What kind of oil do you use?

DrBorkBork

Coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil (use virgin on salads and regular for cooking), and grass fed butter. Canola, soy, and peanut oil are really bad for you, especially when heated.

Sarahnade42x

ETA: I know a lot of clean eating recipes use coconut oil for the flavor, but it's not really good for you at all . It's almost entirely saturated fat..more so than just about any other oil. (That said, I still have it in my kitchen and use it in moderation)

I respectfully disagree. Coconut oil is fine to use.

I didn't say it wasn't fine to use at all.. I use it too, *in moderation*.

From WebMD:
"The evidence that coconut oil is super-healthful is not convincing and these claims appear to be more testimonials than clinical evidence."
"Pure virgin coconut oil, containing no hydrogenation (the process of adding hydrogen to make a liquid fat hard), contains 92% saturated fat -- the highest amount of saturated fat of any fat."
"But even though coconut oil is cholesterol-free, it is still a saturated fat that needs to be limited in the diet and if you are looking for real health benefits, switch from saturated fats to unsaturated fats by using vegetable oils like soybean, canola, corn, or olive oil," says Kris-Etherton, a member of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines advisory committee and Institute of Medicine's panel on dietary reference intakes for macronutrients (which include fats)."
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/coconut-oil-and-health

Well, but wait there's this too (from Wikipedia because this person writes better than I do):

Coconut oil contains a large proportion of lauric acid—a saturated fat that raises blood cholesterol levels by increasing the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Most of the increase is HDL cholesterol, hence the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol is decreased.[30] A decreased ratio indicates reduced risk for heart disease.[31]

So the jury is still out on whether coconut oil is good for you or bad for you from a heart perspective. You wrote that it isn't good for you -- and I am respectfully disagreeing with your statement.

That's strange, because the article I cited has the opposite to say about lauric acid (and a response to the HDL/LDL studies cited in Wikipedia):
"Coconut oil has some heart-friendly fatty acids (myristic) but more heart-unfriendly fatty acids (lauric), says Roger Clemens, DrPH, spokesman and incoming president of Institute of Food Technologists and member of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines committee.
A meta-analysis of 60 studies evaluated the effects of individual fats on risk of coronary artery disease. A few studies looked at coconut oil and found the combination of fatty acids improved the ratio of total cholesterol: HDL (good) cholesterol but they also raised LDL (bad) cholesterol.
"Saturated fats can increase LDL (bad) cholesterol and even though a few studies showed it may improve the ratio of cholesterol to HDL cholesterol, they also showed an increase in LDL cholesterol and bottom line, any food that increases LDL cholesterol should be limited because LDL cholesterol is the main treatment target for heart disease," Kris Etherton says."

There does still seem to be a lot of debate (especially interesting because both Etherton's and Clemens' recommendations were made well after the meta-analysis was published), so I'm going to do some more reading in the primary lit just for my own information. I'm actually glad that you shared your disagreement - I love grey areas like this. Thanks!

(Also, your nails! )

FrauMama

Olive oil for some cooking, for salad dressing, and for making mayonnaise. Coconut oil for some other cooking and sometimes in coffee, and every once in a while peanut oil. We also use a TON of butter, and I really want to try avocado oil.

NEVER any other sort of hydrogenated vegetable oils or non-animal shortening like Crisco.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Olive for Mediterranean style cooking
Grapeseed for stuff I don't want tasting like ^^
Canola for baking
A jar of solidified bacon fat for when I'm rewarding myself
Another jar of solidified duck fat for when I feel like being fancy

lucan07

Castrol GTX!

Oops my bad didn't read the post again!

neanderthin

ETA: I know a lot of clean eating recipes use coconut oil for the flavor, but it's not really good for you at all . It's almost entirely saturated fat..more so than just about any other oil. (That said, I still have it in my kitchen and use it in moderation)

I respectfully disagree. Coconut oil is fine to use.

I didn't say it wasn't fine to use at all.. I use it too, *in moderation*.

