Healthy Oils

Healthy oils are only healthy if you use them correctly. There are some oils that can tolerate the heat of the frying pan and others that just need to rest lightly on a salad with a little vinegar and spice.

Some oils don't pass as healthy whether you sauté, flambeau or simply use them cold. Healthy oils are those that fit the criteria for essential fatty acids, are lower in unsaturated fats, lower the blood cholesterol or at least not raise it, have little pesticide in them and are processed properly so the oil's integrity is maintained and the nutritional value isn't lost.

Oil is nothing more than liquid fat. The body needs to have fat to help it absorb nutrients, maintain the integrity of the cell membrane, insure proper nerve transmission and perform other important tasks. You can get too much of a good thing however. You also can choose the wrong type of oil and increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. If you use the oils improperly, you also increase a potential for cancer.

Some oils are hydrogenated. Hydrogenation creates a longer shelf life but also makes the trans fatty acids that you hear so much about today. When you look at vegetable shortening, stick margarine or even the oil in microwave popcorn, you're looking at samples of hydrogenated oils.

There are oils that are polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, totally unsaturated and saturated fats. Each type of healthy oil has some saturated fat and some unsaturated fat. The chains of fat in the oil also are mixed. Saturated fat is what you need to avoid. Studies found that diets high in saturated fats are linked to a higher incidence of coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis. The studies also found that saturated fats negatively effected the cholesterol profile of the individuals that ate them regularly in their diet. Experiments that replaced the saturated fats with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat reduced the likelihood of a second stroke or cardiac death significantly. Oils that contain high saturated fats include butter, coconut oil, cottonseed oil and palm kernel oil.

Polyunsaturated fat lower both the total cholesterol and the LDL, bad cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats, however, actually raise the HDL, good, cholesterol level. The highest oil in unsaturated fat is canola followed closely by sunflower and safflower oil. However, if you divide the groups up between polyunsaturated and monounsaturated, olive oil ranks the highest with canola oil right behind it.

Oils that don't fare well when heat is applied include those that contain the omega 3 fatty acids. The heat changes the fatty acids and even makes them harmful. In this case, oils that are higher in saturated fats or monounsaturated fats tend to be higher when you use them for cooking. These include the ever-popular olive oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, high oleic sunflower oil, butter and peanut oil. Of course, coconut oil is high in saturated fat.

There's a technique that preserves the flavor and nutrition of oils that you use for cooking. It involves sautéing the food first in a small amount of water heated slightly below the boiling point. Cook the food for a while and then later add the oil. This practice is wet sautéing the food. Since the oil has a limited time in the heat, it helps maintain the integrity of the oil.

The way the manufacturers process the oil also makes a difference. Remember that some oils are damaged by heat that creates a toxin. Some manufacturers use heat or chemicals to process their oil. Always look for oils that are cold pressed to maximize the health value of the oil. Healthy oils are those from organic sources; contain lower saturated fats and where the manufacturer uses natural processing methods.

Fish Oil Is Healthy

Fish oil contains a large amount of vitamin F. If you never heard of that vitamin before, you aren't alone. It is one of the newer classifications and contains what used to be essential fatty acids. There are also two different categories, the Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. Fish oil contains the Omega-3 fatty acid.

Most of Americans diets are heavily Omega-6 fatty acids. The ideal balance between Omega-6 and Omega-3 should be a 2 to 1 ratio. Yet, in the American diet, the ratio balance is as much as 50 to 1. This leads to an imbalance of the types of fatty acids that affect all the areas of the body. One of them is the health of the cardiovascular system.

Studies show that increasing the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids tends to decrease the triglyceride levels, lowers the blood pressure, decreases the amount of plaque build up on the vessel walls and decreases the risk of coronary arrhythmia that may lead to death. The Omega-3 also showed that it helped those prone to strokes if they had known heart disease.

Even though there are other types of foods that contain Omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil contains a special type. The Omega-3 from plant oils like the soybean, flaxseed or olive oil contain alpha-linolenic acid known as ALA. Fish oil contains dicosahexaenoic acid, DHA, and eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA that has additional benefits.

Most of the scientific studies that showed the dramatic and pronounced effects came from the Omega-3 with DHA and EPA. While those that contained the ALA also had some effect, it wasn't as pronounced and the evidence was less convincing.

Logically and according to the way the body works, a human should be able to make their own EPA and DHA Omega-3 from the ALA found in dark green vegetables. Unfortunately, it only works on paper and is not nearly as efficient in real life. Because of this fact, those involved in medical research often propose that additional supplements of Omega-3 EPA and DHA provide the necessary fatty acids that your body doesn't make in enough volume.

