Why EVO Beats Corn Oil Hands-Down
Hi Pete & Pat.
Mazola has been hyping corn oil for years, but it lacks EVO's much broader and well-researched benefits like reducing blood pressure, inflammation, and actually lowering risk of cancer, heart disease, and stoke.
True, corn oil has twice the plant sterols (not the same as polyphenols) of EVO. Sterols help lower “bad” LDL cholesterol, but this doesn’t necessarily lead to better heart health. More important is how much of your LDL exists as small dense particles (more risky than larger, fluffy ones) and how much is oxidized LDL, a much more artery clogging form that’s promoted by 2 factors:
1) Too much deep abdominal fat (located beneath, not above, the stomach muscles and associated with an “apple” body shape); 2) High-temperature cooking (frying, grilling, baking) of meat, poultry, and eggs can oxidize some of their cholesterol which then gets incorporated into your LDL. Do more microwaving, steaming, boiling, poaching.
EVO’s polyphenols reduce LDL oxidation, as do diets rich in antioxidants from fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts, and spices. EVO also helps improve good HDL cholesterol's ability to remove bad LDL cholesterol from blood vessel walls (this is called reverse cholesterol transport).
Another downside of corn oil is that it has too much omega-6 fat compared to omega-3 fat, a ratio of 46:1. The typical American diet averages at least 10:1, but nearly all experts recommend an overall ratio of around 4:1 to 5:1 which helps reduce chronic, low-grade inflammation that promotes chronic diseases like cancer, dementia, depression, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, arthritis, asthma, and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s & ulcerative colitis).
Good sources of omega-3 fat are oily fish (like salmon, sardines, herring, arctic char, rainbow trout), canola oil, walnuts, flaxseed and chia seed, but most Americans fall short on these.
EVO’s ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is about 13:1 which is superior to corn oil's 46:1, and in countries where EVO is a mainstay of the very healthy Mediterranean-style diet (see http://oldwayspt.org/traditional-diets/mediterranean-diet), people get enough omega-3 fat from walnuts and oily fish, unlike most Americans. Canola oil’s ratio is a very good 2.4:1, but it's much lower in polyphenols than EVO, yet it's still a good second oil to use, especially if you eat little oily fish.
See also this article
Safe travels!
David
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS
The info presented in this post should not replace professional medical or dietary advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Always consult your registered dietitian or physician before making any significant dietary or exercise changes.
Don't ignore professional medical advice due to the info presented here.
There is no guarantee that these recommendations will work for you.