If you are reading this article, it means you have taken your first step towards starting this amazing journey of ketogenic lifestyle! Let me, your keto buddy, help you understand the nuances of this low-carb diet better and find the best keto oil for you that helps you get the most out of the ketogenic diet.
As we all know, the ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet with a moderate amount of protein consumed in a day. When we deprive our body of carbohydrates long enough, we enter a state known as ketosis, where our body starts using fats as its primary fuel instead of the glucose it used to get from carbs.
Fats play a crucial role in the success of the ketogenic diet. There are many who follow the diet but complain of not getting the desired results. Often, that has something to do with the quality of fats that are being consumed.
While consuming most of the oils in your diet will help you get into ketosis and aid weight loss, the kind of keto oil you are using will determine your optimal health and how long you can sustain on the keto diet.
Also, as fats are our primary source of fuel, it is extremely important to make the right choice to ensure we stay healthy and can reap in maximum benefits of the ketogenic diet in maintaining good liver and heart health.
The choice of fats you make is detrimental in deciding between a healthy keto diet and a dirty keto.
All plant-based oils available in the market are rich sources of fats with zero carb and protein percentages. But does that mean we can pick any of these for our keto diet on our next visit to the grocery market? The answer is NO!
There are several factors that make certain oils more suitable for the keto diet than others.
In this article, we will provide you with the right tools so that you can make an informed decision the next time you are in the oil aisle at your grocery store.
But before I proceed further, I would like to add that to maintain good health on the keto diet, it is necessary you don’t rely on cooking oils for your main source of fats in the daily diet.
They are a good way to add additional fats to your diet via cooking, drizzling, frying, etc. But most of your calories should come from keto-friendly food like leafy greens, low-carb vegetables, avocado, nuts, seeds, cheese, meat, or seafood, etc.
By choosing the right kind of keto oil for the right purpose, you can get maximum benefits out of the ketogenic diet. So, let’s get started.
Which is the best Keto Oil?
Let’s look at what makes any oil ideal for the keto diet.
- It should have a high smoke point, which means it can withstand high cooking temperatures without breaking down into toxic by-products.
- It is a good source of healthy fats.
- It can pair well with various keto meals.
If you consider all the above points, then one that checks all three boxes and emerges as a clear winner as the best keto oil is extra virgin olive oil.
Though there are many other options available in the market that also make up for good keto oil choices.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Keto or not, extra virgin olive oil is hands-down one of the best choices for cooking oil.
Olive oil is rich in phenols, which are a kind of antioxidants found in plant matter. There has been a lot of research linking phenols with decreased blood pressure, lower levels of chronic inflammation, improved heart health and improve insulin resistance.
Conventionally, extra virgin olive oil has been used for drizzling or sauteing and people refrained from using it when cooking at high temperatures.
Though, research published in 2018 in Acta Scientific Nutritional Health shows that not only is extra-virgin olive oil safe when cooked at extremely high heat, it is more chemically stable at those temperatures than other common cooking oils.
However, this is not true for all kinds of olive oils out there. To make the most of this miracle oil, it is essential we pick only the one which is 100% extra virgin olive oil.
Also, olive oil has a very limited shelf life of 12-14 months. So, while picking out your bottle, ensure you are only picking the freshest possible product available.
Another limitation of using this oil is the cost. Finding 100% pure olive oil is not only difficult but also heavy on the pocket.
Thus, it compels us to look for other affordable options.
Coconut Oil
There are mainly two types of coconut oil – refined and virgin (unrefined). Both can be used for different kinds of cooking.
Although they have similar fatty acid content, virgin coconut oil contains higher amounts of nutrients such as vitamin E and bioactive compounds such as polyphenols.
Refined coconut oil is odorless, tasteless oil with a high smoke point. This kind of oil is ideal for cooking at high temperatures.
Coconut oil has a lot of nutrients that promote good health. It is also loaded with fatty acids that are required by our bodies to improve metabolism, cognitive function, as well as skin and hair health.
It is also the richest natural source of lauric acid. Studies have shown that when lauric acid reaches the liver, it is converted into energy instead of being stored as fat.
This works perfectly in harmony with the principle of ketogenic diet.
MCT Keto Oil
MCT oil or medium-chain triglyceride is becoming increasingly popular in the fitness-conscious community of today.
MCTs are mostly derived from coconut oil (and sometimes palm kernel oil) and contain medium-length chains of fats called triglycerides.
Their shorter length enables them to be digested faster as compared to long-chain fatty acids found in general.
What does MCT Oil do for Keto
There are mainly 4 kinds of MCTs available, but when buying for a keto diet, you should try and buy the one that only contains caprylic (C8) and capric acid (C10).
This combination has been found to increase ketone levels much more efficiently than coconut oil.
In fact, research has proven that between C8 and C10, C8 is the most ketogenic fatty acid found in MCT products. So before deciding on which MCT brand to pick, make sure your product has at least 50% C8 in it.
MCT oil is also the best keto oil for coffee.
So what are the health benefits MCT oil brings to the table? Why use MCT oil on Keto?
This oil not only suppresses hunger but also supports weight loss and fat loss. It also helps alleviate some of the symptoms of keto flu.
We can use MCT oil in smoothies, bullet coffees, salad dressings, etc. Though it is not recommended to use this oil for cooking at high temperatures.
Besides these above-mentioned oils, there are some animal fats like butter, ghee (clarified butter), lard, tallow, etc are also good choices to be used for cooking purposes.
The Takeaway
Here’s providing you a quick guide to which cooking oils to use for what kind of cooking methods –
Cooking, roasting, baking, and frying –
Extra virgin olive oil
Refined coconut oil
Ghee, tallow, lard
Salad Dressing –
MCT oil
Extra virgin Olive Oil
Boost flavor and fat content –
Extra virgin Olive oil
Butter
Tallow
Duck fat
And finally, let’s not forget the most powerful tool in the Keto diet, the MCT oil, which you can blend in almost anything you consume on the keto diet to give that additional boost.
If you want to understand the keto diet better, then don’t forget to check out our other articles.
7 Eye-Opening Health Benefits of Keto Diet
HOW TO START A KETO DIET – 3 SIMPLE STEPS
Indian Vegetarian Keto Diet: 7 Easy Steps