In the second half of the 1970s, scientists studied the Eskimo Indians, the Inuit, in Greenland. They found that there were many diseases that were significantly lower than those of the general European population were. These diseases were diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, coronary heart disease and psoriasis.

The Inuit had a high diet of fat from their consumption of seal, whale and salmon, so it was directly opposed to the normal thinking about fat. It was only after analyzing the type of fat contained in the diet, those high in Omega-3 essential fatty acids, did the scientists realize that these types of fat actually benefit the individual, unlike their counterparts that cause distress to the body.

More research into the use of Omega-3 fatty acids is taking place to find whether large doses of this new vitamin F actually could bring a benefit to those with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, ADHD, alcoholism, bipolar disease, diabetes, depression or arthritis. There is hope on the horizon that not only would large doses be effective treatments but also effective as preventatives as well.

Although those treatments are simply investigations right now, we do know that Omega-3 fatty acids bring definite improvement to those with high cholesterol and heart conditions. Fish oil is just one simple way add that benefit to your diet.

Healthy benefits Of Flaxseed Oil

Dr Johanna Budwig, a Nobel Prize winner seven different times, did some amazing research on the health benefits of flaxseed oil. She formed a correlation between cancer and oxygenation of the cells. With this, she created the Budwig diet for cancer patients.

She found that if you use a mixture of oil-protein from organic cold-pressed flaxseed oil and combined it with quark, which is a dairy product in Germany and similar to cottage cheese, it balanced the Omega 6 fatty acids in the body that occur in many diets in the Western world. The combination provided detoxification and gave the cells an extra spark to allow them more oxygen. The diet contained no sugar and many other organic foods but the key was the combination of flaxseed oil and cottage cheese.

Dr Budwig wrote many more books and articles and believed that while her theories proved to work, they would never be accepted by the vast majority of the medical community. In her estimation it was because you couldn't patent flaxseed oil or cottage cheese, these ingredients were too readily available.

She isn't the only scientist to praise the use of flaxseed oil. Others find that the essential fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid, in the flaxseed oil might be beneficial for a number of other conditions which include heart disease, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, eczema and psoriasis.

Scientists do know, however, your body needs to maintain a balance between the amount of Omega 6 fatty acid and the amount of Omega 3 fatty acid. The flaxseed oil contains the Omega 3 fatty acid, which is normally lacking in most diets. The ideal ratio for the two is one part Omega 3 to 2 part of the Omega 6 acid. Unfortunately, most Western diets end up containing anywhere from 20 to 50 times more of the Omega 6 fatty acid. This affects the entire body, including the immune system.

Many studies show that the Omega-3 fatty acid found in flaxseed oil lowers the LDL, the bad cholesterol and triglycerides, while it raised the good, HDL, cholesterol. It also protected the body from high blood pressure and water retention. It also prevented the blood platelets from sticking together and clotting the arteries and increased the immune system function. Of course, with this came lowered potential of strokes, heart attack and thrombosis.

Athletes find that it shortens the muscle fatigue time after working out and increases their stamina. Sprains and bruises heal more rapidly when the individual takes flaxseed oil. Because it increases the energy output of the body, it also increases the potential for weight loss in people that have a hard time losing weight.

Flaxseed oil is also a beauty aid. Consumption of the oil strengthens the nails and aids the body in the absorption of calcium, necessary for teeth, hair, bones and nails. You'll see the world through a different set of eyes if you take flaxseed oil. It improves the eyesight and increases the perception of colors.

There are many other benefits attributed to flaxseed oil such as improved liver function, reduction of allergic reactions and asthma, help for PMS sufferers and even improved memory for the geriatric set. These and many more healthy benefits of flaxseed oil don't come from a doctor's prescription and that just may be the reason that you don't hear them recommended.

Oil Of Oregano

Oil of oregano holds true health benefits that are still not widely known. The oregano that the oil comes from isn't the type you find in a bottle on your grocer's shelf. Most of the time, thebottle labeled oregano is actually marjoram. It gets quite confusing since the genus is origanum or oregano and marjoram belongs to it. So all marjoram is oregano but not all oregano is marjoram. Medicinal oregano is "organum vulgare" also called common oregano.

To make matters worse, you'll often find plants and seed of "organum vulgare" sold as wild marjoram. Even though the name is confusing, the healing benefits are easy to understand.