From WebMD:
"The evidence that coconut oil is super-healthful is not convincing and these claims appear to be more testimonials than clinical evidence."
"Pure virgin coconut oil, containing no hydrogenation (the process of adding hydrogen to make a liquid fat hard), contains 92% saturated fat -- the highest amount of saturated fat of any fat."
"But even though coconut oil is cholesterol-free, it is still a saturated fat that needs to be limited in the diet and if you are looking for real health benefits, switch from saturated fats to unsaturated fats by using vegetable oils like soybean, canola, corn, or olive oil," says Kris-Etherton, a member of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines advisory committee and Institute of Medicine's panel on dietary reference intakes for macronutrients (which include fats)."
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/coconut-oil-and-health

Well, but wait there's this too (from Wikipedia because this person writes better than I do):

Coconut oil contains a large proportion of lauric acid—a saturated fat that raises blood cholesterol levels by increasing the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Most of the increase is HDL cholesterol, hence the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol is decreased.[30] A decreased ratio indicates reduced risk for heart disease.[31]

So the jury is still out on whether coconut oil is good for you or bad for you from a heart perspective. You wrote that it isn't good for you -- and I am respectfully disagreeing with your statement.

That's strange, because the article I cited has the opposite to say about lauric acid (and a response to the HDL/LDL studies cited in Wikipedia):
"Coconut oil has some heart-friendly fatty acids (myristic) but more heart-unfriendly fatty acids (lauric), says Roger Clemens, DrPH, spokesman and incoming president of Institute of Food Technologists and member of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines committee.
A meta-analysis of 60 studies evaluated the effects of individual fats on risk of coronary artery disease. A few studies looked at coconut oil and found the combination of fatty acids improved the ratio of total cholesterol: HDL (good) cholesterol but they also raised LDL (bad) cholesterol.
"Saturated fats can increase LDL (bad) cholesterol and even though a few studies showed it may improve the ratio of cholesterol to HDL cholesterol, they also showed an increase in LDL cholesterol and bottom line, any food that increases LDL cholesterol should be limited because LDL cholesterol is the main treatment target for heart disease," Kris Etherton says."

There does still seem to be a lot of debate (especially interesting because both Etherton's and Clemens' recommendations were made well after the meta-analysis was published), so I'm going to do some more reading in the primary lit just for my own information. I'm actually glad that you shared your disagreement - I love grey areas like this. Thanks!

(Also, your nails! )

The problem is in the belief that LDL is bad cholesterol, that is a simplistic view and totally fictional. The body produces LDL to deliver cholesterol to all cells in the body and without LDL cholesterol we wouldn't be here. Try researching particle size of LDL and it's influence of CVD and the foods that are associated with these subfractions.

chivalryder

5W30.

Best to follow the owner's manual.

Rerun201

5W30.

Best to follow the owner's manual.

What he said

taso42

5W-30

FlabFighter86

Olive Oil.

Saramelie

I can't keep up with the hype. We used to use plain old vegetable oil for everything (mostly baking and sauteeing) and then we switched to oilve oil when that was being praised as "healthier". Lately we have been using canola oil .. but now I'm hearing that is bad for you too. What kind of oil do you all use? And is it the same for everything or do you have specific oils for different purposes?

I know all oil is similar calorically, I am not looking to cut calories but rather for something that is heart healthy.

The only oil I use is Olive Oil. I sometimes eat coconut oil by the spoon but I really dislike the taste...... Ok for cooking goodies I guess but can`t use it for my ``regular`` food, too bad. (coconut egg? yark!)

Saramelie

5W-30

Miam, miam!

ChrisS30V

Olive oil and canola oil. Not too concerned with the health benefits or lack thereof. I don't use olive oil very often and if I'm making a recipe where I would use canola then I'm not going to be making it for health reasons.

Sarahnade42x

The problem is in the belief that LDL is bad cholesterol, that is a simplistic view and totally fictional. The body produces LDL to deliver cholesterol to all cells in the body and without LDL cholesterol we wouldn't be here. Try researching particle size of LDL and it's influence of CVD and the foods that are associated with these subfractions.

