Cebu City – The staple ingredient that is found in every kitchen is cooking oil. Almost all types of foods today used cooking oil during their preparation process. Cooking oil is used for frying foods like chicken, pork, or seafood, and if not used for frying, it is used for sautéing garlic and onions. Technically speaking, cooking oil is commonly used in homemade meals. There are various types of cooking oil depending on what it is made of. You probably have seen the available one mostly in the grocery stores here in the Philippines. Among which is coconut oil, palm oil, soybean oil, canola oil, olive oil, and vegetable oil. 

However, it is essential to consider a few things in purchasing and using a certain type of cooking oil. Based on some research, some cooking oil can sometimes be the cause of many health problems like heart disease, obesity, cancer, and diabetes. This is the reason why most health-conscious people prefer to choose their cooking oil oils wisely. Healthy cooking oils should have healthy fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats instead of saturated and trans-fat. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are fats that are good for your heart. While saturated and trans-fat can raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Some of the healthiest cooking oil according to the American Heart Association is canola oil, olive oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil. Olive oil specifically has monounsaturated fatty acids and compounds that help prevent non-communicable diseases and reduced the risk of heart disease. On the other hand, the worst kind of cooking oil is palm oil, and vegetable oil. Palm oil specifically can cause atherosclerosis which means the thickening or hardening of the arteries. More studies are being conducted for coconut oil.

Whatever cooking oil you prefer to use in your cooking, it is important to be mindful of both its benefits and possible health issues it may cause you. Always read the label for information. // AA VI Ronalyn C. Dela Cerna