Ranking best cooking oils and a paleo dessert

CHOOSING THE BEST COOKING OILS

It used to be easy to choose cooking oils. There were perhaps 3 to 4 choices at most, and they were all some variant of "vegetable oil." Now oils have their own aisle in the supermarket (usually across from an equally confusing display of vinegars). When eating an all natural diet you should try to achieve an overall balance of dietary fats from all foods, in which the omega 6 to omega 3 fat ratio is less than about 3:1, preferably closer to 2:1. Omega 3 fats have been known to lower cholesterol and improve heart health in amazing fashion. The best way to do this is with a variety of seafood and to cook with appropriate cooking oils as part of your regular diet. The best oils are low in saturated fat and high in either polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat.

Best:

-Flaxseed oil. *Low omega 6 to omega 3 ratio of .24

-Canola Oil (2.0) followed by mustard seed oil  (2.6)(primarily found in stores specializing indian cuisine)

-Perilla oil has a ratio of .27 BUT is rarely found in the U.S.. Get it if you can

Better:

-Walnut Oil- 5.1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 but still good because it contains mainly cholesterol-lowering polyunsaturated fats.

Good:

-Olive oil and avocado oil: 13 to 1 ratio. You can use them, but if you want to improve your omega 3 levels you can blend them with canola or flaxseed oil.

Bad:

-Peanut Oil- although promoted as healthy, cholesterol-lowering oil because of its high monounsaturated fat content (46% total fat), it has turned out to be one of the most artery clogging of all oils. In fact, it is routinely used to induce coronary artery atherosclerosis in monkeys and other laboratory animals. This is possibly due to peanut lectins (proteins that bind to carbohydrates).

-Soybean Oil- 7.5 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3's. Contain the lectin WGA, one of the most widely studied and potentially most damaging of all dietary lectins.

Great Dessert Recipe: makes 4 servings

Banana "Ice cream"

* Mash 4 peeled bananas in a mixing bowl until completely mushy

* Add 1 Tbsp of Vanilla Extract and mix well

* Put in freezer for 25 minutes or until partially frozen

Compliments of Paleo Diet