Introduction
In today’s world, while everyone is trying to eat healthy by trying out various types of dietary plans and different types of diets. People often forget that what you use to make your food in also matters. Whether to use animal fats or plant oils, in which also what type of plant oil, can differ from person to person and their diet.
Which brings us to the question: Is plant oil really essential for health, and butter is not?
The short answer is- Yes
The longer answer- you would need to read the whole blog.
What makes a fat essential?
Fat is essential for human health because the body cannot produce it on its own. We need to consume fats to live, no matter what people say. Some might tell you to avoid it, or that it is unhealthy, or that it will make you gain weight. But the truth is, it is essential for life.
We need them to – Builds your brain
Protect your nerves
Help with hormone production
Control inflammation
Build healthy cells, etc.
So, even though there are four types of fats, the essential type of fat is polyunsaturated fat.
Why? Because it has EFAs ( Essential fatty acids ), which your body needs to get from foods, as it cannot make them on its own. The main types of this fat are Omega 3 fatty acids, which are found in flaxseed oil, walnuts, chia seeds, etc, and Omega 6 fatty acids found in sunflower oil, soybean oil, and corn oil, etc.
The fat also helps the body absorb vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin E. These vitamins are fat-soluble, which means they can only be absorbed with the help of fats.
Plant oils vs Animal fat
Understanding unsaturated and saturated fat
Before going into the depths of understanding oil and butter, which is important for life, and which isn’t. We first need to know about saturated and unsaturated fats- what are these? And why having and not having them in your diet can make a significant difference.
While a nutritionist would advise that for a healthy body, it is important to include both saturated and unsaturated fats in our daily diets. Which one would be more important?
Let’s understand one by one
Unsaturated fat – it contains at least one double bond in its chain. It has good cholesterol, but it spoils quickly. It has a low melting point and is in a liquid state at room temperature.
Saturated fat – it contains a single bond. It has bad cholesterol, but does not spoil quickly. It has a high melting point and is in a solid state at room temperature.
Plant oils
Plant oils contain essential fatty acids, and they generally have a high content of unsaturated fatty acids, various vitamins, and antioxidants. On top of that, the type of oil to use also matters. While most veg oils are fairly neutral in flavour to not have any problem for cooking, there are still some which can change the taste of certain dishes, like olive oil.
Animal fat ( butter)
Butter has nutritional value in terms of fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, and K, but it’s also high in saturated fat and not considered essential. It is usually solid at room temperature because of the saturated fat content. Some other animal fats people use in their daily life- margarine, ghee, lard, etc.
Which is better for health
So if you have read the blog carefully till now, I think you know the answer already. But still let me clear it out for you, natural oils are healthier and essential in comparison to animal fats like butter and margarine.
The cohort study conducted within the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study 2, and the health professional follow-up study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, shows that people with the highest butter intake were associated with 15 percent more risk of mortality compared to lowest. In contrast, people with higher intake of total plant-based oil compared to lower intake were associated with 10 percent less total mortality.
Furthermore, researchers have also said that veg oils may be linked to a lower risk of heart problems and a higher lipid profile if consumed in the recommended amount. And it is also associated with a lower total mortality, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Why plant oil matters
As much as it is important to know whether to use butter or oils in your daily diet. It is also important to know which oil to use and when. Today we have a lot of varieties of oil to the extinct that let people wonder Do we even need them? While soybean oil dominates a lot of households across the globe as a staple because it’s cheap in price ( compared to others), easy to use, and has good nutritional value. Many doctors and healthcare professionals say that Extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil is the best oil for daily cooking.
While some people also prefer canola, peanut, sunflower, and corn oil, which are relatively cheap and have high smoke points (450°F/ 230 °C). But the real question on many people’s minds is: “Which oil should I be using in my kitchen?”. But the best answer is: it depends on your health goals and what you are cooking. Because there are several different ways to use different oils.
> Olive oils for salad dressing and dips for bread as a replacement for butter.
> High smoke point oils, like canola or avocado, for coating your pans.
> Canola, avocado, and coconut oil for baking because of their subtle flavours.
> Peanut, sunflower, and corn oil for stir fry and sauté vegetables.
LDL-cholesterol comparison btw various oils and butter
First of all, you might be wondering: What is LDL cholesterol?
So LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein. It is a type of lipoprotein in your blood that can build up in your arteries, potentially leading to heart disease and stroke. It is also known as bad cholesterol.
Butter- Highest LDL- LDL-cholesterol compared to all fats and oils.
Palm oil- Higher LDL cholesterol compared to oil rich in MUFA or PUFA, but may not have any effect on glucose or insulin.
Coconut oil- Higher LDL cholesterol compared to other plant oils, but lower LDL cholesterol compared to animal fats rich in SFA
Canola/ rapseed/ sunflower oil- Lower LDL cholesterol compared to olive oil and sources of SFA, and may also reduce body weight compared to olive oil.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, choosing what you make your food in is equally as important as what you are taking in your diet. Whether it’s butter or whichever type of oil you are using, taking it in a considerable amount could never hurt you.
So the next time you are in your kitchen, we want you to not add butter to your pancakes, oatmeal, or scrambled eggs. Instead, what we want you to do is try to incorporate oils into the food you can. And if you enjoy your mashed or baked potatoes with butter and don’t like them with oil, that’s okay too. Using oil in most dishes and butter in a few won’t hurt- it’s all about balance. If you enjoyed this post and want to read more, click here to explore my blogs.