Burn the Midnight Oil, Not the Stuff You Cook With

Oils are essential to our well-being and are utilized by our bodies in a variety of ways. Oils are defined as fats that are liquid at room temperature. Oils include vegetable cooking oil and the oils found in nuts, olives, avocados, fish and animal fats. You want to consume oils that are high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats because these provide vitamins and help you absorb fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. They also supply essential fatty acids that are needed for growth and the health of our skin, brain and nervous system. Oils are a calorie-dense food, at 120 calories per tablespoon (about the same as solid fats such as margarine/butter) and you need to limit how much you consume to stay within your daily goals.

One really important thing to consider about which oil you want to consume is how you will use it to prepare food. When cooking with oil you need to keep in mind the smoke point of which oil you are using because oils all have a variety of temperatures at which they begin to smoke. When oil starts to smoke or reach the smoke point, the properties of the oil change. At the smoke point, oil oxidation occurs and carcinogenic free radicals form. So some oils are better for high-heat cooking and others for low-heat cooking, dressings or added flavor.

The more refined an oil is, the higher the smoke point for the oil. For easy assessment, you can look at the color of the oil, the lighter the color the higher the smoke point. Vegetable oils have higher smoke points than animal fats and oils, with the exception of hydrogenated vegetable shortening. Remember high smoke point = good for cooking. Low smoke point = good for dressing.

All of the following oils have a variety of benefits and health effects. Vegetable oils do not have cholesterol but still have varying amounts of other fats including saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. You also want to include fats that contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, since these fats are associated with heart health. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in soybean oil, flaxseed oil and canola oil, as well as walnuts. Omega-6 fatty acids are found in soybean, safflower and corn oils.

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TOPFIT Daily Activities --- Rest Day
Since it was a busy day and I've had a few high volume and/or intensity days in a row, it was a good day to make a rest day.

~Feelin' Alive!~