Nut oils provide more flavor – more bang for the buck.. Kinda. But, let’s look at both sides of the coin.
(Note: when I talk to nut oils I include seed oils in the same group – like, sunflower, hemp, etc.)
The good first. Nut oils are:
- flavorful
- cheaper (well, not all of them really)
- some can take higher temperatures (higher smoke point – refined peanut, sunflower safflower oil)
And, that’s about it. Generally, the more refined the nut and seed oil, the higher its smoke point, meaning the more you can heat it without burning it and making twice as unhealthy.
Now, the bad:
- high Omega-6 fatty acids content
- low Omega-3 fatty acids content (with the exception of flax oil)
- low smoke point when unrefined
- goes rancid easily
- not natural for human consumption
Let’s go over each point from the list above one by one.
High Omega-6 means that the nut oil has systemic inflammation-promoting properties. Don’t get me wrong. Omega-6 is an essential fat (i.e. we can’t without it), but in the ratios it’s represented in our contemporary Western diet – it’s way too much to the point that it causes the body to produce more of certain inflammation-promoting substances.
It’s exactly the opposite with Omega-3 – it has neutral to anti-inflammatory properties, and it competes with Omega-6 for the same substrates in the body. In other words, the body makes more anti-inflammatory substances if there is a healthy ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6, but it makes more inflammatory when the Omega-6 is too high.
And, what’s too high? 1:10 and more of O-3:O-6. What is normal? 1:1 to 1:2. What is the standard ratio in the Western diet? 1:20 to 1:50!!! Very unfavorable, if you ask me.
So, why are we discussing the O- fatty acids so much? Because nut/seed (and for that matter grain) oils are way too high in Omega-6 and too low in Omega-3 – with the exception of flax oil.
Can you compensate higher Omega-6 consumption with lots of Omega-3. Wll, no! These fats are highly reactive – they tend to oxidize easily and if there is too much of either of them in the body you are in trouble. The best solution is to maintain your Omega-6 low so that you don’t have to make up with Omega-3 because of skewed ratio. How? By avoiding nut oils – even on your salad.
As far as the smoke point goes, this is when you heat up the oil to a point where it literally starts emitting smoke. At this point, even if it had any healthy benefits or if it were neutral, it’s no longer good for consumption – moo many potentially bad substances – it changes chemically. Some highly-refined nut and seed oils can take more heat, but the more refined they are the more unnatural they are for you.
(I recently wrote an extensive article on how oils go rancid. Go read it, if you’d like)
Speaking of unnatural, as far as I know seed and nut oils have appeared in the human diet not long ago. Definitely not long enough for us to adapt to 1) nut and seed (and grain) oils; 2) not long enough to adapt to the level of refinement most of them undergo.
Historically, we’ve used animal fat in our diets, like lard, beef tallow, etc. This is the fat that we are functionally accustomed to. Yes, it is mostly saturated, but this is a topic of a whole another article. For now, I’ll just say it isn’t bad the way you were trained to believe. In low – or should I say in normal quantities it is actually essential. Just think about it – it’s the fat that you (and I) make in our own bodies (that should tell you enough about the “cholesterol -s-bad-for-you-conversation”).
“So, okay, avoid nut and seed (and grain) oils”, you say, “but what should I use”?
I’m glad you asked, because I have a few suggestions.
First, the few of fundamental rules you ought to keep in mind when selecting an oil/fat to use in your diet:
- low in Omega-6
- higher smoke point
- unrefined
- low in total polyunsaturated fats (this includes both Omega-3 and 6)
These are the oils/fats that I’d suggest you use in your diet:
- extra virgin olive oil (low in O-3 and -6, high in Omega-9 – good)
- extra virgin coconut oil (highly saturated, doesn’t easily go rancid, flavorful)
- palm oil (half unsaturated, half saturated, doesn’t easily go rancid, higher smoke point)
- cocoa oil (fragrant, highly saturated, doesn’t easily go rancid)
- butter (delicious, saturated/unsaturated mix with vitamins)
- macadamia oil (yes, a nut oil but virtually free of O-3 and O-6 polyunsaturated fats, decent smoke point)
- avocado oil (fruit oil, moderate Omega-6 and very high smoke point)
- lard and beef tallow (highly saturated, do not easily oxidize/go rancid, decent smoke point)
Note: there are no marine oils in the list – they are high in polyunsaturated fats and never good for cooking, unless they come in their natural state, like inside salmon meat.
There you have it. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions, regarding anything I said above, or if you’d like to start a discussion.