Happy Hanukkah! 3 Healthy Oils

Honor the mirac­u­lous oil in a dif­fer­ent way: by iden­ti­fy­ing and cel­e­brat­ing some of the most health­ful and nutri­tious edi­ble oils in the world. Use these to dress your sal­ads, sauté your veg­eta­bles and more! Opt for low lev­els of sat­u­rated fat, com­bined with high lev­els of monoun­sat­u­rated and/or polyun­sat­u­rated fat. Look out for other nutri­ents like omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids, too. We used the Cleve­land Clinic’s guide to healthy cook­ing oils as a ref­er­ence, but be sure to check out their com­plete infor­ma­tion here.

Almond
Sat­u­rated Fat: 7 per­cent*
Monoun­sat­u­rated Fat: 65 per­cent
Polyun­sat­u­rated Fat: 28 per­cent
With a high ratio of monoun­sat­u­rated to sat­u­rated fat, almond oil is one of the health­i­est options out there.

Extra Vir­gin Olive Oil
Sat­u­rated Fat: 14 per­cent
Monoun­sat­u­rated Fat: 78 per­cent
Polyun­sat­u­rated Fat: 8 per­cent
The most well known of the health­i­est oils, extra vir­gin olive oil is prob­a­bly best known for its role in pro­tect­ing the heart by boost­ing “healthy” HDL cho­les­terol. It may also help to lower can­cer risk.

Avo­cado
Sat­u­rated Fat: 17 per­cent
Monoun­sat­u­rated Fat: 65 per­cent
Polyun­sat­u­rated Fat: 18 per­cent
Avo­cado oil is a lit­tle higher in sat­u­rated fat than most of the nut oils, but it may play a role in pre­vent­ing gum dis­ease as well, mak­ing it a great option.

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