Trust me, I have a pretty good understanding of HDL/LDL and biochemistry in general. I don't think myself or the individuals cited in the article have that simplistic a view -- only the view that LDL levels that are TOO HIGH can be detrimental to CV health, which I believe most people in the field still agree with. That said, I'll be reviewing the most recent literature regarding this as well - if you're able to link me to any specific studies you have in mind, that would be awesome. (Also, I saw your post about the palm oil -> veg oil conversion in the tropics. Interesting.)

socajam

ETA: I know a lot of clean eating recipes use coconut oil for the flavor, but it's not really good for you at all. It's almost entirely saturated fat..more so than just about any other oil. (That said, I still have it in my kitchen and use it in moderation)

I respectfully disagree. Coconut oil is fine to use.

I didn't say it wasn't fine to use at all.. I use it too, *in moderation*.

From WebMD:
"The evidence that coconut oil is super-healthful is not convincing and these claims appear to be more testimonials than clinical evidence."
"Pure virgin coconut oil, containing no hydrogenation (the process of adding hydrogen to make a liquid fat hard), contains 92% saturated fat -- the highest amount of saturated fat of any fat."
"But even though coconut oil is cholesterol-free, it is still a saturated fat that needs to be limited in the diet and if you are looking for real health benefits, switch from saturated fats to unsaturated fats by using vegetable oils like soybean, canola, corn, or olive oil," says Kris-Etherton, a member of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines advisory committee and Institute of Medicine's panel on dietary reference intakes for macronutrients (which include fats)."
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/coconut-oil-and-health

I would choose coconut oil over these three: soybean, canola, corn, any day.

beltinches

Olive oil and coconut oil.

Coconut oil is full of healthy benefits for you and it's amazing on eggs, bread etc.

Carnivor0us

Red palm oil is heart healthy, and so is coconut oil

greenhudler

Depends on what I'm making...usually I go more for grassfed butter or ghee. Otherwise I use some olive oil, but mostly coconut oil.

socajam

Hydrogenated oils like soy bean oil and canola oil are bad for you. They are some of the worst offenders today when it come to crap eating. Not only because they are hydrogenated but because most of them if not all are made from GMO crops. I stick with Healthy oils like evvo, coconut oil, butter, ghee, lard, tallow, and avocado oil to name a few. The person that thinks saturated fat is bad for us is just going off of what the government has put into our heads. It's not true. If you want proof do some research. Please don't get me started on margarine... It's pure evil.

Totally agree.

MelsAuntie

EVOO

fruttibiscotti

ETA: I know a lot of clean eating recipes use coconut oil for the flavor, but it's not really good for you at all . It's almost entirely saturated fat..more so than just about any other oil. (That said, I still have it in my kitchen and use it in moderation)

I respectfully disagree. Coconut oil is fine to use.

I didn't say it wasn't fine to use at all.. I use it too, *in moderation*.

From WebMD:
"The evidence that coconut oil is super-healthful is not convincing and these claims appear to be more testimonials than clinical evidence."
"Pure virgin coconut oil, containing no hydrogenation (the process of adding hydrogen to make a liquid fat hard), contains 92% saturated fat -- the highest amount of saturated fat of any fat."
"But even though coconut oil is cholesterol-free, it is still a saturated fat that needs to be limited in the diet and if you are looking for real health benefits, switch from saturated fats to unsaturated fats by using vegetable oils like soybean, canola, corn, or olive oil," says Kris-Etherton, a member of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines advisory committee and Institute of Medicine's panel on dietary reference intakes for macronutrients (which include fats)."
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/coconut-oil-and-health

Well, but wait there's this too (from Wikipedia because this person writes better than I do):

Coconut oil contains a large proportion of lauric acid—a saturated fat that raises blood cholesterol levels by increasing the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Most of the increase is HDL cholesterol, hence the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol is decreased.[30] A decreased ratio indicates reduced risk for heart disease.[31]

So the jury is still out on whether coconut oil is good for you or bad for you from a heart perspective. You wrote that it isn't good for you -- and I am respectfully disagreeing with your statement.

