Oil - Good or Bad?

The other day I was having a discussion about integrating a more plant-based diet.  The lady I was talking with mentioned that they didn't use any oils because they are all fat and calories and have nothing to offer in terms of nutrition.

I was a little shocked.  I mean I don't drink oil down by any means, but I do like coconut oil in my chocolate hazelnut spread and I am particularly fond of a certain vinaigrette I make, which has olive oil.

Once I had gotten back home it was bugging me.  Had I really been trying to use these healthy, organic oils thinking they were good for me, when really I should be cutting them out?

So a did a little research.  If you don't want to take time to read through the information, here is the summary: No, oil is not bad for you.  Actually, it helps your cells better absorb essential fatty acids (such as omega 3). It also protects against heart disease, inflammation, and other chronic diseases (info from a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition).

The Research
Dr. Oz had a segment on his show about the good oils and bad oils.

There are two kinds of good oils for you - polyunsaturated and monounsaturated.  

Olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil would all be examples of good oils.

Here is my take on it.... If you are eating similar to a "raw" diet (mostly a wide variety of fruits, veggies, nuts, and add in some sprouted whole grains), you shouldn't have a real need to count calories, much less worry about healthy fats.  It's like eating two avocados and suddenly worrying that you ate too much fat.  If you really want to get nit-picky about food intake, I would put down the girl scout cookies and eat some banana ice cream instead.


Cooking - Canola vs Olive  Canola is better for cooking



That being said, I also saw some interesting information from this website.  Below are some highlights.

The Good - unsaturated fats.

At the end of the day, a good fat is still a fat in terms of calories. Any labels on cooking oil that describe the oil as "light," are referring to the taste or color, not the fat or calorie content. All oils are 100 percent fat and are worth around 120 calories per tablespoon.

The Bad - Saturated Fats - artery clogging - meat and dairy products - solid at room temperature - raise LDL (bad cholesterol)

However, a meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in early 2010 found no link between saturated-fat intake and increased risk of coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease. Still, the Harvard School of Public Health, in a study published in March 2010, found that replacing saturated fats with an equal amount of polyunsaturated fats did indeed reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 19 percent.

 The advisory committee for the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests a reduction of saturated-fat intake to no more than seven percent of daily intake, and little recognition that a high intake of carbohydrates, which tend to replace saturated fats in people's diets, are a factor in rising obesity rates and associated health problems.

Summary

Here is what I have gathered from my research. No oil is not bad for you.  In moderation, and with the right kind of oil you can help your body function better.  These diets, such as the Forks Over Knives diet, that advocate eliminating oil from the diet are a little extreme, in my opinion.

I have lost 12 pounds in one and a half months, just from eating real food.  A discussion about real food will have to come at a later time because that is a whole other discussion all in itself.

Brands With BPA Free - Shopping List

Click to print a copy of this shopping list:

Brands of canned food with BPA free lining

Am I Willing to Pay Less to Have My Hormones Totally Screwed Up By Synthetic Hormones in My Food?

I would like to start off with saying, that I am a bit annoyed.  I am annoyed that the government agencies, people in authority, and companies producing goods don't tell us the truth about what we eat, drink, and put in our bodies.  

I am so annoyed that I have to research everything to find out what is safe and what is not for my little daughter and family.

That said, let's face reality.  I do have to educate myself about our food and environment.  So here is something I learned recently.  I have really been wanting to make some recipes that include pumpkin lately, but every time I thought of purchasing a can of pumpkin from the grocery store, I was completely turned off by the fact that the can is lined with bisphenol A - a hormone disruptor.  I had heard there were a few brands that do not line their cans with BPA, and this site here has a list.

I was reading over this and halfway down the page in the paragraph that starts with "A 2011 study" it talked about a lot of people also testing positive for BPS in their urine.  Apparently a lot of companies are now replacing BPA (since it has had some media attention) with its cousin BPS, which from what I understand it still a hormone disruptor (imitates estrogen) and is even more easily absorbed by the human body.

One more thing to look out for while purchasing food.

Even CHINA has bans on BPA along with quite a few other countries (source)

So for now I bought a few pie pumpkins and am making pumpkin puree from scratch.  I hear it's supposed to be better than the canned stuff anyways, but it still irks me that these companies are purposefully and knowingly poisoning our food.