Choosing the Right Cooking Oil for Health and High Heat

Finally, while seed oils like sunflower oil have received intense and often unfounded criticism on social media, being erroneously labeled as "toxic," their moderate use remains a perfectly safe and practical choice, especially for high-heat cooking. Sunflower oil, in particular, contains less saturated fat than both olive and coconut oils (about 1.5 grams per serving) and boasts one of the highest smoke points at 232°C (450°F), making it an ideal candidate for deep frying. However, other specialty oils, such as flaxseed oil, serve as a cautionary example, possessing an extremely low smoke point of only about 110°C (230°F), meaning it should never be heated and must be restricted exclusively to cold applications, such as a nutritional additive to cold dishes or a dressing for salads, ensuring its high Omega-3 content is preserved and utilized by the body.