Your diabetes treatment at home starts in your kitchen. It begins with what you eat. Here’s list of cooking oils that are good for you if you have diabetes. Include these in your diabetes diet plan.
Best Oils for a diabetic diet
- Macadamia oil – has good ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids
- Olive oil – Good for heart health
- Flaxseed oil – for salads
- Almond oil
- Canola oil
- Sesame oil
- Walnut oil
- Cold-pressed rapeseed oil
- Safflower oil
- Avocado oil
Fat and cooking oils
We all need to get at least 20 to 35 % of our calories from fat every day. This is because fat is digested and converted into fatty acids and these help dissolve vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and Vitamin K.
Good fats are needed for cholesterol metabolism and for the release of many hormones. Here are a few benefits of fat in diet.
- Fats are a major source of energy
- Insulates and protects vital organs
- Provides our body with essential fatty acids which our bodies cannot produce
- Benefits in heart and brain function
- Promotes memory
- Reduces inflammation
Types of fat
- Saturated fats
- Monounsaturated fats
- Polyunsaturated fats (omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids)
- Trans fat
What fats should you include in your diabetes diet plan?
- Saturated fats are solid fats at room temperature. These consist of animal fats, dairy, and tropical oils like coconut oil, cocoa butter, and palm oil. Saturated fats raise cholesterol levels and hence should be used in moderation in your diabetic diet.
- Monounsaturated fats are liquid fats at room temperature and come from plant sources like vegetable oils, nuts, avocado, canola, and olive. Monounsaturated oils increase the content of good cholesterol in the body and so they should be a part of your diabetes treatment at home.
- Polyunsaturated oils are also liquid fats at room temperature and are made from sunflower, safflower, corn, sesame, soybean and others. These oils are also found in seafood. Since polyunsaturated fats contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, they have health benefits and so should be part of your diabetes treatment at home.
- Trans fats are created by a process of hydrogenation and are used in processed foods, snacks, fries, and cookies in order to make these foods crispier. Exclude these oils from your diabetes diet plan.
Choosing cooking oils
Though all cooking oils have all types of fats, choose oils with more omega-3 fatty acids than omega-6 fatty acids as omega-6 leads to inflammation, which is one of the causes of type 2 diabetes. Choose oils that are cold-pressed.
Having said that, the chemical make-up of cooking oil changes when it’s heated. That’s why you need to choose the oil depending upon the purpose.
Oils for frying
Use oils with more saturated fats and monounsaturated fats for deep frying. These include:
- Palm oil
- Mustard oil
- Groundnut oil
- Rice bran oil
- Safflower oil
Oils for baking
- Almond oil
- Butter
- Canola oil
Oils for cooking
- Avocado oil
- Ghee
- Coconut oil
- Macadamia oil
- Mustard oil
- Groundnut oil
- Rice bran oil
- Safflower oil
- Unrefined sesame oil
- Sunflower oil,
- Extra virgin, virgin olive oil
Oils for dressing
- Macadamia oil
- Corn oil
- Canola oil
- Mustard oil
- Rice bran oil
- Safflower oil
- Soybean oil
- Sunflower oil
Oils for salads
- Walnut oil
- Tea seed oil
- Sunflower oil
- Soybean oil
- Safflower oil
- Rice bran oil
- Extra light Olive oil
- Refined olive oil
- Virgin & extra virgin olive oil
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