Know Your Oil's Source: Fruits, Nuts, Grains, or Animals

The oils we love to cook with come from fruits, nuts and grains, or from animal products, and they have important distinctions. "All oils are a combination of many fatty acids," says Seth J. Baum, MD, cardiologist at Preventive Cardiology Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida. The various cooking oils have nearly the same number of calories per tablespoon, tbsp, from 102 to 124, but each oil has a different amount of healthy fat — known as "unsaturated" fat. Oils from animal products all contain the less healthy saturated fats as well as cholesterol. Certain vegetable cooking oils, the tropical oils like coconut, also have saturated fats. You can think of saturated fats as "full" fats because they have more hydrogen packed into them, and unsaturated fats as somewhat lighter.

A heart-healthy diet — one that lowers your risks for heart disease and stroke — is rich in healthier, unsaturated fats. In addition, "The longer one cooks, and the higher the temperature the more the cooked food absorbs that oil. So it's important to choose wisely and cook properly," says Dr. Baum. And different oils vary in their smoke point, the temperature where the fats begin to degrade and burn. Using data reported in the USDA's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, we compared fats in cooking oils to help you find the best ones for you and your loved ones.

Read on to get the fat facts about your favorite cooking oils.