Experts have detailed several key areas of concern that require special attention for commonly used cooking oils:
One: Prevent
High erucic acid in cooking oil
Residents in the Northwest and Central China regions generally have a preference for rapeseed oil. Rapeseed oil has a choleretic function, and the human body has a high rate of digestion and absorption for it. However, numerous cardiovascular experts at home and abroad have shown through surveys on heart disease patients that when the blood of these patients is exposed to small amounts of erucic acid digested by enzymes daily, their already abnormal cardiovascular function will become overloaded, more easily inducing "thickening of the blood vessel walls" and "myocardial fat deposition."
Currently, there are low-erucic acid rapeseed oil brands on the domestic market, and the erucic acid content in existing low-erucic acid rapeseed oil products is ≤5%, which is still higher than the foreign standard of ≤0.1%. Experts recommend that patients with various types of heart disease, especially those with coronary heart disease and hypertensive heart disease, should try to avoid high-erucic acid rapeseed oil. Two: Prevent
Nutritional deficiencies in salad oil
Salad oil is also a commonly used cooking oil. Expert Li Zhiwei introduced that salad oil is also known as "first-grade oil" (under the new national standard). To remove the special beany flavor of soybean oil, manufacturers refine it through an eight-process procedure, turning it into a colorless and odorless oil. Therefore, many of the original nutritional elements of soybean oil are inevitably "refined out," and the "soybean aroma" favored by people in the Northeast is also gone.
In terms of nutritional value, the fatty acid composition of soybean oil is quite good. It is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which helps prevent cardiovascular diseases. It also contains large amounts of vitamin E, vitamin D, and rich lecithin, all of which are beneficial to human health. At the same time, experts also emphasize that soybean salad oil is not a flavored oil, and its eating quality is inferior to sesame oil, sunflower oil, and peanut oil. Furthermore, due to its high saturated fatty acid content, it needs to be consumed in combination with other types of oil. Three: Prevent
Aflatoxin in peanut oil
Because dishes stir-fried in peanut oil have a very rich aroma, people in the North who enjoy strong flavors particularly love the smell of peanut oil. However, experts point out that peanut oil has its own unique problems and disadvantages.
The most serious problem is that peanuts are susceptible to mold, which can produce aflatoxin B1. This toxin is one of the most potent natural carcinogens in nature and can cause liver cancer. Some unscrupulous merchants use inferior or expired, moldy peanuts to press and produce peanut oil for huge profits. Consumers cannot tell if the peanut oil contains mold by tasting it, and once these inferior and harmful peanut oils are consumed, the harm to the body is immense.
In the production process of peanut oil, can the highly toxic aflatoxin be removed? Expert Li Zhiwei clearly pointed out that after peanuts are infected with mold, although various methods are used during the pressing process to remove this toxin, trace amounts of aflatoxin may still remain. Technically, aflatoxin will not be removed during the pure pressing process. Currently, some manufacturers on the market heavily promote the "miraculous" aspects of the pressing process while avoiding any mention of aflatoxin in peanut oil.
In fact, European and American countries have extremely strict requirements for peanut oil, stipulating that a合格 (qualified) level for aflatoxin content in peanut oil is below 2ppb, while in China, a合格 (qualified) level for aflatoxin B1 content in peanut oil is below 20ppb. Although qualified peanut oil contains only trace amounts of the toxin, if a person ingests large amounts of aflatoxin, it can easily lead to acute poisoning, damage liver function, cause hepatic coma, and result in death.
The Golden Ratio for Health Experts recommend that families should not consume a single type of oil for long periods. Oils should be rotated, and one can consume more blended oil, which is more beneficial to health.
Blended oil is made by blending several different vegetable oils (such as peanut oil, sunflower oil, corn germ oil, corn oil, etc.) in specific proportions through a special process. Its nutritional value is much higher than that of single-source edible oils, and its taste suits the eating habits of the Chinese people. A survey on consumers' edible oils found that due to a lack of understanding about the health aspects of cooking oils, most families have eaten the same type of oil for years without change.
The conclusions reached by authoritative organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Chinese Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Chinese Nutrition Society are that when the balanced ratio of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the human diet reaches 1:1:1, it is the most healthy and perfect nutritional structure.
Expert Li Zhiwei has also repeatedly emphasized that consuming more blended oil is beneficial to health. When purchasing oils, consumers must choose regular, well-known brands to ensure nutritional health.
After analyzing the several commonly used cooking oils mentioned above, we can see that each single type has its pros and cons. For a healthy life, consumers should not only focus on "gourmet enjoyment" but should also establish a "balanced nutrition" dietary concept as soon as possible, develop scientific and reasonable eating habits, and bring the "balanced nutrition 1:1:1" health concept into their daily meals.