^^^^ this. Agree with bikergirl

neanderthin

The problem is in the belief that LDL is bad cholesterol, that is a simplistic view and totally fictional. The body produces LDL to deliver cholesterol to all cells in the body and without LDL cholesterol we wouldn't be here. Try researching particle size of LDL and it's influence of CVD and the foods that are associated with these subfractions.

Trust me, I have a pretty good understanding of HDL/LDL and biochemistry in general. I don't think myself or the individuals cited in the article have that simplistic a view -- only the view that LDL levels that are TOO HIGH can be detrimental to CV health, which I believe most people in the field still agree with. That said, I'll be reviewing the most recent literature regarding this as well - if you're able to link me to any specific studies you have in mind, that would be awesome. (Also, I saw your post about the palm oil -> veg oil conversion in the tropics. Interesting.)

This isn't bad. If you have an questions let me know.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2014286/

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=187669

Rocbola

5W30.

weinbagel

Coconut oil.

goldfinger88

I was doing coconut oil but my cholesterol went up 60 points so I'm now just using extra virgin olive oil (I eat mostly Mediterranean) and a tsp of canola oil in my morning smoothie. I use coconut oil on my skin.

divajoni

olive oil for salads and homemade mayonnaise (never touch the store bought stuff), homemade ghee, pastured lard and tallow for frying, and coconut oil for my face, chai tea, and oil pulling.

just say NO to vegetable oils (except olive)... they are industrial poisons in my opinion. but do some reading and make your own decision.

here is a good place to start: http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats

fruttibiscotti

ETA: I know a lot of clean eating recipes use coconut oil for the flavor, but it's not really good for you at all . It's almost entirely saturated fat..more so than just about any other oil. (That said, I still have it in my kitchen and use it in moderation)

I respectfully disagree. Coconut oil is fine to use.

I didn't say it wasn't fine to use at all.. I use it too, *in moderation*.

From WebMD:
"The evidence that coconut oil is super-healthful is not convincing and these claims appear to be more testimonials than clinical evidence."
"Pure virgin coconut oil, containing no hydrogenation (the process of adding hydrogen to make a liquid fat hard), contains 92% saturated fat -- the highest amount of saturated fat of any fat."
"But even though coconut oil is cholesterol-free, it is still a saturated fat that needs to be limited in the diet and if you are looking for real health benefits, switch from saturated fats to unsaturated fats by using vegetable oils like soybean, canola, corn, or olive oil," says Kris-Etherton, a member of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines advisory committee and Institute of Medicine's panel on dietary reference intakes for macronutrients (which include fats)."
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/coconut-oil-and-health

Well, but wait there's this too (from Wikipedia because this person writes better than I do):

Coconut oil contains a large proportion of lauric acid—a saturated fat that raises blood cholesterol levels by increasing the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Most of the increase is HDL cholesterol, hence the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol is decreased.[30] A decreased ratio indicates reduced risk for heart disease.[31]

So the jury is still out on whether coconut oil is good for you or bad for you from a heart perspective. You wrote that it isn't good for you -- and I am respectfully disagreeing with your statement.

That's strange, because the article I cited has the opposite to say about lauric acid (and a response to the HDL/LDL studies cited in Wikipedia):
"Coconut oil has some heart-friendly fatty acids (myristic) but more heart-unfriendly fatty acids (lauric), says Roger Clemens, DrPH, spokesman and incoming president of Institute of Food Technologists and member of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines committee.
A meta-analysis of 60 studies evaluated the effects of individual fats on risk of coronary artery disease. A few studies looked at coconut oil and found the combination of fatty acids improved the ratio of total cholesterol: HDL (good) cholesterol but they also raised LDL (bad) cholesterol.
"Saturated fats can increase LDL (bad) cholesterol and even though a few studies showed it may improve the ratio of cholesterol to HDL cholesterol, they also showed an increase in LDL cholesterol and bottom line, any food that increases LDL cholesterol should be limited because LDL cholesterol is the main treatment target for heart disease," Kris Etherton says."

