Some of these oils are healthy and some are VERY unhealthy — soybean oil, olive oil, coconut oil, corn oil, etc… Let’s take a closer look.

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-sellers: The Fat Burning Kitchen & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

Today, I wanted to give you my take on a confusing subject to most people:

Why some oils and fats you may use in cooking, baking, or other food use are actually harmful to your body, and why some are healthful.

Here’s the deal…

A lot of people seem to think that anything labeled as “vegetable oil” is good for you. NOT A SHOT!

Most of what is labeled as “vegetable oil” is simply heavily refined soybean oil (processed under high heat, pressure, and industrial solvents, such as hexane)… sometimes perhaps it may also be heavily refined cottonseed, safflower, corn, grapeseed, or other oils too.

In most instances, almost all of these processed oils are NOT HEALTHY for you. I’ll explain why below…

If you buy processed food or deep fried food, you can usually be certain that these unhealthy oils are used to prepare your foods (or worse, it may use hydrogenated versions of these oils… aka – trans fats).

You may have even bought some of these oils for your own cooking or baking at home.

The problem with soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, safflower oil, and other similar “vegetable oils” is that they are mostly composed of polyunsaturated fats (the most highly reactive type of fat) which leaves them prone to oxidation and free radical production when exposed to heat and light.

Processed polyunsaturated oils are the most inflammatory inside our bodies because of their high reactivity to heat and light. This inflammation is what causes many of our internal problems to develop such as heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Note: It’s ok if a polyunsaturated fat source isn’t processed such as in whole foods like various nuts and seeds… In that case it’s usually not inflammatory (as long as it’s not been exposed to high heat), and nuts are usually a great source of healthy polyunsaturated fats. By the way, omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are both polyunsaturates, and a healthy balance of approx 1:1 to 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is considered healthiest.

Your best bet is to choose raw nuts and seeds whenever possible to avoid the oxidation of polyunsaturated fats that can occur during roasting of nuts and seeds. Keep in mind though that some nuts are mostly monounsaturated, (for example, macadamias), so the issue of roasted vs raw nuts is less of an issue for highly monounsaturated nuts.

However, all of the vegetable oils listed above are generally heavily refined during processing, so that makes them already inflammatory before you even cook with them (which does even more damage).

Here’s the actual order of stability of a type of fat under heat and light (from least stable to most stable):

1. polyunsaturated
2. monounsaturated
3. saturated

Here’s something that mainstream health professionals will never tell you…

Saturated fats are actually the healthiest oils to cook with!

Why? Because they are much more stable in cooking conditions and less inflammatory than polyunsaturated oils with cooking.

This is why tropical oils such as palm and coconut oils (and even animal fats such as lard and butter) are best for cooking… they have very little polyunsaturates and are mostly composed of natural saturated fats which are the least reactive to heat/light and therefore the least inflammatory in your body from cooking use.

That’s also why natural butter (NOT margarine) is one of the best fats for cooking. This all goes directly against what you hear in mainstream health talk… because most health professionals don’t truly understand the biochemistry of fats, and falsely believe that saturated fats are bad for you… when in fact, they are actually neutral in most instances… and saturated fats from tropical oils are actually good for you as they contain mostly medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) which are lacking in most people’s diets.

In fact, lauric acid is one of the abundant MCTs in tropical oils and is known to strengthen the immune system. Lauric acid is even being studied currently in medical studies for controlling contagious diseases.

To summarize… your best cooking or baking fats are generally butter or tropical oils such as palm or coconut oil.

Olive oil (extra virgin preferably) is okay for lower cooking temps as it’s mostly monounsaturated, so moderately stable. I also like avocado oil and macadamia nut oil for baking as they are mostly monounsaturated and relatively stable for baking, plus add great flavor!

The mostly polyunsaturated oils such as soybean, corn, grapeseed, cottonseed, safflower, etc, are the least healthy for cooking or baking.

My choices for top healthy cooking oils that I use:

• Virgin Coconut Oil (very stable at med-high temps and healthy fats)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (only for low temp cooking)
• Real Butter (grass fed butter is actually healthy and contains important nutrients like vitamin K2, omega-3’s, and CLA. Kerry gold is a popular brand of Irish butter that’s grass-fed and readily available in most grocery stores)

Of course, with all of that said… we should keep in mind that trying minimize our cooking with oils can help to reduce overall calories. Cooking with oils in moderation is okay and can actually help satisfy your appetite more, but be careful not to overdo it as the calories can add up fast.

Also, please don’t be fooled by deceptive marketing claiming that canola oil is healthy for you — it’s NOT!

So enjoy your coconut oil, grass-fed butter, and delicious extra-virgin olive oils knowing that you’re doing your body GOOD! But just make sure to stay FAR AWAY from dangerous inflammatory vegetable oils like soybean oil, corn oil, and cottonseed oils which are used in so many processed foods these days.

Also remember that most salad dressings you find at the store are loaded with unhealthy soybean or canola oils usually, so make your own with healthy olive oil instead.

But BEWARE…

Although using real butter, coconut oil, & extra virgin olive oil can be a super-healthy choice for a lean, healthy, & strong body as well as fighting the aging process, if you follow the tips you just learned…

Did you know THIS Popular Cooking Oil May Erase Brain Cells?

If you cook with this popular oil

You could be ingesting a toxic substance that slips past the brain’s blood barrier…

Clogging blood vessels and starving your brain cells of the fuel it needs.

