What are some healthier cooking oil options?

Healthier Cooking Oils

Choose extra-virgin olive oil as your primary cooking oil, with soybean and canola oils as excellent alternatives—these oils reduce cardiovascular mortality and morbidity based on the strongest available evidence. 1

Top-Tier Recommendations

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (First Choice)

• Extra-virgin olive oil demonstrated a 30% reduction in stroke, myocardial infarction, or death in the landmark PREDIMED randomized trial, making it the gold standard for cooking oil selection 2, 1
• The cardiovascular benefits extend beyond its fatty acid profile—extra-virgin olive oil contains oleocanthal and other phenolic compounds with anti-inflammatory properties that bind COX-1 and COX-2 receptors 2
• Participants in the highest tertile of olive oil consumption showed 35% lower cardiovascular disease risk 1
• Virgin oils preserve beneficial phenolic compounds through low-temperature refining, making them preferable to refined versions 2

Soybean and Canola Oils (Excellent Alternatives)

• Soybean, canola, and extra-virgin olive oil have the best-established cardiovascular benefits among all cooking oils 2
• These oils contain both omega-6 (linoleic acid) and omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid) polyunsaturated fats, providing balanced essential fatty acid intake 1
• Controlled trials demonstrating coronary heart disease benefits specifically utilized soybean oil 1
• Canola oil contains 55% monounsaturated oleic acid, 25% linoleic acid, 10% alpha-linolenic acid, and only 4% saturated fats 3
• Replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich vegetable oils reduces coronary heart disease by 29%—benefits comparable to statin therapy 1

Other Acceptable Options

• Sunflower, safflower, and corn oils serve as additional alternatives for cardiovascular health 1
• WHO guidelines identify sunflower oil among preferable unsaturated fat sources 2

Oils to Limit or Avoid

Tropical Oils (Use Sparingly)

• Coconut and palm oil should be avoided or used sparingly due to high saturated fat content with cholesterol-raising potential 4, 1
• The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology specifically recommend limiting coconut oil in patients with hypertriglyceridemia 4
• Long-term evidence on tropical oils remains insufficient to support their promotion, despite theoretical benefits from medium-chain fatty acids 2
• Processing methods of coconut oil significantly affect metabolic impact, with increasing processing associated with more adverse cholesterol effects 4

Strictly Eliminate

• Partially hydrogenated oils containing trans fatty acids must be eliminated—they uniquely raise LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and lipoprotein(a) while lowering HDL-cholesterol 1

Practical Implementation Strategy

Daily Use Recommendations

• Consume 25-40 grams of non-tropical vegetable oils daily depending on individual energy needs 1
• Replace butter, lard, and animal fats with recommended vegetable oils in all cooking and food preparation 1
• Use extra-virgin olive oil when flavor complements the dish; switch to soybean or canola oil when neutral flavor is needed 1

Important Caveats

• The total food matrix matters more than isolated fatty acid content—consume these oils as part of an overall Mediterranean-type diet pattern for optimal cardiovascular protection 1
• Virgin olive oil consumption significantly reduces cardiovascular disease clinical events when used as part of a comprehensive dietary pattern, including for frying foods 5
• Modern nutritional science demonstrates limitations of drawing conclusions about health effects based solely on nutrient content theories 2, 4

Mechanism of Cardiovascular Benefit

The cardiovascular advantages of recommended oils operate through multiple pathways:

• Reduction of LDL-cholesterol levels 1
• Lowering of blood pressure 1
• Improvement of insulin sensitivity 1
• Reduction of subclinical inflammation 1
• Control of hemostatic processes 1