Drug Medical Information

WEIGHT CONTROL: OILS AND NUTS

Certain oils should be used for roasting, frying and deep frying, in salad dressings and marinades, and for baking, e.g. pie crusts. In safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil and soybean oil, most of the fatty acid is of the polyunsaturated 'cholesterol-reducing' kind, and there is very little of the saturated kind. The first two are the richest in 'poly' fat. Olive oil has little 'poly' fat, but consists chiefly of mono-unsaturated 'cholesterol-neutral' fat. All are suitable for moderate use in the prudent diet, especially the first four. They should not be used more than twice for deep frying and once only when cooking meat. Deep-fat fryers use too much oil; a more economical way of using the oil is to fry chipped potatoes in a saucepan with just sufficient oil to cover them. The oil can then be decanted and used a second and final time.

Remember that these oils have the same energy (Calorie) content as saturated fat, so they do not help you to lose weight. And remember that coconut oil and palm oil tend to raise your cholesterol level; so does 'hydrogenated' oil. Look for these terms on the label before you buy.

Other vegetable oils contain fewer 'poly' fats and more saturated fat. It is better to use one of the five oils listed above, in the prudent diet, rather than to use peanut oil (Arachis oil) or to go for the cryptic 'pure vegetable oil' label.

Nuts and peanut butter are rich in fat. Walnuts contain chiefly 'poly' fat and are included in the prudent diet. So are pecans, sunflower seeds and sesame seed, which impart the special flavour to Greek bread and pitta.

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