For starters – your choice of cooking oil depends on availability.  In many cultures this is not very difficult because there are only a few oils available.  However, this changes when we talk about countries where there is a myriad of oils available, like in the U.S.   So many of you may be wondering how to choose among all these oils and how does eastern thinking and western science help me do this. 

Let’s address which scientific facts are important to understand when choosing cooking oils and then what ayurvedic principles will help you personalize what oils you choose to work with.

Inside this blog post you will learn:  

1. Why the composition of the oil is important when choosing the right oil for cooking.
2. Why the smoking point of oil is important.
3. The difference between refined oil and unrefined oil and when to use them.
4. That being aware of you personal taste preference is important in your choice of oils.
5. How your personal constitution from the eastern perspective will help you determine what oil is best for you to use.
6. How to customize your cooking oils.

Okay so let’s start with the first point. 

1. Why the composition of fats and oils is important.

Just so we are all talking about the same thing – when I refer to oils I am speaking of a liquid at room temperature and fats as solid at room temperature.  The exception to this is coconut and palm oil that are really solids at room temperature but are referred to as oils.  Rather confusing I know but that’s the way it is at the moment.

When we talk about the composition of an oil or fat we are essentially talking about the quantity of saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated fatty acids that it contains.  See post for Mediterranean style diet.

Fats that are high in saturated fatty acids such as butter, lard, and suet create wonderfully crisp fried foods.  The good side of this is that saturated fats are less affected by heat and light but, the bad side is they have lower smoking points – more about that below – and they are not considered very healthy by the medical community.

The polyunsaturated fatty acids are very much affected by heat and light, producing not so healthy products of spoilage.  However the good side is that polyunsaturated oils have higher smoking points.

The monounsaturated fatty acids are more stable than the polyunsaturated acids and are considered to be healthy fats by the medical community so keep this in mind as you start to customize.

2. What is the smoke point and why should I consider it when cooking with oils?

The smoking point of oil is the temperature at which the oil begins to break down.  At this point the oil or fat produces a bluish smoke, smells acrid, and imparts an unpleasant flavor to foods. The higher the smoke point, the better suited a fat or oil is for frying. Reusing a fat and exposing it to air reduces its smoke point.  See some of the Smoke points  of various oils.

3. The difference between a refined oil and an unrefined oil and how that ties in with smoke point.

During the process of frying, when oils and fats are heated to high temperatures they are also exposed to the air.  The combination of high heat and oxygen produces products that are not healthy.  These unhealthy chemicals can remain in the oil and become absorbed by the food you cook and eat. 

Oils that are left in their natural state (unrefined) do not hold up well under high heat and will produce these unhealthy products.   Refined oils, oils that have had impurities filtered out, can stand a much higher heat on the stove without producing those unhealthy products.

Bottom line:  it is best to use refined oils for cooking especially if you are deep frying, stir-frying, wok cooking or any other cooking that you do at high heat or for long periods of time.  Refined oils are more expensive and are best suited to those fine tasty salads and sauces that require subtle flavors.

4. The taste of an oil is a personal preference

Most refined oils will be neutral in taste.  Refining the oil has removed most of the taste.  For making sauces, or salad dressings you may want to consider using oils that are more delicate and have a definite taste.  These include walnut oil, hazel nut oil, unrefined olive oil and unrefined sesame oil to name a few.

5. According to Ayurvedic principles the entire cosmos is an interplay of the energies of the five elements: space or ether, air, fire, water, earth.

In the Ayurvedic way of thinking human beings can be classified according to the predominant elements that they contain.  There are 3 basic constitution types: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.  These constitution types are known collectively as doshas.  If you don’t already know your dosha take the dosha test.

6. Customizing your oils.   Here is a general scheme of the oils that are good and not so good depending on your body type.

 

Oil Guidelines Based on Dosha Type

Vata		Pitta		Kapha
No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Flaxseed	Sesame	Almond	Sunflower	Avocado	All Oils in small amounts
	Ghee	Apricot	Ghee	Apricot	Almond
	Olive	Corn	Canola	Olive	Corn
	Most other Oils	Safflower	Olive	Safflower	Sunflower
		Sesame	Soy	Sesame	Sesame (External use only)
			Flaxseed	Soy	Canola
			Walnut	Walnut	Ghee
			Coconut & Avocado (external use only)		Almond

Set up your kitchen with several oils to fit your lifestyle and how you cook.  For example if you are a Vata person you may want to use an unrefined olive oil for dishes that don’t require high heat but that you want to have the taste of the olive oil.  For high heat cooking you can choose among the refined oils that have a high smoking point.  Keep in mind the composition of the oils and try to balance the saturated and unsaturated ones.  With a little effort you can customize your kitchen with oils that suit your constitution, your cooking preferences and are healthy.

How the Western and Eastern world views health has a significant influence on what and how one eats.

Eastern and Western views on health influence what we eat

Both the eastern and western approaches to health inherently rely on foods to sustain the body.  Each system however, has a unique way of understanding the role of food and nutrition in their approach to health.

