10 Best Cooking Oils for Heart in India 2021 (Saffola, Fortune, and more)

Here is our selection of the most heart-healthy oils you can buy. They are rich in unsaturated fatty acids and vitamins that reduce cholesterol and inflammation to promote your heart health and overall well-being. Shop from the list below featuring cooking oils from brands like Saffola, Fortune, DiSano, and more.

Ruchi Wadhwa is a certified Nutritionist with a keen interest in Ayurvedic sciences. She has a wholesome, holistic, and sustainable approach to nutrition. You can reach out to her on Facebook, Instagram, or quora.

Read the buying guide below to learn how to choose a heart-healthy cooking oil depending on the level of various fatty acids, the type of cooking, the smoke point of oils, storage, and more.

There are two types of unsaturated fatty acids—monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The basic difference between the two is monounsaturated fats have only one double bond, while polyunsaturated fats have more than one double bond. Both fats help in reducing the levels of bad cholesterol called Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL).

Oils rich in monounsaturated fats include olive, mustard, avocado, canola, almond, peanut, and rice bran. You can find high levels of polyunsaturated fats in grapeseed, safflower, sesame, sunflower, flaxseed, and wheat germ oils. You must have heard about omega-3, 6, and 9 fatty acids.

Omega-3 and 6 are polyunsaturated fatty acids, and omega-9 is monounsaturated. Adequate consumption of unsaturated fats reduces LDL and increases HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein), reduce inflammation, thus improving your heart health. These fats are also known to promote weight loss and improve insulin sensitivity in people with high blood sugar. Now you know, not all fats are bad!

Saturated fats don't have double bonds, unlike unsaturated fats. So regular usage can cause cholesterol to build up in your blood, hardening the arteries over time and making it difficult for the blood to flow through them. This causes a condition called angina or chest pain. If the artery gets blocked completely, it can cause a heart attack.

High cholesterol can also cause arteries to your brain to get blocked and cause a stroke. Try to minimize the usage of oils rich in saturated fats or replace them completely. Coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils are some examples of oils rich in saturated fats. Trans fat has the same adverse effects as saturated fat, but it is only present in tiny amounts in cooking oils.

Still, it poses a health risk. The Food and Safety Standards of India (FSSAI) regulates trans fat content in oils to 3 percent. All cooking oils could have some amount of trans fat in them. Check the nutrition information on the pack and confirm that the trans fat content is below the regulated level. Cooking in high heat creates only negligible amounts of trans fat. 

The smoke point of an oil is the temperature at which it starts to burn and produce smoke. Apart from imparting a burnt flavor to the food and catching fire, heating oil past smoke point can cause aldehydes and free radicals like peroxides to form. 

Therefore, we are told to believe that oils rich in unsaturated fats are healthy. But there is a lesser-known fact about polyunsaturated fats. They have unstable double bonds in their chemical structure that result in fast oxidation when exposed to heat. 

The result of this oxidation is the formation of the above-mentioned harmful substances. So use oils with a high smoke point for high heat cooking like deep-frying and stir-frying and oils with a low smoke point for low heat cooking and sauteing and drizzling. Some examples of heart-healthy cooking oils suitable for high heat cooking are mustard, sunflower, avocado, and corn.

Refining oils can increase its smoke point. For example, unrefined canola oil has a smoke point of 107 degrees celsius, and that of the refined variety is 230 degrees celsius. Only the latter is suitable for high heat cooking. Some examples of low smoke point (below 170 degrees celsius) are extra virgin oils, unrefined oils, and cold-pressed oils.

Some high smoke point (above 190 degrees celsius) cooking oils include refined oils of nuts, seeds, and grains. Cooking temperatures vary depending on the dish you are preparing and from one household to another. Use a kitchen thermometer and check the temperature of the dishes that you cook daily. You can choose a cooking oil accordingly.

Here are some cooking tips and recommendations for using heart-healthy cooking oils in your daily diet. You may choose one or more of these oils for cooking various dishes.

