WHY FRY WITH EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL?
Frying is one of the unhealthiest ways to cook your food and should be avoided for a wholesome diet. But if you choose to indulge in such gastronomical vices, you should at least fry your food with an healthier oil alternative like extra virgin olive oil.
With an expanding variety of cooking oils to choose from, extra virgin olive oil has become the household favorite. It’s healthy, tasty and convenient! Be sure to make extra virgin olive oil your first choice when cooking or baking, as well as frying.
CHOOSING YOUR COOKING OIL WITH EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
While cooking with other oils, it is important to know which are more suitable for frying. Coconut oil, avocado oil and some vegetable oils are considered healthy choices, but they are actually not ideal for frying in high temperatures.
Cooking oils can either be beneficial or detrimental to your health as they contain various nutritional and chemical properties. If the oil is exposed to high temperatures and cooked several times over, the chemical properties will change the integrity of the food it is frying. Not only is it unhealthy but it becomes harmful when consumed. There are studies that link cooking oils with unsuitable oils to cancer, due to the harmful chemical reactions produced by the increased frying temperatures. However, you can reduce the risks of chemical leakage in your food with frying by using extra virgin olive oil instead.
SEED OILS VS EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
There have been numerous studies about cooking oils affecting your health. Previously seed oils were thought to be lighter than olive oil, therefore making it more suitable for frying. But after studying the harmful substances being produced in each oil after cooking, scientists concluded that extra virgin olive oil is the safest choice for frying.
Seed oils are high in polyunsaturated fats and their smoke point is higher, which is why they lack the antioxidants of extra virgin olive oil. They produce harmful substances which make them extremely dangerous and unstable to consume. As temperatures rise even higher during frying, oxidation of fats and oils is unavoidable. Repeat frying only worsens the situation, causing even faster oxidation. Oxidation forms peroxides, polymers and breakdown-products of peroxides, which are extremely harmful to our health. They are linked to carcinogenesis and pathological disorders, such as, hypertension, diabetes and vascular inflammation.
Alternatively, extra virgin olive oil is resilient to high temperatures due to its high content in monounsaturated fatty acids and vitamins. Its antioxidant properties make it resistant to oxidation and allows faster absorption of vitamins and nutrients. Using EVOO reduces the chances of forming harmful substances leading to cancers and other diseases. Regular consumption of extra virgin olive oil has also been proven to have a protective role against chronic diseases, such as, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular problems. It’s why people in the Mediterranean region are known to live longer and healthier lives!
Virgin olive oil and refined olive oil should only be considered for cooking when there’s no access to extra virgin olive oil. It’s healthier, tastier and allows for high temperature cooking without having to worry about harmful substances formed from lipid oxidation. However, refined olive oil is not as recommended since it has a lot of the disadvantages of seed oils. It offers no nutritional properties, vitamins and polyphenols of extra virgin olive oil, therefore making it as unstable in terms of oxidation as seed oils.
Extra virgin olive oil retains its beneficial qualities during cooking and is extremely resistant to high heat temperatures, maintaining its taste and avoiding degradation of the product. There used to be lots of discussions and studies on whether it should be used for frying or not, fearing for years that its healthy components would be diminished. While it’s true that repeated frying can be detrimental to our health for all types of cooking oils, one-time frying with extra virgin oil is proven to be the safer choice. Remember to always replace your extra virgin olive oil before each frying!
To try it for yourself, visit our shop to get your own bottle of extra virgin olive oil!