The scent of the oregano has a hint of a piney scent, which we often identify with a disinfectant and that it is. It contains carvacrol, the same ingredient that gives Pinesol and Listerine their antibacterial boost. However, unlike Pinesol, it's not toxic because of the rest of the phytochemicals found in the oil. If you ingested the synthetic carvacrol, you'd find that it made you very ill because it does not contain these elements.

In tests conducted on the oil, scientists found that the disease fighting properties of oregano oil come from the carvacrol in the oregano oil and that kills both fungi and bacterial spores. One test study recorded in the "Archives Microbiology" October 2000 and "Quarterly Review Biology" March 1998, demonstrated that oregano's constituent carvacrol actually killed Bacillus cereus and Bacillus anthracis. If the second name sounded familiar, it's because the common name for that bacteria is anthrax.

Another study from the Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee in 2001 and reported in the "Journal of Food Protection, July 2001, that when using several different types of plant oils, oregano oil showed the most antibacterial strength against germs like staph. Listeria and E. col. This study followed one completed the previous year and reported in the "Journal of Applied Microbiology in February 2000. That study also showed that the oregano oil was effective in killing 25 types of bacteria.

Another study from the "Journal of Applied Microbiology," June1999, found that oregano had "pharmacologic" effects on yeast infections (Candida albicans), E.coli, Pseydomonas aeruginaosa and Salmonella enteric. Pseydomonas aeruginaosa is the cause of "hot tub rash" but also produces lethal reactions such as pneumonia in people with weakened immune systems.

Oil of oregano has more than just bacterial fighting qualities. It also contains many important minerals. While it contains twice the amount of calcium found in cheese, it's doubtful that you'll ever have a toasted oregano sandwich, but it does add to your daily nutritional intake. It also has magnesium, phosphorous, iron, zinc, boron, potassium and manganese. While oil of oregano has an abundance of iron, like spinach, it also contains ingredients that may stop the absorption of iron. Therefore, if you use the product on a regular basis, it's best to take an iron supplement.

You can use oregano oil for skin infections and irritations if you mix it with other milder oils like coconut oil. The carvacrol and thymol in the oil make it a good remedy for an upset stomach. Just mixing a couple of drops with juice helps mild indigestion. That same mixture taken for several days helps relieve sinus infections, sore throats and congestion.

Coconut Oil - The healthy Oil

Whether you have been looking into cooking more healthily for your family or you are just curious about what all of the fuss about coconut oil is, you'll find that there is a lot of information that can help you. More and more people are making the switch over to coconut oil for their cooking, and if you are curious about whether it makes that much of a difference, you will find that the answer is an unqualified yes! When you are thinking about cooking healthier and living healthier, you'll find that coconut oil can be a great place to start.

In the first place, you'll have to think about the foods that you will be replacing coconut oil with. When you look into foods that are considered unhealthy for you, like burgers or donuts, you'll find that they are filled with trans fats, but what does that really mean? Trans fats, which are also known as Trans Fatty Acids (TFA), are fats that are not good or healthy for you. They occur in trace amounts in meat and dairy products and when they are derived from partially hydrogenated oils, they are even more harmful. They have been linked to heart disease and to clogged arteries and as such can be quite dangerous for people who are already prone to these problems.

When looking at coconut oil, you need to understand thatit isa fat that is not harmful to you. It's made up of medium chain fatty acids, and these are the fatty acids that actually help our bodies function as they should. When your body processes coconut oil, you will find thatit does not require the use of your liver and gallbladder to emulsify it, leading to better transfer of energy and more heat production, not to mention better circulation. For people who have problems with digesting fats, coconut oil is an important oil as it is the only one that is so easily digested.

With all of this in mind, you should also understand how very beneficial coconut oil can be. Because of its chemical structure, it can be instrumental in helping you reduce heart disease, lower the cholesterol, lose weight and even improve diabetic conditions. When you are looking at coconut oil, you will find that it has very really antimicrobial and anti-fungal properties, making it a great tool when you are looking to help your immune system fight invaders. It is also important to realize that coconut oil is instrumental in increasing the metabolic rate and giving you more energy.

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons why you should look into adding more coconut oil into your diet. Take a look at the various different advantages that this wonderful and wonderfully tasty substance can bring, and start looking up some recipes!

While oregano oil is antibacterial, it's not antibiotic. This means it doesn't kill your cells, but just the bacteria. It makes it safe for consumption by most people. However, there is always a possibility of an allergic reaction. Anyone allergic to thyme, basil, mint or sage should be careful using oil of oregano and seek medical attention if a rash or vomiting ensues after use.