What Makes A Good Oil?

• Process Integrity - Good healthy oils are not created or processed with high or extreme heat, they are processed using "cold press" or "first press", meaning the olive, the avacado, the coconut, sunflower seed, etc., are put through a weighted system that squeezes the oils out without using heat - heat degrades the efficacy of the oil.
• Being aware of the temperature range of your oils, you will change the good fats to unhealthy fats by not knowing how high you can safely heat them.
• Using healthy oils in cold food preparation is an excellent way to accomodate the essential needs of the body.
• Essential Fatty Acids are necessary and are used, i.e., they do not become "fat deposits".

 

Beneficial oils w/omegas for food preparation:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (cold pressed, first pressed)
• Avacado Oil (cold/first pressed, natural or infused)
• Coconut Oil (centrifigual force, virgin, cold pressed)
• Macadamia Nut Oil (cold/first pressed, natural)
• Flax Seed Oil, Sunflower Oil, Grape Seed Oil, etc., all with the same rules of processing

First, healthy oils are typically not processed with heat, they are cold pressed, and identified on the label as "cold pressed" or "first pressed". What this means is that heat was not used to gain the oil from the the olive, vegetable, avacado, or coconut - they are pressed the "old fashioned way" without processing. Heat processing typically is faster and cheaper, but destroys the nutritional value of the oil.

High Heat or Cold Food Prep? Our first choice is cold pressessed Grape Seed Oil (virtually tasteless, great for stir fry) or Avocado Oil because either can be heated without losing it's nutritional integrity. (smoke point 520 degrees for Avocado).  The flesh of the avocado fruit is cold pressed around 40 degrees and the flavor is soft, nutty, and mild. You use less and it seems to have a better surface area, great for stir frying, broiling veges (below 500 degrees), and also for cold food prep because it's a delicious oil for salad dressings, pasta/vege dressings, etc., recipes at pHBB. Available in original or infused. As a side note, one avocado is usually between 13-22% oil.  

Medium Heat (smoke point 375 degrees) or Cold Food Prep? Extra Virgin (organic or kosher) Cold pressed Olive Oil works like a charm and some of the infused oils are fantastic. This is a healthy oil, but has a 320 degreee smoke point, so from cold to hot you will not only destroy the health benefits but your EVOO can become an unhealthy fat.  

Low Heat (smoke point 350 degrees) or Cold Food Prep (also a great skin oil)? Centrifugal force Coconut Oil (your coconut oil should be white, smell like a coconut and taste like one as well). It's a fantastic choice when making rice, we use 1/2 coconut milk, 1/2 water and a few dollaops of coconut oil. It's also a great choice instead of butter or margarine - and makes great sweet dressings.   Other beneficial oils: Sesame (350 degrees), Sunflower (225 degrees) No heat oils: Flax, raw omegas  

Omega 3,6,9 oil supplements- why do we buy them?   It's becoming more and more challenging to obtain omega (essential oils) through our diet and we believe it's an essential supplement in today's world. You can certainly supplement through using good oils in your food preparation, and then pick up the difference in supplement.

 

Omega-3, Omega-6, and Omega-9 Essential Fatty Acides constitute three primary families of Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs).

EFAs are considered "essential" because they are needed throughout the human life cycle, cannot be produced in the human body, and therefore must be provided through the diet.

 

EFAs aid in the maintenance of cell membrane fluidity and stability, development and function of brain and nerve tissue, oxygen transfer and energy production, immune functions, and conversion into compounds involved in all body functions including local hormones governing inflammatory responses.

Skin, hair, muscles and ligaments, as well as brain performance are all improved through adequate Omega 3, 6, & 9 oil intake.

A vegan choice and one that is also very tasty, is Grape Seed or Avacado, Olive & Flaxseed Oils to produce an optimal blend of omega 9, omega 6, and omega 3 fatty acids and other micronutrients essential for good health, i.e., vitamin E, chlorophyll, lutein and beta sitosteol. Tastes great, is a versatile cooking oil, as well as in dressings, and smoothies, smoke point lower because of Flaxseed and Olive Oil.  

See pHreshLiving.com for some great salad dressing recipes, see left side sidebar for category.

Nordic Naturals is our recomended OMEGA 3,6,9 SUPPLEMENT - Our favorite and we consider the most pure of fish oils come from Nordic Naturals, available at most health stores in capsules and liquides for all ages as well as for pets. BioGro offers pHBB member pricing on Nordic Natural  6 pack. Please email or please call us for pricing.