Cooking smart: Choose the right oils for healthier cheat days
Dr Adrian Sznajder, a functional medicine doctor from Milan, shares practical tips on social media to improve overall body condition. On a daily basis, he does not recommend deep frying, but he mentions which oils to choose during so-called cheat days.
Many people only keep one kind of oil in their kitchen cupboard, using it both for salads and high-temperature frying. Nutritionists and doctors are increasingly highlighting the risks associated with such carelessness. Each type of fat has a different smoke point, after which carcinogens can form.
Which oils are unsuitable for frying chips?
Doctors who take a sensible approach to a reduction diet often allow a day off, during which you can eat whatever you like without guilt. The next day, you return to your regular diet, and everything is fine. On such a day, you can even make breaded chicken or deep-fried chips.
However, a cheat day does not exempt you from responsibility for your health. Dr Adrian Sznajder urges not to use soybean, canola, corn, sunflower, and sesame oils for frying due to their low smoke points.
– These oils can form harmful oxidised fats at high temperatures, – we hear in a clip posted on Instagram.
Olive oil is also not a suitable choice – you can only use it for sweating onions or making scrambled eggs, ensuring a moderate temperature on the pan.
Other oils are better for frying
If you decide to deep fry, opt for refined coconut oil, avocado oil, clarified butter, or beef tallow. These fats maintain much higher thermal stability.
The smoke point for refined coconut oil is 204–232 degrees Celsius, while avocado oil has even better parameters, maintaining stability up to 271 degrees Celsius.
For animal fats, the temperatures are slightly lower – do not exceed 200 degrees Celsius during frying. It's worth investing in a meat thermometer to monitor the temperature – for the sake of your health.
