Choosing safe vegetable oils to protect your health properly

Choosing the right type of healthy cooking oil contributes to improving meal quality, ensuring food safety, and protecting family health.

Which fats are healthy and safe to consume?

Most recently, according to national survey results, on average, 3 out of every 10 adults in Vietnam have excess cholesterol (accounting for 30%). More than 50% of middle-aged women aged 50-65 are in a state of excess cholesterol.

This is an alarming situation because excess cholesterol in the body is one of the direct causes of increased rates of cerebrovascular diseases (strokes), myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, hypertension, etc.

According to health experts, a sedentary lifestyle and an unhealthy diet are the main causes of this condition. Specifically, this includes the habit of consuming foods high in bad cholesterol found in animal fat, organ meats, and fast food.

A joint inter-agency inspection team from Hanoi City inspects food at a supermarket in Dan Phuong district, Hanoi.

One of the "keys" to reducing excess cholesterol, as pointed out by health experts, is the proper use of healthy fats in daily diets.

Associate Professor Dr. Le Bach Mai - former Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition - stated that using fats appropriately in terms of quantity (providing 20-25% of the total energy of the diet) and ensuring a balance between animal and plant-based fats helps prevent lipid metabolism disorders. This contributes to reducing the risk factors for stroke and cardiovascular diseases.

Some good sources of healthy fats include fats from nuts, fats from fish (salmon, herring, sardines, etc.), and vegetable oils such as brown rice oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil.

In fact, when asked about their fat and cooking oil consumption habits, many Vietnamese consumers have concerns such as: limiting the consumption of fatty meats, animal organs, and even fried and stir-fried dishes, but not knowing if doing so is correct? Or some people only use vegetable oil for cooking but don't know which type is good, so they only use it in moderation...

Regarding this issue, Dr. Truong Hong Son - Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Medical Association, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine (VIAM) - commented that the trend of some people cutting fat out of their diet is a mistake and lacks scientific basis.

According to Dr. Truong Hong Son, fat is one of the four essential nutrient groups for the body, playing many important roles such as: providing energy to the body, building nerve cell membranes, and dissolving vitamins such as A, D, E, and K. A deficiency in fat can cause serious health problems.

Choose the right oil for the cooking method.

Regarding the issue of choosing fats to ensure good health, Dr. Truong Hong Son suggested that instead of eliminating or reducing them, consumers should replace harmful fats with beneficial fats found in deep-sea fish and vegetable oils such as brown rice oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil. This will be the key to solving this problem.

Dr. Truong Hong Son affirmed that using vegetable oil is a simple, convenient, and effective way to supplement healthy fats for families in their daily meals. Choosing the right type of cooking oil contributes to improving meal quality and protecting family health.

However, experts also note that not all cooking oils are the same; the differences lie in the ingredients, so this should be considered when making a choice. The composition and production methods are what determine the quality of each type of cooking oil.

Sharing the same view, Associate Professor Dr. Le Bach Mai also believes that there is no single type of oil that is best for everyone or for every cooking method. Therefore, when choosing cooking oil, consumers should choose a type of oil that suits their cooking method, their medical condition, and their nutritional status to be beneficial to their health.

A Hanoi food safety inspection team inspects shrimp crackers at a supermarket in Hanoi.

Associate Professor Dr. Le Bach Mai stated that while different types of cooking oils share the characteristic of providing 9kcal/gram, they differ in nutritional value, particularly in their fatty acid composition.

Several studies have shown that brown rice oil, rich in Gamma Oryzanol and Phytosterol, helps reduce cholesterol absorption from food, contributing to the prevention of excess cholesterol and thus supporting the prevention of hyperlipidemia. Sunflower oil is a natural source of vitamin E for the body, with antioxidant effects.

Soybean oil is rich in omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for cardiovascular health. Therefore, using only one type of vegetable oil may not fully meet the body's fat requirements.

Therefore, Associate Professor Dr. Le Bach Mai recommends prioritizing cooking oils that combine brown rice oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil to provide the body with a diverse range of beneficial fats.

Furthermore, health experts advise that consumers choosing cooking oil that meets food safety standards should prioritize ingredients, in addition to factors such as brand, production technology, and origin.

Consumers should make it a habit to carefully check the ingredients, as this is a crucial factor. Nutrient-rich cooking oils that should be prioritized include brown rice oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil, which are considered the three "golden oils" due to their numerous health benefits.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/lua-chon-dau-thuc-vat-bao-dam-an-toan-bao-ve-suc-khoe-dung-cach.html