The smoke point of extra virgin olive oil is 160 degrees celsius, and that of flaxseed oil is 107 degrees celsius. So, use unrefined, extra virgin olive and flaxseed oils for drizzling and making salad dressings. It's not just the smoke point that matters.

Both olive and flaxseed oils have a bitter, nutty flavor, making them a superb choice for drizzling over vegetable salads, meat salads, and more. You can also make vinaigrettes, noodles, and baking cakes (as a substitute for butter and vegetable oils).

With the lowest amount of saturated fats (7 grams per 100 grams) among all cooking oils and high levels of monounsaturated fats (63 grams), canola oil is one of the healthiest cooking oils available. Its high MUFA and low PUFA content ensure very less free radicals and aldehyde formation. It also has a high smoke point of 230 degrees celsius.

Sunflower oil is usually used for high heat cooking like stir-frying and deep-frying for making fried fish, chips, and vegetables. But the high levels of PUFA can form toxic compounds that can affect your heart's health. If you use sunflower oil for high heat cooking, we advise you to reduce the cooking time as much as possible and refrain from using used oil.

Both sunflower and canola oils are neutral oils, meaning they don't impart any flavor to the dish you are cooking. So you can use these oils for grilling and stir-frying meat and vegetable. But if you want to impart flavor to your high heat cooking, go for mustard oil. It has a pungent aroma and flavor, making it suitable for pickles, cooking vegetables, etc.

Although grapeseed oil has a high smoke point, its high levels of PUFA make it unsuitable for high heat cooking. And cold-pressed sesame oil has a low smoke point. Since both are neutral oils, you can use them for sauteing and stir-frying seafood, chicken, and vegetables.

You can even substitute these oils for olive if you want to drizzle over salads. Low to moderate heat cooking using grapeseed and sesame oils won't cause the release of harmful substances. If you want to add a nutty, toasty flavor to any of your dishes, finish it with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.

There is a common misconception that using refined oils is harmful to our health. As long as the trans fat content is below the regulated level of 3 percent, there is no harm in using refined oils. But the refining process can indeed remove some micronutrients such as phytosterols and tocopherols, phenolic compounds, and beta carotene.

These antioxidants and nutrients are known for promoting heart health by reducing free radicals and blood cholesterol levels. But find out the smoke point of the cooking oil you are buying as most unrefined, cold-pressed and extra virgin oils have a very low smoke point, making it suitable only for low heat cooking. For example, drizzling over salads, cooking vegetables and noodles, etc.

As you already know, oxidation can cause cooking oils to go rancid and develop harmful substances. Sunlight can cause that too. Storing your cooking oil where it's exposed to sunlight and heat can cause the fatty acids in it to oxidize slowly, especially those oils with high PUFA content.

Even MUFA oxidize but not as quickly as PUFA. If you are stocking up your oil reserves for long-term use, all fatty acids can degrade. We recommend choosing a product that comes in dark bottles and tin cans. If they are not available, transfer the contents to an opaque container or store them in a dark cabinet.

You can try refrigerating oils too. Those with high MUFA and PUFA like sunflower, safflower, canola, and olive can benefit from refrigeration if you buy them in bulk, say, a year's supply.

Garam masala—a spice blend that adds flavor, and salt—a flavor enhancer. Two of the most important ingredients in an Indian kitchen shelf. We would like to introduce the several varieties of these ingredients available in India, along with the most important ingredient for a lip-smacking biryani—Basmati rice. Click on the links below to read the buying guides and shop from our top 10 list.

Hope we have made it easy for you to choose a heart-healthy cooking oil for your everyday cooking. Here is everything in a nutshell. For high heat cooking, go for cooking oils high in monounsaturated fatty acids as they are more stable. If polyunsaturated fatty acids are high, we recommend using them only for low heat cooking and drizzling.

Make a note of the smoke point of various oils and use a kitchen thermometer to find out the temperature at which you cook daily. This will make it easy for you to choose the right oil for your needs. Remember that refined variants of cooking oils have a high smoke point. Store your cooking oils in a dark cabinet to prevent oxidation from exposure to sunlight and heat.

Author - Arun F Xaviour