Written By: Bhavyajyoti Chilukoti | Updated : February 4, 2015 10:59 PM IST
The primary and the most inevitable ingredient of every dish that we cook on a daily basis is oil. It is always a juggling task for every woman to pick up the right cooking oil from the numerous types and brands of oil available in the market. Nowadays, there are numerous myths about cooking oil which are primarily related to detrimental effects of these oils on our health. It is very important to separate the facts from the fiction about cooking oil, which forms an indispensable part of our daily meals. Here are the top 5 common myths about cooking oil
Myth 1 Reusing oil causes no health issues
People often tend to reuse oil several times irrespective of the type of oil used and its cooking purpose (frying, saut ing, etc). Reusing cooking oil is not a safe practice, as using the same oil again and again creates free radicals, which in turn cause cancer. In addition, overheating and repeated heating of cooking oil is dangerous for health as it causes detrimental effects on health like acidity, heart disease, irritable throat and Alzheimer's disease. Read more about reusing oil why it is dangerous for health.
Myth 2 Using more oil makes food tastier
The second most common myth about cooking oil is that the more oil you use while cooking, the tastier is your food. The fact is that using more oil to cook causes the food to overcook and also lose a lot of nutrients from the food. Additionally, consuming food that is high in oil increases your risk of health complications by raising your cholesterol levels in the body.
Myth 3 Vegetable oils low in cholesterol should be used
Indians mostly use vegetable oils for cooking purposes. Most of us might have come across ads which say that one should choose a vegetable oil which is low in cholesterol, but in reality, vegetable oils are obtained from plants and hence, do not contain cholesterol. So do not ever go by ads that are a mere marketing gimmick, but check the nutritional information on the oil packs or cans to know about the nutritive value of the oil.
Myth 4 Traditional cooking oils are not heart-friendly
With the introduction of so-called heart-friendly cooking oils like sunflower or safflower oils in our diet due to the presence of PUFA (Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids) in these oils, traditional cooking oils have been side-lined. However, research studies have proved that traditional cooking oils like ghee, mustard oil and coconut oil are better than heart-friendly oils in reducing your risk of acute heart disease, type2 diabetes and dyslipidaemias. [1]
Myth 5 Replacing cooking oil with olive oil is good for health
While olive oil is good for heart health and contains good amounts of omega 3 fatty acids, one cannot use it for cooking purposes. This is because olive oil has low smoke point (the oil becomes useless beyond this point as it starts to break down) and hence is not suitable for cooking. While normally used cooking oils like coconut oil, groundnut oil and rice bran oil have high smoke point and hence, can be used for deep frying, shallow frying as well as saut ing.
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