Table of contents:
- Smoke point: the maximum heating temperature of the oil
- What happens if oil heating is exceeded smoke point?
- What is the impact on the body?
Based on the 2012 national socio-economic survey, cooking oil consumption in Indonesia is still quite high, at least cooking oil use in 2011 was 8.24 liters / capita / year. Cooking oil is widely consumed by the public because it is able to provide a savory taste, crunchy texture, and attractive color to food, and can increase its nutritional value. But did you know that heating cooking oil at high temperatures can increase the risk of coronary heart disease and various other degenerative diseases?
Smoke point: the maximum heating temperature of the oil
There are various types of oil that can be used to cook food. Each oil has a maximum temperature that varies in use. The oil will spoil when it reaches smoke point. Smoke point is the heating temperature that can cause the heating to create smoke and cause the oil to oxidize and then damage the quality of the oil.
Examples of oils that can be used for frying, sauteing, and other heating methods are almond oil, canola oil, sesame oil, which can be heated to temperatures between 230 to 260 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, coconut oil can only be heated to medium heat, which is about 185 degrees Celsius.
For olive oil and corn oil, the recommended use is only for sauteing, because these oils have a smoke point of 130 to 160 degrees Celsius. Like, butter has smoke point up to 177 degrees centigrade.
What happens if oil heating is exceeded smoke point?
When oil is heated to high temperatures, the fat in it will be oxidized, breaking down into glycerol and free fatty acids. When the temperature is exceeded smoke point, The glycerol turns into acrolein, which is a component of smoke which causes irritation of the eyes and throat. Meanwhile, free fatty acids then turn into trans fats, which when they enter the body will settle on the walls of blood vessels. The smoke that arises from heating the oil indicates that there has been a decrease in the nutrients in the oil and the food cooked in the oil.
Various types of vitamins are susceptible to damage if cooked on high temperatures. Vitamins usually spoil when heated to a temperature of 70 to 90 degrees Celsius. Vitamin E is lost along with the oxidation process that occurs when the oil is heated. In addition, vitamin A that is cooked at high temperature will also destroy beta-carotene which is a form of vitamin A. The decreased level of vitamin A levels in food in the frying process reaches 24%.
This also occurs in foods that contain carbohydrates. The process of frying foods containing carbohydrates will have an impact on decreasing the amount of fiber in these foods, even though fibrous foods function to improve digestion and prevent the risk of heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer.
What is the impact on the body?
Beware if you often eat foods cooked using oxidized oil, because it will increase your risk of developing various degenerative diseases such as coronary heart disease, sudden heart attack, and diabetes mellitus. Oil that is damaged by heating at high temperatures has high levels of trans fats. When in the body, trans fats will raise levels of bad cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and lowering good or cholesterol levels high-density lipoportein (HDL).
Cholesterol actually functions as a means of transporting fat from blood vessels to cells in the body, or vice versa. Good cholesterol or HDL functions to transport the remains of fat in the blood vessels and body cells to the liver to be metabolized. Meanwhile, bad cholesterol or LDL does the opposite, LDL transports fat to the blood vessels, so that when the levels increase in the body, the fat that is carried to the blood vessels will also increase. Then there is a buildup of fat in the blood vessels and results in atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, heart attacks, and diabetes mellitus.
American Heart Association limit the use of oil by frying, because it will increase the trans fat in it. Better to use limited oil for sauteing and use oils that have more unsaturated fats such as olive oil and almond oil. But remember, no matter how much unsaturated fat is contained in a type of oil, there will be no meaning if the heating process is over done smoke point-his.
