It is a commonly held belief that to be healthy or to lose weight, one must cut out all forms of fats and oils. That however can be dangerous to overall health and especially to our heart!  Fats promote heart and brain health, memory, concentration, skin health, and help our body make Vitamin D.  They are also absolutely essential to absorb vitamins and antioxidants without which we cannot function!

The secret to ensuring you get all possible benefits from fats and oils, is to keep changing the type of oil (not the brand) you use every month or fortnight. Or, keep three different oils at home and use a different oil for each meal, for example, use rice  bran for breakfast,  mustard or groundnut oil for lunch, and canola for dinner!

Basically, there are two types of oils, saturated and unsaturated. All oils that are liquids at room temperature are unsaturated, while those which are solids, such as butter, ghee, dalda or vanaspati are saturated.

Most recommendations are now focused on monounsaturated fats, and omega 3 fats.  Both of these have been extensively studied and have proven heart health benefits. Omega 3 is known to reduce LDL, while increasing “HDL”, the good cholesterol. Omega 3 is also helpful in preventing clotting or clumping of blood that leads to clots, lowering blood pressure, boosting brain health, preventing Alzheimer’s and so on.   A diet rich in monounsaturated fats, popularly known as the “Mediterranean diet”, that were basically rich in fresh olives, fish, fruits and vegetables is known also to be protective for the heart.

We also see a lot of claims on “oryzanol”,  which is an antioxidant present in huge amounts in rice bran (the outer husk of rice) and therefore in rice bran oil.  A study in animals showed that there was a 42 % decrease in total cholesterol and  62 % reduction in LDL cholesterol following administration of rice bran oil.

A balanced ratio of polyunsaturated (with at least 1 : 1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats), monounsaturated , and saturated fats should be obtained through natural foods.   Omega 6 is present in many oils, including sunflower  and safflower (60 % PUFA),  soyabean (53 % PUFA), corn oil (55 % PUFA).  The richest source of omega 3 is mustard oil (10 % omega 3), sesame oil ( 10 % omega 3)  and soybean (5 % omega 3). Rice bran is a fair source with 1.5 % omega 3.

Oils which predominantly contain monounsaturated fats, include olive oil ( 76 % MUFA),  groundnut (50 % MUFA),  sesame oil ( 42 % MUFA),  rice bran (41 % MUFA).

Give your heart the protection from the right amounts and kinds of nutrients that come from healthy fats- choose professionally planned and crafted meals from Calorie Care to keep your heart well oiled !