Oil is a food that people must eat every day, so whether it is used scientifically is crucial to human health. If it is used improperly, it may even cause cancer over time. Recently, Professor Hong Zhaoguang, a famous cardiovascular expert in my country, made suggestions on some misunderstandings that people may have about edible oil in their diet.
Myth 1: Cooking at high temperatures Many people like to cook at high temperatures and wait until the oil in the pan smokes before cooking. This practice is unscientific. High-temperature oil not only destroys the nutrients in food, but also produces some peroxides and carcinogens. It is recommended to heat the pan first, then pour the oil, and then you can cook without waiting for the oil to smoke.
Myth 2: Don’t eat animal oils If there is no oil, it will cause a lack of vitamins and essential fatty acids in the body, affecting human health. It is not enough to emphasize eating only vegetable oils and not eating animal oils. In a certain dose, animal oils (saturated fatty acids) are beneficial to the human body.
Misconception 3: Eating only a single type of oil for a long time. Nowadays, it is still difficult for ordinary families to use different oils for different dishes, but we recommend that it is best to use several oils alternately, or use one oil for a period of time and change to another oil the next period of time, because there is rarely one oil that can solve all oil needs.
Myth 4: People with abnormal blood lipids or abnormal weight have no difference in the oil they use. For people with abnormal blood lipids or abnormal weight, we emphasize choosing high monounsaturated fatty acids in vegetable oils. The amount of oil used should also be controlled. The total amount of oil used by people with normal blood lipids and weight should be controlled to no more than 25 grams per day, with polyunsaturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids basically accounting for half each. For the elderly, people with abnormal blood lipids, obese people, people with obesity-related diseases, or people with a family history of obesity, the amount of oil used by each person per day should be even lower, even down to 20 grams.
How to choose edible oil:
When buying edible oil, one must first look at the grade. According to the latest standards, edible oil is divided into four grades, with the fourth grade being the lowest grade. Second, look at the place of origin, which mainly refers to the place where the raw materials of the product are produced. Third, look at the raw materials, that is, whether they are genetically modified raw materials. Fourth, look at the production process, that is, whether the edible oil is produced by the "pressing method" or the "extraction method". Pressed oil can maintain the original nutrients of the raw materials and the oil quality is relatively pure.
The quality of edible oil is mainly reflected in: color, smell, transparency and taste.
Color: Good quality soybean oil is dark yellow, while ordinary quality is light yellow; rapeseed oil is yellow with a hint of green or golden yellow; peanut oil is light yellow or light orange, and cottonseed oil is light yellow.
Smell: Dip your finger in a little oil, apply it on the palm of your hand, rub it and smell it. Good quality oil should have different smells depending on the variety, and should not have any other peculiar smell.
Transparency: High transparency and less water and impurities indicate good quality. Good vegetable oil should be clear, transparent, without turbidity, precipitation or suspended matter after being left to stand for 24 hours.
Taste: Dip a little oil with chopsticks and put it in your mouth. It should not have any bitter, burnt or sour smell.
It is worth noting that there are always some individual cases of "different oils". Salad oil should be clear, transparent, colorless or light yellow, peanut oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, etc. should be translucent light yellow to orange-yellow, and sesame oil should be orange-yellow or brown. Soybean, rapeseed, peanut kernel, sesame, etc. are obtained through preliminary processing to obtain crude oil, which is dark in color, turbid, and not suitable for consumption. If the transparency of vegetable oil is poor, the viscosity becomes larger, and there are bubbles, it is often a sign of deterioration. Peanut oil will solidify into an opaque state at low temperatures in winter. This is a normal phenomenon and should be distinguished when identifying.