The western views measures health according to:

1. Body Mass Index (BMI)
2. Physical strength
3. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
4. Aerobic Capacity
5. Blood-Sugar Tolerance
6. Cholesterol/HDL Ratio
7. Blood Pressure
8. Bone Density

The Eastern world measures health according to:

1. A feeling of lightness in the body
2. An ability to withstand change
3. A stable body
4. A focused mind

The difference in focus

Western View:  Each one of the western measures of health has values associated with it.  This western view of what is means to be healthy focuses on nourishing the body in a way that the health indicators are in a normal (healthy) range.  The underlying premise is that the physical body is of the utmost importance.  The western approach to health is evidence-based according to modern scientific ways of investigation that date back to the 16^th and 17^th centuries.

Eastern View:  The eastern perspective takes into account the mind, body, and spirit of the individual.  Nutrition is seen as nourishing the body and also maintaining a healthy inner environment, the mind.   One of the most well known approaches to taking care of the whole person is the system of Ayurveda that dates back to around 1000 BCE (Before the time of the Common Era).  So there are a few thousands of years more experience in the eastern view. 

How does the East vs. West perspective on health affect how and what we eat?

The nature of food is inherent in any eastern  or traditional culture.   Food tastes sour,  bitter,  sweet,  pungent,  or salty or a combination of these and eastern, as well as most traditional, cultures have developed a system around these tastes that explains how various foods affect the physical processes such as digestion and also how energy is moved through the body.   Here are some examples:

• Sour foods promote digestion and have a mildly warming effect on the body.  They aid in allowing energy to enter the body.  Sourness guides  energy  (chi or qi) into the body.
• Bitter foods are cool and have a quality of lightness.  Bitter foods move energy down the body.
• Sweet foods are heavy, moist, and cooling.  Sweetness disperses energy, spreading it out.  Sweet foods are grounding in moderation but can result in inertia and increased bulk in excess. 
• Pungent or spicy foods cause energy to move up and out.  Pungent foods are very stimulating to the digestive system.  They guide the energy up and out.
• Salty foods move energy down the body.   Too much salt can cause a system to be waterlogged and immobile.  

According to the Eastern mindset,  humans do well if all of these types of foods are balanced, but balanced according to individual needs.   The east view recognizes that while all humans are at some level the same,  they also recognize that individuals differ according to body type and constitution and will therefore need a different assortment of foods to balance their unique constitution.

In the US (western view) we rely on external guidelines that are directed towards populations and not individuals.  For example,  the Food Pyramid  is a guide that  is published by the Department of Agriculture to tell us  collectively how to balance our diets.  However, as individuals we largely ignore  many of the principles of balance that the Food Pyramid is trying to convey.  As a society we tend to feast mostly on sweet, rich and thermally warm foods.  No wonder then why we have a preponderance of overweight and obese individuals.

Feeding the body and nourishing the soul

So the east is thousands of years ahead of the west in observing individuals and their reactions to certain foods and tastes and to coming up with a scheme of how individuals need to eat to move the energy around in their bodies.  But the  western approach, being very scientific gives us data and tells us where we need to fall in the numbers game to remain healthy.  The basis for these data are scientific studies that have been experimentally proven.  So how can we merge the two modalities?  My emphasis will be to examine what knowledge we have gleaned from a scientific approach and apply it with an eastern attitude.  This story begins with becoming aware that nutritious food  feeds the body and also the non-material parts of us.  Food affects who and what we are in all areas-physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

For simple starters here are twenty ideas for feeding not only your body but your mind and spirit as well:

1. Choose foods that are closer to the base of the food chain.  Simply put-foods (green plants) at the base of the chain incorporate the energy of the sun directly to grow, reproduce and stay alive.  They are able to use the sunlight directly to get the energy they need.  So eating green vegetables will supply a more primary source of energy than say a prime rib.
2. Purchase local produce-less energy loss from the foods themselves. 
3. Buy in-season foods.
4. Support your local farmer’s markets.
5. Take time to prepare a meal.  There is a growing awareness that if you cook and prepare food with attention, love and respect for those you are cooking for, that positive energy is transmitted to the meal.  Think of a great Thanksgiving dinner or other feast where someone(s) have spent time and care with the preparation of the food.
6. Know the nutritional value of what you purchase (become knowledgeable about labels and how they can be used to your benefit)
7. Choose a food you know nothing about and find new and different recipes.
8. Plant your own garden.  What better way than to eat in-season and closest to nature.
9. Keep an herb garden.
10.  Substitute herbs for salt
11. Try a vegetarian meal once or twice a week if you are a meat eater.
12. Prepare a vegan meal once or twice a week if you are a vegetarian.
13. Become aware of how different foods affect your body as well as your emotions.
14. Spend time cooking a meal for someone you love.  Prepare the meal with great care and attention to details.
15. Develop the art of positive conversation around the dinner table. 
16. Join or start a book club where participants prepare a meal that sets a positive tone for discussion.
17. Cook something you really like for yourself.
18. Experiment with foods from other cultures.  Notice the balance of the tastes and colors.
19. Prepare a meal or food that you loved from your childhood.
20. Keep a diary of the foods you eat for a week and write down what is happening in your life and how you feel about events.  At the end of the week read over your diary and notice any connections.

In the next postings we will look at nutrition as we currently understand it in the west and explore how we might take an eastern approach with the material.