Hey there!

It's almost end of March and it's also time to (almost) wrap up our series on cooking oils.

So far we've looked at:

• the nutritional benefits of oils.
• what's really going on with seed oils.

And today I'm going to be sharing a checklist of things to look for when shopping for oils (so that you get the very best quality product for your health).

Let's get into it!

How to Choose Good Quality Cooking Oils

1. Buy Cold Pressed

Most oils on the market are extracted in one of two ways:

• Expeller pressing: in this case external heat is added before the oil extraction. The heat cooks the plant material to basically "soften" it and break it down so that it's easier to extract the oil.
• Cold pressing: there is no external heat used before oil extraction. That said, there is heat that is naturally generated in the process because the machine has to work much harder to press the uncooked plant material (like an avocado seed, for example).

Since high temperatures destroy antioxidants and other nutrients, any process that uses lower temperatures will result in an oil with more nutrients intact.

That is why cold pressed oils are the better choice.

2. Look For Dark Bottles

Environmental elements will spoil oils.

And that includes elements like light.

Oils that are stored in dark/opaque bottles have more protection from light, which means they stay fresher longer.

3. Read The Fine Print

There is a particular olive oil at Costco that is labeled "Pure" extra virgin olive oil (or something along those lines).

It's a massive amount of olive oil for very low cost.

When you read the label closely, there's a small spot in the corner that tells you that the oil contains 1% unrefined olive oil.

Which means the remaining 99% of it is refined olive oil!

So, yes it is pure olive oil (smart marketing, right?!) but since it's refined, you won't be getting many of the olive oil benefits you'd expect.

Which leads me to the fourth point...

4. Buy Unrefined Oils

If you want the health benefits of any oil, it must be unrefined.

Once you refine, you change the chemical composition.

End of story.

5. Avoid Blends

Some grocery stores sell oil blends.

I don't know who came up with this and what the benefits are supposed to be, but the more you mix things, the more you open yourself up to unknowns.

And one thing with the food industry: if you see a blend that says something like "olive + canola" you can pretty much assume that the majority of it is canola (because canola is cheap and well, profit margins generally come first).

6. Choose A Single-Sourced Olive Oil When Possible

Of all the oils, on the market, olive oil is the most exhausting oil to shop for (is it just me?)!

There are so many types to choose from.

And while all the tips I've provided so far apply to olive oil, there's one thing that happens with olive oil (that you don't necessarily see with other oils): one bottle of olive oil usually contains oils from multiple countries.

I have bought some that said something like "contains olive oil from Tunisia, Spain, Greece, Morocco."

That's a wild mix.

But the other thing is this: the soil and climate is different everywhere.

And the olives will reflect that.

If you mix oils from 4 or 5 countries in one bottle, the flavor won't be quite on point.

Now, this isn't necessarily a catastrophe, but...

If you are someone who uses olive oil in raw form frequently, then you might care more.

Ideally, look for an olive oil that came from one farm/estate.

Yes, it costs significantly more. But I have to say that the times when I've invested in that type of oil, I noticed the flavor difference immediately!

Other olive oil tips:

• always go for extra virgin. If it says "light" it's refined.
• yes, Italian olive oil is the gold standard. But I've also bought California olive oil that tasted good to me.
• opaque/dark bottles only. Please :)
• whenever possible, choose olive oil in glass bottle.

So, What's Next?

Alrighty, that's a wrap for this week.

That may have been a lot.

Remember that you don't have to do everything 100%.

Your health, your choice!

I'm just here to lay everything out for you so that you can make informed choices.

Of the rules that I've laid out, there are two I don't do consistently:

• I don't always buy olive oil in glass bottles.
• I don't always buy olive oil from a single source.

Everything else I adhere to because they are non-negotiables in my book.

Up to you to determine yours.

👉 Lookout for the final email in this series next Saturday where I'll be sharing tips for oils to use raw vs. for cooking.

Have a lovely weekend!

Germaine Satia - Health Coach, CYT-200