What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Vegetable Oils In Food?

When cooking, it can be hard to know which oil to use – there’s sunflower oil, olive oil, and vegetable oil to name just three.

Cooking oil gets a bad reputation due to its high calorie content, but it’s important not to forget the health benefits, either!

Pros of Using Vegetable Oil

• Contains essential fatty acids
• Usually very cheap
• Long shelf-life
• Doesn’t have much of a taste

Cons of Using Vegetable Oil

• Less health benefits than olive oil
• Usually quite heavily-processed
• Some varieties are partially-hydrogenated
• High in calories
• The name is misleading – vegetable oil is actually made from a blend of other oils, including sunflower oil and palm oil. There aren’t any vegetables in it at all!
• Can cause high cholesterol
• Can clog arteries

If you're going to use cooking oil, it's best to use as little as possible - fried food has been linked to cancer. Vegetable oil may be cheap, but if you're quite health-conscious, go for olive oil instead!