How to choose the healthiest cooking oil

Olive, sunflower, even avocado oil -- so many choices.

Kelsey-Seybold Clinic Dietitian Chris Nixon said there ares cooking categories for cooking oil: never use, use with caution and safe for searing.

First up, flaxseed oil.

“You never want to cook with flaxseed oil. In fact, you actually want to keep it refrigerated to prevent it from being oxidized,” Nixon said.

She said oxidized oils can cause strokes and high cholesterol.

“It can lead to cardiovascular disease and increased risk for cancer as well," she said.

Medium heat may take longer, but you have plenty of options for oils that can cook at stove-top temperatures between 300-500 degrees.

“If you're doing more of a stir fry or baking or cooking, then the grapeseed or the extra virgin olive oil, peanut oil or canola oil would be good options,” she said.

For high temps, like searing or browning meat, our dietitian has one favorite.

“For cooking, I would go with the sunflower oil. It's got a very light mouth feel so it doesn’t have a strong flavor, and it's got a high flashpoint, so I know I’m safe if I’m cooking with sunflower oil,” Nixon said.

Another thing to consider is whether your oil has the unsaturated fats you want: sunflower, canola, olive and grapeseed oils. The most saturated fats are in what Nixon calls "tropical oils."

“Saturated fat, we know it's linked to heart disease and increased risk of stroke (and) high cholesterol," she said. "I would not use coconut oil.”