Day by day… worsening brain fog, slowing down activity in your brain, and completely deleting memory banks…

👉 Click here to see if this brain-killing oil is in your pantry right now

The post Which of these cooking oils are destroying your health? (the truth may surprise you!) appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

I used to walk past those ugly big knobby root ‘things’ in the grocery store but I never really knew what they were used for. Celeriac is not the prettiest of vegetables, but it certainly is tasty!

Celeriac is a root vegetable that is closely related to celery but is not the actual root of celery stalks that we purchase at the store. It came from the Mediterranean and belongs to the same family as carrots, actually. Celeriac comes in different sizes, but it looks like a really ugly, brownish, misshapen turnip with a lot of little knobby roots. Inside, it has smooth white flesh, kind of like a turnip.

Beneath its knobby and gnarly exterior is a firm-textured root vegetable with a nutty, slightly sweet and mellow celery-like crunch. Celeriac, or celery root can be eaten raw or cooked. Celeriac is super versatile. It can be grated and added to slaws and salads or used as a crudité for dipping. Cooked celeriac is awesome mashed, baked, roasted or mixed with mashed potatoes. It’s mild flavor brings out the flavor of fish and chicken dishes, but it actually tastes great with most everything!

Celeriac contains some powerful nutrition worth noting. It is packed with great fiber, which is great for gut health. It’s also full of vitamins B6, C, and K along with phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc and manganese—not to mention a few important antioxidants. Celeriac only contains 5-6 grams of carbohydrate per 100 grams of cooked vegetable, which makes it a great low-carb alternative to potatoes. It is also a source of antioxidants lutein and Zeaxanthin.

The antioxidants in celeriac fight free radicals in the body, helping to prevent heart disease, strengthen the immune system, improve moods, fight cancer, lower inflammation, fight diabetes and obesity, and slow the aging process.

Helps Banish Anxiety and Depression

B vitamins can help calm your nervous system, helping to prevent anxiety and depression, and easing stress. B vitamins are water soluble so they can easily wash out of your system, so it’s important to replace them frequently. Celeriac contains a healthy dose of B vitamins to help soothe your nervous system, helping the brain and nerves function better.

Great for Digestion and Healthy Gut

The high fiber in celeriac feed your gut bacteria and keep them happy. Eating lots of healthy fiber also keeps your digestive system functioning well, filling you up and making you feel satisfied—so you eat less.

Fiber is also essential in preventing colon cancer, eliminating waste and toxins, and improving nutrient absorption. Because the fiber helps to fill you up, celeriac is a great food to eat when trying to lose weight as well.

Helps Fight Diabetes

Almost 1 out of three people either have diabetes or pre-diabetes, but a healthy diet, low in carbohydrates and sugar can help fight or reverse this serious condition. An interesting finding for a recent study found that for people who ate the most root vegetables, their risk of diabetes was 13% lower than those who did not. And a high intake of all types of vegetables lowers all types of chronic disease.

Heart Health

Celeriac’s antioxidants including the powerful vitamin C, provide nutrients that keep the heart and blood vessels healthy. Vitamin C has been found to moderately lower blood pressure—even in smaller doses. In addition, the potassium in celeriac has also been found to help regulate blood pressure and balance out too much sodium in the diet. Potassium lowers the risk of strokes as well.

Other potential health benefits of Celeriac including helping to suppress Parkinson’s symptoms, improve bone health, and soothing indigestion.

It Tastes Amazing!

Oh, and did I mention—celeriac tastes delicious! Chop it up and add it to a roasted root vegetable mélange, or cook it up and add it to your mashed potato recipe to extra flavor and nutrition. Try this celeriac fries baked in the oven, or grate it and make it part of your next coleslaw recipe.

Celeriac Fries

First, chop your celeriac into 1cm width fries. Lightly coat them with some smoked paprika and a sprinkling of Pink Himalayan salt. Roast for 30 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius – and that’s it!

Celeriac fries are also delicious roasted with a little salt and pepper, then scattered with a grating of parmesan.

Check out this celeriac soup recipe, adapted from Mark’s Daily Apple. It’s amazing—warm, tasty, filling and delicious—especially topped with bacon.

Celeriac Soup

• 1/3 stick butter
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallot (or 1 leek, sliced)
• 2 pounds celery root, (about two large roots) peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 6 cups bone broth or chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
• 4 slices of bacon crumbled

Instructions:

Over medium low heat, melt the butter in a deep pan. Add celery and shallot/leek and sauté until soft but not overly browned, about five minutes. Add celery root and sauté a few minutes more, then add 6 cups of broth or water and turn up heat slightly. Bring to a boil then turn the heat lower and simmer with a lid on for 35-40 minutes until the celery root is easily pierced with a fork.

Working in small batches puree the soup in a blender, or with a hand blender, until very smooth. If you prefer soup with more texture, only puree half of the celery root and leave the rest in chunks. Use the remaining 2 cups of broth or water to thin out the soup to your desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with generous amounts of bacon!

References
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/celeriac
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/silky-celery-root-soup/
https://www.water-for-health.co.uk/our-blog/2019/02/7-impressive-health-benefits-of-celeriac-celeriac-fries-recipe/

The post This Ugly Duckling Root Vegetable Is Crazy Good for You—5 Good Reasons to try Celeriac appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.