Will someone please explain to me the differences between the plethora of cooking oils I encountered last night on my supermarket shelf? Olive oil, extra virgin olive oil (how can you be extra virgin?), corn oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, canola oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil... I don’t even remember which one I bought. Why so many? Are they all equally unhealthy? Are they interchangeable for kitchen uses?

Extra virgin olive oil has been kept away from the rapeseed oil

Elexina, just ignore Fred when he gets like this. We can't take him anywhere anymore.
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Compiled from Wikipedia -

Olive oil is much healthier than other sources of alimentary fat because of its high content of monounsaturated fat (mainly oleic acid) and polyphenols with a powerful antioxidant Hydroxytyrosol. (Oleocanthal from olive oil is a non-selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase (COX) similar to classical NSAIDs like ibuprofen. It has been suggested that long-term consumption of small quantities of this compound from olive oil may be responsible in part for the low incidence of heart disease associated with a Mediterranean diet.)

Evidence from epidemiological studies suggests that a higher proportion of monounsaturated fats in the diet is linked with a reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease.[11] This is significant because olive oil is considerably rich in monounsaturated fats, most notably oleic acid.

In the United States, producers of olive oil may place the following health claim on product labels:

Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about two tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the monounsaturated fat in olive oil. To achieve this possible benefit, olive oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day.[12]

Evidence from epidemiological studies suggests that a higher proportion of monounsaturated fats in the diet is linked with a reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease.[11] This is significant because olive oil is considerably rich in monounsaturated fats, most notably oleic acid.

In the United States, producers of olive oil may place the following health claim on product labels:

Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about two tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the monounsaturated fat in olive oil. To achieve this possible benefit, olive oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day.[12]

Jeanne Calment, who holds the record for the longest confirmed lifespan, reportedly attributed her longevity and relatively youthful appearance to olive oil, which she said she poured on all her food and rubbed into her skin.*

However, some of these benefits are disputed. Several scientific studies doubt some of the previously stated positive effects and state several negative effects of olive oil such as impairment of the dilation of the arteries.
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The several oils extracted from the olive fruit can be classified as:

* Virgin means the oil was produced by the use of physical means and no chemical treatment. The term virgin oil referring to production is different from Virgin Oil on a retail label (see next section).
* Refined means that the oil has been chemically treated to neutralize strong tastes (characterized as defects) and neutralize the acid content (free fatty acids). Refined oil is commonly regarded as lower quality than virgin oil; the retail labels extra-virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil cannot contain any refined oil.
* Pomace olive oil means oil extracted from the pomace using chemical solvents—mostly hexane—and by heat.

As IOOC standards are complex, the labels in stores (except in the U.S.) clearly show an oil's grade:

* Extra-virgin olive oil comes from cold pressing of the olives, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil.
* Virgin olive oil has an acidity less than 2%, and judged to have a good taste. There can be no refined oil in virgin olive oil.
* Pure olive oil. Oils labeled as Pure olive oil or Olive oil are usually a blend of refined olive oil and one of the above two categories of virgin olive oil.
* Olive oil is a blend of virgin oil and refined oil, containing no more than 1.5% acidity. It commonly lacks a strong flavor.
* Olive-pomace oil is a blend of refined pomace olive oil and possibly some virgin oil. It is fit for consumption, but it may not be called olive oil. Olive-pomace oil is rarely found in a grocery store; it is often used for certain kinds of cooking in restaurants.
* Lampante oil is olive oil not used for consumption; lampante comes from olive oil's ancient use as fuel in oil-burning lamps. Lampante oil is mostly used in the industrial market.



*Jeanne Louise Calment (IPA: [ʒan lwiːz kal'mɑ̃]; February 21, 1875 – August 4, 1997) was a French woman who reached the longest confirmed lifespan in history at 122 years and 164 days (44,724 days in total). Her lifespan has been thoroughly documented by scientific study; more records have been produced to verify her age than for any other case.[1]

n 1985, Calment moved into a nursing home, having lived on her own until age 110. Nevertheless, she did not gain international fame until 1988, when the centenary of Vincent van Gogh's visit to Arles provided an occasion to meet reporters. She said that at age 14, she met van Gogh in her father's shop, later describing him as "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable." She also reported attending the 1885 funeral of Victor Hugo.

At the age of 114, she appeared briefly in the 1990 film Vincent and Me as herself, making her the oldest actress ever. A French documentary film about her life, entitled Beyond 120 Years with Jeanne Calment, was released in 1995. In 1996, the nursing home where she lived released a CD entitled Time's Mistress. It featured her reminiscing, set to rap and other tunes. She was also a smoker and only quit when she was 117 years old.[2] She was the last recognized surviving person of the 1870s.