There does still seem to be a lot of debate (especially interesting because both Etherton's and Clemens' recommendations were made well after the meta-analysis was published), so I'm going to do some more reading in the primary lit just for my own information. I'm actually glad that you shared your disagreement - I love grey areas like this. Thanks!

(Also, your nails! )

The problem is in the belief that LDL is bad cholesterol, that is a simplistic view and totally fictional. The body produces LDL to deliver cholesterol to all cells in the body and without LDL cholesterol we wouldn't be here. Try researching particle size of LDL and it's influence of CVD and the foods that are associated with these subfractions.

^^^ agree with neanderthin

AlabasterVerve

I cook exclusively with saturated fats now -- butter, coconut oil and animals fats. Olive oil for salads or occasionally low heat cooking. Eventually all of the recommendations will catch up to the fact that saturated fat is healthful (hello France) and ideal for cooking since it's so stable. The research is out there it's just a matter of time.

Whatever you do ditch the vegetable oil -- no one thinks that's healthy.

Joreanasaurous

Mostly extra virgin olive oil. Organic butter occasionally. A bit of coconut oil. I try and avoid that one and only use it for stir fries. Too much of that stuff and I'm sick and miserable and useless for the rest of the day. That stuff is evil.

Sarahnade42x

The problem is in the belief that LDL is bad cholesterol, that is a simplistic view and totally fictional. The body produces LDL to deliver cholesterol to all cells in the body and without LDL cholesterol we wouldn't be here. Try researching particle size of LDL and it's influence of CVD and the foods that are associated with these subfractions.

Trust me, I have a pretty good understanding of HDL/LDL and biochemistry in general. I don't think myself or the individuals cited in the article have that simplistic a view -- only the view that LDL levels that are TOO HIGH can be detrimental to CV health, which I believe most people in the field still agree with. That said, I'll be reviewing the most recent literature regarding this as well - if you're able to link me to any specific studies you have in mind, that would be awesome. (Also, I saw your post about the palm oil -> veg oil conversion in the tropics. Interesting.)

This isn't bad. If you have an questions let me know.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2014286/

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=187669

I won't have time to read these as thoroughly as I'd like until tomorrow, but I will (thank you for posting!). Here are, generally, the questions I would want answered to be convinced:

1. Which forms of LDL pose the greatest risk factors for CVD?
The articles above suggest small, dense LDL. My initial answer would've been oxidized LDL (but after skimming, I think at least one of the articles suggests the two go hand in hand?). We can agree on that for now.

2. Okay, small LDL poses the biggest risk. Is large LDL still associated with risk?
Probably, yes. That's how it's taught at my university, at least. Most sources I've seen today only look at total LDL, so it's hard to know -- I'll look for a more definitive answer when I have the chance.

3. Are there behavioral modifications to selectively reduce small LDL levels? Depending on the answer to #2, would it be more worthwhile to focus on reducing total LDL?
You alluded to this when you said "foods associated with those subfractions," but I'm not sure which foods you mean. I saw a website implying that eliminating wheat products entirely is the solution, but that seems a little extreme and I'd prefer to have the data.

4. More specifically, what would be the benefit-cost ratio for selectively reducing small LDL vs total LDL? And when total LDL is reduced, is small LDL reduced proportionally?

5. And finally, how do the oils discussed in this thread compare in their effect on each subfraction of LDL?

Just my quick thoughts. I'm sure some of the answers are in the articles you posted and others - I just need more time to read in detail.

Also, it always surprises me how determined the people on these forums are to be right - the science is always changing and none of us have read all of it. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not always right, even if I don't think I'm very far off on this one. Too few people are okay with reevaluating their ideas. (frutti, I think you'd disagree with me about anything since that keto discussion)