Oils for cooking & salad

#1

Macadamia and hemp oil. Are these oils on the recommended list of oils on a keto diet?
Thank you

(Bob M) #2

Macadamia is definitely recommended, though I’ve heard it’s expensive. I’m not sure about hemp oil.

I usually use olive oil for salad and animal fat (ghee, duck fat, tallow, even lard) for cooking.

Where it gets tricky is something like mayonnaise. I use olive oil, which is fine for me. However, others who have better taste buds think something like macadamia oil is better with better flavor.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #3

Try them, and see if they work for you.

You might want to look at their fatty acid profiles, however. If the percentage of polyunsaturated fats is high, particularly ω-6 fats, the oil is going to be inflammatory.

It’s not that you can’t have that sort of stuff and stay in ketosis, but most seed oils simply don’t promote optimal health. There is also some concern about the industrial processing that most seed oils need in order to be made edible.

For best health, mono-unsaturated and saturated fats are the way to go. And that usually means butter/ghee, bacon grease, coconut oil, lard, and tallow.

Remember that the ancients, who had none of the chronic diseases that plague us, used vegetable oils as cosmetics and lamp fuel. They used animal fats for cooking. Even in the Middle Ages, olive oil was more commonly used in making Castile soap than as a food. And even today, there are food activists who claim that the industrial seed oils are just as much to blame as sugar for our current state of health.

(Denise) #4

I’ve eatin a few Macadamias since Keto but mostly I just have my walnuts now, or almonds for a sort of protein boost/snack. I just keep getting Olive oil as I haven’t ventured into other types except coconut.

(Denise) #5

Hmm, hadn’t heard that about Olive Oil Paul, I’ll be looking into other oils, maybe change up. I’ve got a huge thing of Coconut Oil on hand :wink:

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #6

Don’t get me wrong, the fatty acid profile of olive oil is pretty good, and it’s low in ω-6 (which is essential in the diet, but we don’t need all that much). And because it’s a fruit oil, it needs minimal processing, not the kind of industrial refining that the seed oils require. This is true of avocado and coconut oils, as well.

I was just pointing out that, whereas we all have the impression that people have been cooking with olive oil for millennia, it’s actually only been two or three centuries at best. The earliest entry of an industrially processed oil into the food supply was cottonseed oil, two centuries ago.

(Denise) #7

Ok, that’s a relief, and I only use 2 tbsp a day. But I’ll check on how much w-6 I need, and what the heck it is :wink: I think today is the first time I saw the term :slight_smile:

(Allie) #8

Hemp oil is no good for cooking, smoke point is very low so heating it in any way is not advised. Best used cold poured over things.

(David Cooke) #9

I used to be a big user of homemade lard, but have definitely decided for coconut oil. It contains a much lower level of linoleic acid (Ω - 6) and has a neutral taste.

#10

Is linoleic acid bad for us? How? Thank you

(Denise) #11

I’ve been adding 1/2 (1 gram) of turmeric to my decaf, and now after reading up on it, I’m adding a pinch of black pepper, and coconut oil because they say turmeric is fat-soluble. I also read though that it has a component that is water-soluble so it’s getting the help of both in my decaf + Coconut oil :grin: if the info is correct.