Cooking Oil Health Update

Two main oils we use are this great Olive Oil (for low/mid heat cooking - it was an easy decision to use Olive oil for this as there has been a myriad of studies showing all its health benefits) and for the past few years this great expeller-pressed naturally refined Canola Oil (for high heat stir frys).

As my friends know one of my main hobbies is keeping up with Science/Tech/Health research and this weekend I just read about a new study that raised my concerns on Canola Oil (even the high quality one we buy).  Before we get to that, I'll quickly reiterate why we went with Canola Oil for stir frys, it's high in monounsaturated fats and with the natural refining it can stand high heat (here's a great tutorial link on what to look for in healthy oils, I like this site as it has references to research for all their claims), also a great balance of Omega 6 to 3's, etc.  But some downsides were the very nature of Canola oil not being a good healthy oil, until Canadian plant scientists GMO'd it (for the record I have no issue with GMO if it's done properly for the right reasons, but that's a topic for another day) by selective breeding, which was the level of GMO sophistication back in the 70's.  I also knew that Avocado oil was probably the healthiest high heat cooking oil but 2-3 years ago it was a very very expensive option, today it's just somewhat expensive.

So here's the new research on Canola oil, a few things to keep in mind is that they used the very unnaturally extracted/refined regular/cheap Canola oil (which is what 90% of people buy so makes sense).  Also, as this is prelim research they can't pinpoint what exactly in the Canola oil is causing these unhealthy results.  Also it is a mouse not a human study.  So for many reasons I'm not suggesting we abandon our good expensive Canola oils (but if you have just the $3-4 ones I do urge you to dump that!) but I always preach diversity and for all these reasons, next time we stock up it will be on these 2 oils below.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171207141624.htm

For High heat cooking, we're definitely switching to Avocado oil (read this for the many benefits) and I found a very high quality one that's reasonably priced and readily available!  Loblaws has at a great price as does Walmart (their Organic section is growing).

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/chosen-foods-100-pure-avocado-oil/6000196888795

Also, to try and work in another super healthy oil (again read this to find out why), we'll buy this great and reasonably priced Coconut Oil for baking and making pancakes!  Some people don't like how Coconut oil solidifies, well that's because of the long chain triglycerides, so what Nature's Way did is naturally replace the LCT's with the very healthy MCT's, to increase the MCT level to 92% (from the 62% in normal coconut oil)...now it's healthier and doesn't solidify.

https://www.vitamart.ca/natures-way-liquid-coconut-oil.html

PS  One final thought, as I always keep a look out for the future...seems the next dimension of diversification may be Algae Oil!  I'll keep an eye on it, as the research comes in...bottom line is that Olive Oil has by far the most research studies, nothing else comes close so it's a field you have to keep an eye on and roll with the punches!

Health News

More evidence just published on the benefits of a Med diet...especially for seniors.  A key component of such a diet is to have a high quality Olive Oil, expeller pressed (as opposed to hexane extracted) and ideally unrefined (Olive Oil shouldn't be used to for high heat cooking such as stir frying anyway -- for that I recommend this excellent slightly refined organic Canola Oil).

https://science.slashdot.org/story/17/01/08/0536231/new-study-finds-mediterranean-diet-significantly-reduces-brain-shrinkage

I'll also include links to my main supplements and the reasoning behind taking them.  The first one is Quercetin, the 2 links below (sources are highly reputable, especially for health related matters this is key...so much dis & misinformation out there!).

Discusses mainly Querectin's anti-aging benefits, think of it as a janitor cleaning up garbage cells (cells that no longer divide, essentially dead)!
https://www.scripps.edu/news/press/2015/20150309agingcell.html

Discusses the many other benefits such as it's anti-inflammatory & anti-histamine properties!
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/quercetin

As with all supplements, efficacy is key, you see Quercetin tests for example are done with the actual compound Quercetin acting on say a blood sample but things are not so simple in real life, if you take Quercetin you will have to ingest and hence metabolize (to some degree) before it reaches your blood stream and at that point it will no longer be exactly what you put in!  Cheap supplements cannot take this into account, they just go for the cheapest form of the compound.  This doesn't mean you have to spend $100 for a bottle though either, there's supplements like that out there but often those companies are either way overcharging for a quality product or just ripping you off entirely with a cheap to make knock-off!  So it takes a bit of research to find the right one.  I found the highest efficacy Quercetin (note it may have a different chemical name as it only becomes Quercetin after metabolization) and also Multi-Vitamins as well.

http://naturalfactors.com/product/bioactive-quercetin-emiq/

http://www.ultralaboratories.com/EmeraldLabs/MEN%2045%201-Day%20Multi/index.php

Finally, the single most important Vitamin (based on current research) is D, a lot of people still believe Vitamin C is the immune booster but it's actually Vitamin D that regulates your immune system and the Recommended Daily Amount is very slow to get updated.  The Harvard article on Vitamin D shows that based on current research the typical daily amount should be around 2000 IU (not 800 as is the old RDA). Vitamin D is one of the few Vitamins that is difficult to get naturally at those doses (unless you spend a lot of time everyday in the sun and that's not most of us these days, especially in the winter). There is ongoing research that most people (especially in Northern latitudes) are deficient in Vit D and they found strong links to Multiple Sclerosis and Type 1 Diabetes risks!

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-d/