Animal and Vegetable oils have gotten a bad rep over the years as yes, oil is 100% fat. But not all fats are bad. Our cells and even our brains are predominantly made of fat, so when you cut fat out of your diet, you make it harder for your brain to function and for healthy cells to flourish.

In the 1980’s, vegetable oils were heavily promoted as being a healthy alternative to butter and animal fats. But this was not necessarily true. Products such as margarine made it to our supermarket shelves boasting that they contained no saturated fats and were “heart healthy”. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. They were made with cheap vegetable oils such as canola, which is made from rape seed, a seed that is widely farmed as birds won’t eat it and damage their crops. Why won’t birds attack their crops and eat the canola berries you ask? Only because the birds know that it contains highly toxic erucic acid and shouldn’t be consumed. But hey, we know better than nature so feed it to us humans instead! Mix margarine with other cheap oils, chemicals and preservatives and you have a spread that is no more than a chemical shit storm in a plastic container.
Canola oil should be avoided as well as palm oil and especially trans fats which can be found in many baked goods and chips.

How about spray oils? A great way of reducing your fat intake? Take a look on the can and see what propellant they use. The thing they put inside the can to make the “healthy oil” squirt out of the can and into the pan. You wouldn’t believe it, but that substance is… petroleum. Yep, petrol, a known carcinogen. If you want to use spray oil, but a squirty bottle and place your own oil inside.

Always buy organic oils as quite often in oils such as olive oil, solvents are used to separate the oil.

So that’s the don’ts with the oils, here are the Do’s.

Enjoy plenty of macadamia, avocado and sesame oils. If organic, they are great in both salads or cooking on a medium heat.

Flaxseed oil. Several studies have found that flaxseed oil could benefit heart health as well as being effective at treating both constipation and diarrhea. Flaxseed oil is high omega-3 fatty acids and has been shown to several health benefits such as reduced blood pressure and improved regularity.

Extra Virgin Olive oil is considered to be the healthiest type of oil and has certain sensory qualities like floral tastes and aromas.

Coconut Oil is an edible oil obtained from the kernel of mature coconut. Unlike other vegetable oils, coconut oil is a saturated fat however this quality makes it more stable. Having only a single bond as opposed to other vegetable oils having two, makes coconut oil less susceptible to oxidisation and going rancid. Coconut oil provides quick energy to our brain and body as well as raising good cholesterol in our blood which may reduce heart disease.

Clinical studies by the American Society for nutrition have shown that the fat’s coconut oil can help to prevent diabetes, hepatitis and gallbladder disease and has also shown to decrease the toxic side effects of chemotherapy.