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Why multi-source cooking oil is better for heart health
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Wednesday, 03 May, 2023, 15 : 00 PM [IST]
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Dr Asna Urooj
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While dietary fats are demonised a lot they are important in human nutrition as a concentrated source of energy, for absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and in the synthesis of certain hormones. They also play a role in food and provide desirable physical, nutritional, sensory properties to the food.
There are 2 types of fats in our diet, visible and invisible. While visible fats are the predominant source of fats in our diets, the invisible fats also contribute substantially to the total fat intake. Major sources of visible fats are ghee (clarified butter), butter and vegetable oils, hydrogenated fat or Trans fats, which is used in baking to make light and tender cakes and fluffy cookies while invisible fats are present naturally in milk and milk products, cereals, pulses, oilseeds, eggs and animal foods. ICMR- NIN recommends the consumption of fat including visible and invisible fat to be 20-30% of total calories obtained from the diet.
All fats and oils are composed of fatty acids viz., saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in differing ratios. While animal foods are a major source of saturated fats, few plant food sources like coconut, coconut oil and palm oil are also sources of SFA. Vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, fish oils are good sources of MUFA and PUFA. The American Heart Association recommends a dietary fatty acid ratio of SFA:MUFA:PUFA is 1:1.5:1. The WHO recommended that SFA consumption should not exceed more than 8-10% of a person's total energy consumption for the management of blood lipid profile.
There are several types of edible vegetable oils, but none has the recommended fatty acid profile, oxidative stability, functional and nutritional properties. Hence, NIN recommends rotating oils, using a combination of oils or blending of oils. Hence, oils are modified to enhance their physical and nutritional quality. A preferable solution for ensuring an oil with the right ratio of both MUFA and PUFA, which can make food healthful and tasty is blending of oils.
Multi-source cooking oils comprise of two or more types of edible vegetable oils blended together in a ratio of at least 20 percent by weight for each type of oil. The blend must meet some set standards i.e., be clear, deodorised, free from rancidity and any other animal and non-edible oils, or fats. The multi-source cooking oils are regulated under Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. They are scientifically blended to be rich in MUFAs and PUFAs.
Multi-source cooking oils combine the benefits of two or more oils into one and provide many advantages that are difficult to acquire when using single seed oils. They have higher thermal and oxidative stability in addition to nutritional benefits. The blending of two or more oils with different properties is economical to modify fatty acid profile and physicochemical properties (i.e. having physical as well as chemical features) of the final oil blend. It is advisable to use blended oils instead of the hydrogenated fat (vanaspathi), as oil blends have a better fatty acid profile. Blended oil is a better alternative for hydrogenated fat, as these oil blends provide a better balance of fatty acids.
Blending of edible vegetable oils is now becoming a common and economical practice in food industry. Overall, the main aim of oil blending is to obtain desirable characteristics of different oils in single oil and to formulate oil which has balanced fatty acid profile, high stability, rich in bioactive compounds (these compounds usually are the Atomic Orbitals that provide oxidative stability to fats and also beneficial for body cells.) Beneficial for human health with high functionality.
Research studies have investigated the effect of consuming blended oils formulated with unique fatty acid compositions, on blood lipid profile in both healthy and hyperlipidemic individuals. Consumption of Rice bran oil (RBO) and Safflower oil (SO) blends in 70:30 ratio for 3 months, by hyperlipidemic subjects, showed decrease in total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol. In addition to consumption of oil blends, the participants were advised lifestyle modifications.
A novel blend of 20% cold-pressed unrefined sesame oil and 80% physically refined rice bran oil as cooking oil, lowered blood glucose level and improved the lipid profile in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.
Blends of sesame oil and rice bran oil have been reported to be beneficial in reducing blood pressure and lipid profile in mild- moderate hypertensive subjects.
Another study, reports the beneficial effect of consuming oil blends made with refined rice bran, flaxseed and sesame oils for 8 weeks (30g/day), by hypercholesterolemic subjects. Significant reductions in blood lipid profile and blood pressure were observed in the group which was provided the oil blends compared to the group which consumed olive oil.
These studies provide evidence that using blended vegetable oils can improve blood lipid profile and other cardiometabolic parameters in hyperlipidemic with hypertension or type 2 diabetes.
However, it is important to note that although multi-source cooking oils have several advantages, their consumption must not exceed the recommended levels of total fat as the energy value of all fats and oils is the same i.e., 9kcal/g.
Bakery and confectionary require fats with certain physicochemical properties like melting point, solid fat content, polymorphic form and spread ability. Blending of oils provide these characteristics which are essential in bakery products, hence the use of multi-source cooking oils is gaining popularity in food industry Blended oils are also suitable for use in home- made baked products.
Using a combination of two different oils for cooking is an alternative to multi-source cooking oils But it requires choosing the right oil combinations and in the right proportion. An easy change to adopt in our already hectic lifestyles is to use multi-source cooking oils.
(The author is professor, Department of Studies in Food Science and Nutrition, University of Mysore)
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