In fact, clarified butter is not that much lower in saturated fat than regular butter. Clarified butter is 65% saturated fat and 32% monounsaturated fat.

Canola Oil is only 6% in saturated fat and 62% monounsaturated fat. Canola oil is one of the healthiest cooking oils available on the market today.

Coconut Oil is one of the unhealthiest cooking oils available on the market today. Cooking oil is made up of 92% saturated fat and 6% monounsaturated fat.

Corn Oil is rather low in saturated fat, coming in at only 13% saturated fat and 25% monounsaturated fat. Corn Oil is one of the healthier cooking oils available on the market today.

Cottonseed Oil contains around 24% saturated fat and 26% monounsaturated fat. Cottonseed Oil is generally what commercially fried foods are fried in.

Grape Seed Oil has only 12% saturated fat and 17% monounsaturated fat. Grape Seed Oil is great for people who suffer from hyperactivity, as it has a natural calming effect.

Lard is very high in saturated fat. While many say that it tastes the best, you must keep in mind the 41% saturated fat and the 47% monounsaturated fat.

Margarine is often used as a substitute for butter, and can be found in both hard and soft forms. Many people choose margarine over butter because they believe it is a healthy alternative. Hard margarine is very unhealthy containing 80% saturated fat and 14% monounsaturated fat. Soft margarine is healthier than hard margarine by far, with only 20% saturated fat and 47% monounsaturated fat.

Olive Oil is a healthy alternative to butter. Olive Oil comes in many different forms including extra virgin, virgin, refined, and extra light olive oil. Even though names like “extra light olive oil” would lead you to believe that some types of olive oil are healthier than others, all types of olive oil contain 14% saturated fat and 73% monounsaturated fat.

Palm Oil may seem like a healthy alternative to butter, but it is actually very high in saturated fat, containing nearly 52% saturated fat and 38% monounsaturated fat. Even with its high saturated fat content, palm oil is increasing in popularity because of its rich flavor.

Peanut Oil is a healthy alternative to butter, but of course, it can’t be used by anyone with a peanut or nut allergy. Peanut oil contains 18% saturated fat and 49% unsaturated fat.

Safflower Oil is a newer type of cooking oil and with only 10% saturated fat and 13% monounsaturated fat, safflower oil is quickly gaining in popularity.

Sesame Oil comes in both unrefined and semi-refined varieties, both of which contain 14% saturated fat and 43% monounsaturated fat.

Soybean Oil is also gaining in popularity, with 15% saturated fat and 24% monounsaturated fat; it is becoming the first choice for many fried food lovers.

Sunflower Oil is one of the healthiest oils with only 11% saturated fat and 20% monounsaturated fat.

Fibromyalgia sufferers need to be conscious of the fact that fried foods can increase their Fibromyalgia pain. Additionally, foods high in fat can cause other health problems including heart disease and obesity. You don’t have to give up eating fried foods all together, instead, remember that all good things should be consumed in moderation. GERD and Esophagitis sufferers can also benefit from using cooking oils that are low in fat. GERD and Esophagitis sufferers should avoid peanut oil which is high in salt, and could increase their heartburn symptoms. GERD and Esophagitis sufferers can strongly benefit from seed and nut based cooking oils.

When selecting a cooking oil, keep in mind the temperature of the food that you will be frying. Some cooking oils are not suitable for frying foods at higher temperatures. Unrefined cooking oils for instance, should not be heated to temperatures above 225 degrees Farenheit. Walnut oil, sunflower oil, and sesame oil are appropriate for medium temperature frying. Canola oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, and soybean oil are appropriate for frying at extremely high temperatures (temperatures over 500 degrees Farenheit).

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