Jeanne Calment's remarkable health presaged her later record. At age 85, she took up fencing. At 100, she was still riding a bicycle. Jeanne lived on her own until shortly before her 110th birthday, when her cooking caused an accidental fire in her apartment and it was decided that she needed to be moved to a nursing home. However, Jeanne was still in good shape, and was able to walk until a fall at age 114 years and 11 months. Jeanne survived a hip operation in January 1990 to become the oldest verified surgery patient. Although she needed to use a wheelchair afterward, Jeanne remained talkative and received frequent visitors until her 122nd birthday, at which time it was finally decided that her health status had declined and warranted privacy. Indeed, it was said by Jean-Marie Robine that this "allowed her to die", because the attention had kept her going. Jeanne Calment died five months later. She reportedly attributed her longevity and relatively youthful appearance (for her age) to olive oil, which she said she poured on all her food and rubbed into her skin.[3]

Quotes by Calment -

* "J'ai été oubliée par le Bon Dieu!" ("I have been forgotten by the Good Lord!")
* "I took pleasure when I could. I acted clearly and morally and without regret. I'm very lucky."
* "I've only got one wrinkle, and I'm sitting on it."
* "Wine, I'm in love with that."
* "A very short one." When asked on her 120th birthday what kind of future she would expect to have.
* "Ha, I was over the hill a hundred years ago."

Wikipedia again -

Canola is a type of edible oil initially bred in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur Stefansson in the 1970s. It is a trademarked quality description of a group of cultivars of rapeseed variants from which low erucic acid rapeseed oil and low glucosinolate meal are obtained. The word "canola" was derived from "Canadian oil, low acid" in 1978.[1][2] The oil is also known as "LEAR" oil (for Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed).

Canola oil has been claimed to be healthy due to its low, or even zero, saturated fat and high—almost 60%—monounsaturated oil content and beneficial omega-3 fatty acids profile. The Canola Council of Canada states that it is completely safe and is the healthiest of all commonly used cooking oils.[9] Claims of safety are a bit questionable as almost all the testing on humans was based on trials that lasted an average of three weeks.[10] Traditional rapeseed oil contains higher amounts of erucic acid and glucosinolates, both of which were deemed undesirable for human consumption by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Erucic acid is implicated with cancer and rancidity and glucosinolates are goitrogenic.[citation needed] Canola oil contains only 0.5 to 1% erucic acid, well below the 2 percent limit set by the USDA.[11]

For many years rapeseed oil was used for human consumption in Canada despite the known undesirable effects of glucosinolates and erucic acid, which were considered to be acceptable due the health benefits of the oil. Researchers were later able to develop "double-zero" varieties by the 1980s without significant levels of erucic acid or glucosinolates.[citation needed]

Nonetheless, controversy continued, with an article implicating Canola oil with glaucoma and the Mad Cow Disease.[12] This article was taken up, condensed and widely circulated in a story via email. The industry and many health professionals condemn this as an email hoax making wholly unsubstantiated claims.[13]
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Peanut oil (arachis oil) is an organic oil derived from peanuts, noted to have the slight aroma and taste of its parent legume. In the UK it is marketed as 'Groundnut Oil'.

It is often used in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine much as olive oil is used in the Mediterranean. Peanut oil is appreciated for its high smoke point relative to many other cooking oils. Its major component fatty acids are palmitic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid. The oil also contains some 6–8% (total) of arachidic acid, arachidonic acid, behenic acid, lignoceric acid and other fatty acids.

Peanut oil was used as the original source of fuel for the diesel engine.
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Sunflower oil is high in the essential vitamin E and low in saturated fat. The two most common types of sunflower oil are linoleic and high oleic. Linoleic sunflower oil is a common cooking oil that has high levels of the essential fatty acids called polyunsaturated fat. It is also known for having a clean taste and low levels of trans fat. High oleic sunflower oils are classified as having monounsaturated levels of 80% and above. Newer versions of sunflower oil have been developed as a hybrid containing linoleic acid. They have monounsaturated levels lower than other oleic sunflower oils. The hybrid oil also has lower saturated fat levels than linoleic sunflower oil [2]. Sunflower oil of any kind has been shown to have cardiovascular benefits as well. Diets combined with a low fat content and high levels of oleic acid have been suggested to lower cholesterol which, in turn, results in a smaller risk of heart disease [3]. Sunflower oils fit this criteria. Studies of adults suggested that a balanced diet in which small quantities of saturated fats are replaced with sunflower oil has detectable cholesterol-reducing benefits. Research suggests that lower cholesterol levels can be caused by balances of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Sunflower oil may help with this balance.

We've pretty much converted all of our oil needs to Olive Oil - except deep frying, where we use regular vegetable oil.

I feel very inspired by the story of Jeanne Calment DG, thank you for posting the info! What a fascinating life she must have had!