Replacing bad fats (saturated and trans) with healthier fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) is good for your heart.
One way you can do this is by choosing healthier nontropical vegetable oils for cooking and preparing food.
Use these oils instead of solid fats (including butter, shortening, lard and hard stick margarine) and tropical oils (including palm and coconut oil), which can have a lot of saturated fat.
Here’s an alphabetical list of common cooking oils that contain more of the “better-for-you” fats and less saturated fat.
- Canola
- Corn
- Olive
- Peanut
- Safflower
- Soybean
- Sunflower
Blends or combinations of these oils, often sold under the name “vegetable oil,” and cooking sprays made from these oils are also good choices. Some specialty oils, like avocado, grapeseed, rice bran and sesame, can be healthy choices but may cost a bit more or be harder to find.
In general, choose oils with less than 4 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, and no partially hydrogenated oils or trans fats.
You may find that some oils have distinctive flavors, so try different types to discover which ones you like. Also, some oils are better for certain types of cooking than others, so you may want to have more than one type in your pantry.
