Hazards of Heating Oil with High Temperature

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Based on the 2012 national social economic survey, consumption of cooking oil in Indonesia is still quite high, at least the use of cooking oil in 2011 was 8.24 liters / capita / year. Cooking oil is consumed by many people because it is able to provide savory flavors, crunchy textures, and attractive colors in food, and can increase the value of nutrients. But did you know the heating of cooking oil with high temperatures can increase the risk of coronary heart disease and various other degenerative diseases?

Smoke point: the maximum temperature for heating oil

There are various types of oils that can be used to cook food. Each oil has a maximum temperature that varies in use. The oil will be damaged if it reaches smoke point. Smoke point is the heating temperature which can cause the heat to cause smoke and cause oil to oxidize and then damage the quality of the oil.

Examples of oils that can be used for frying, sautéing, and other heating methods are almond oil, canola oil, sesame oil, which can be heated with temperatures between 230 to 260 degrees Celsius. While coconut oil can only be heated to medium heat which is around 185 degrees Celsius.

For olive oil and corn oil, the recommended usage is just sauteing, because the oil has smoke points reaching 130 to 160 degrees Celsius. Like, butter has smoke point up to 177 degrees Celsius.

What happens if oil heating exceeds smoke point?

When oil is heated at high temperatures, the fat in it will be oxidized, split into glycerol and free fatty acids. When the temperature exceeds smoke point, Glycerol is turned into acrolein which is a component of smoke which causes irritation to the eyes and throat. Whereas free fatty acids then turn into trans fat, which if it enters the body will settle on the walls of blood vessels. The smoke that arises from the heating of this oil indicates that there has been a decrease in nutrients in oil and food cooked in oil.

Various types of vitamins are prone to damage if cooked with high-temperature heating. Vitamins are usually damaged if heated at a temperature of 70 to 90 degrees Celsius. Vitamin E will disappear along with the oxidation process that occurs when oil is heated. In addition, vitamin A which is cooked at high temperatures will also destroy beta-carotene which is a form of vitamin A. The level of decrease in vitamin A levels in food in the frying process is 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 contained in these foods, whereas fibrous foods function to facilitate digestion and avoid the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and colon cancer.

What is the impact on the body?

Beware if you often eat foods cooked using oil already oxidized, because it will increase the risk of various degenerative diseases such as coronary heart disease, sudden heart attack, and diabetes mellitus. Oil that is damaged by heating at high temperatures, has a high level of trans fat. When in the body, trans fat will raise bad cholesterol levels or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and reduce 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 remaining fat in blood vessels and body cells to the liver to be metabolized. While bad cholesterol or LDL does the opposite, LDL transports fat to blood vessels, so that when levels increase in the body, the more fat carried into the blood vessels. Then there is accumulation of fat in the blood vessels and results in atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, heart attack, and diabetes mellitus.

The American Heart Association limits the use of oil by frying, because it will increase the trans fat in it. It is better to use oil as much as sautéing and using oils that have more unsaturated fats like olive oil and almond nut oil. But remember, as much as any unsaturated fat contained in a type of oil, there will be no meaning if the heating process is carried out exceeds smoke point-his.

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