The cooking oil in your kitchen might be the most important thing you change for your health. Seed oils—the "vegetable" oils promoted as healthy for decades—are now linked to inflammation, obesity, and chronic disease.
This guide cuts through decades of bad advice. Here's what to actually cook with.
The Seed Oil Problem
"Vegetable oil" sounds healthy. It's not. These oils come from seeds (canola, soybean, corn, sunflower) that require industrial processing—high heat, chemical solvents, and deodorizing—to become edible.
Why seed oils are problematic:
• High omega-6 content — Promotes inflammation when consumed in excess. Modern diets have 20:1 omega-6 to omega-3 ratio (should be 1:1 to 4:1).
• Unstable when heated — Despite high smoke points, polyunsaturated fats in seed oils oxidize easily, creating harmful compounds.
• Highly processed — Require industrial extraction unlike traditional fats pressed from whole foods.
• In everything — 90% of restaurant food, most packaged foods, all fast food uses seed oils.
Our great-grandparents cooked with butter, lard, and olive oil. Heart disease was rare. We switched to "heart-healthy" seed oils, and heart disease became an epidemic. Correlation isn't causation—but the timing is suspicious.
Oils and Fats to Use
Tier 1: Best Choices
Butter
Traditional fat used for thousands of years. Contains vitamins A, D, E, K2. High in saturated fat (stable when heated). Great for eggs, vegetables, baking. Use for omelettes and pan-frying.
Ghee (Clarified Butter)
Butter with milk solids removed. Higher smoke point than butter (~250°C). Tolerated by many who react to dairy. Excellent for high-heat cooking. Perfect for stir-fries and lamb dishes.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pressed from whole olives, minimal processing. High in monounsaturated fat and polyphenols. Despite myths, fine for moderate-heat cooking (~180°C). Best for dressings, drizzling, medium-heat sautéing.
Beef Tallow
Rendered beef fat. Extremely stable when heated. Our ancestors' frying fat. High smoke point (~250°C). Ideal for roasting vegetables, frying, roasting meat.
Lard (Pork Fat)
Another traditional fat. High smoke point. Makes incredibly flaky pastry. Good for frying and baking. Don't confuse with hydrogenated lard (avoid that).
Tier 2: Good Alternatives
Avocado Oil
High smoke point (~270°C). More stable than seed oils. Good for high-heat cooking when you want neutral flavour. More expensive than animal fats.
Coconut Oil
High in saturated fat (stable). Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) for energy. Smoke point ~175°C. Adds coconut flavour—great for some dishes, not all.
Duck Fat/Goose Fat
Traditional European cooking fats. Excellent flavour. High smoke point. Perfect for roasting potatoes and vegetables.
Oils to Avoid Completely
Throw these out today:
• Canola oil (rapeseed oil)
• Soybean oil
• Corn oil
• Sunflower oil
• Safflower oil
• "Vegetable" oil (blend of seed oils)
• Cottonseed oil
• Grapeseed oil (sounds healthy, still seed oil)
• Margarine and "butter spreads"
• Anything partially hydrogenated
Check Your Pantry
Many products hide seed oils: mayo, salad dressings, peanut butter, roasted nuts, crackers, bread. Read ingredient labels. Look for versions made with olive oil or no added oils.
Practical Kitchen Guide
By cooking method:
• High-heat frying/searing: Ghee, beef tallow, avocado oil
• Medium-heat sautéing: Butter, olive oil, any animal fat
• Roasting: Beef tallow, duck fat, butter, olive oil
• Baking: Butter, lard, coconut oil
• Salad dressings: Extra virgin olive oil
• Drizzling/finishing: Extra virgin olive oil, butter
Practical tips:
• Keep butter by the stove for everyday cooking
• Make or buy beef tallow for high-heat needs
• Use olive oil for everything else
• Save bacon fat and duck fat—it's free and delicious
• When eating out, ask for food cooked in butter or olive oil
Sample cooking day:
• Breakfast: Eggs cooked in butter
• Lunch: Salad with olive oil dressing, salmon
• Dinner: Beef and broccoli stir-fried in ghee
Simple, satisfying, zero seed oils.
Bottom line: The single biggest improvement most people can make is eliminating seed oils. Cook with butter, ghee, olive oil, and animal fats. Your great-grandparents had it right. The industrial "vegetable" oils are a 100-year experiment that's failing.
