Oils themselves are extracted and are not considered a whole food.  They are not recommended for daily use unless you are taking them medicinally.

Suggested maximum oil consumption in a day:

• If you feel that you could release some weight  (because it indicates that there are damp conditions such as sluggishness, tumors, candida, etc.) – none or very little,  you may take Omega-3 and GLA oil
• If you feel like you could use some extra weight– one tablespoon
• Person with no particular imbalance – one teaspoon

Most foods can be cooked without oils and that’s the way that I generally cook all of my foods.

When purchasing oils, you want to choose unrefined oils, which are available at your local health food store.

AVOID – polyunsaturated oils – corn, sunflower, safflower, soy, linseed/flax and walnut.   However, fresh, cold-pressed polyunsaturated oils may be used as medicinal oils or as EFA ( Essential Fatty Acids) in food preparation, but must not be used as cooking oils.  Shelf life of these oils is about three months, if they are kept cool/refrigerated . OMEGA-3 rich oils include – flax, hempseed, chia seed, walnut and pumpkin seed.

Unrefined monounsaturated oils generally are healthy.  They are recommended for those who have too much stored fat and cholesterol – most who eat large amounts of animal protein.  Recommended: olive oil from the west and sesame oil from the east.

Olive Oil is recommended a great monounsaturated fat for salad dressings and for giving foods flavor after cooking them.  It is not recommended for cooking because when heated it is susceptible to creating free radical cells (oxidative damage).

Take a look at the top three grades:  Extra virgin olive oil is recommended because it has a maximum acidity of 1%.  Fine virgin olive oil is next at 1.5% and then current virgin at 3%.  However, make sure the oils are always organic and unrefined.

Sesame Oil is both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, fifty-fifty.  Normally we would expect the polyunsaturated portion to quickly become rancid, but it is a very stable oil because as an antioxidant – sesamol is naturally present in it.

When cooking at high temperatures – clarified butter and coconut oil are recommended.

Clarified butter, which is sometimes called ghee, is butter with milk solids removed, thus containing butyric acid, a fatty acid that has anti-viral and anti-cancer properties; it has also been found to be helpful when preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease.  Might I add that clarified butter enhances an essence that governs the tissues and balances the hormones.  Ghee is a staple among Ayurvedic cooking; it is very useful for those who have depleted their kidney jing (essence)* by excessive sexual activity and can help restore the kidney jing (essence)*.  Great for increasing digestive fire, which improves assimilation thus enhancing the nutritional value received from foods.

Coconut oil is a powerful virus destroyer and antibiotic just like ghee/clarified butter, but is a vegan/vegetarian option    It is a saturated fat that contains lauric acid.  Lauric acid has unique healing properties; your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-protozoa properties.  According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, coconut oil contains the most lauric acid of any substance on earth.

Some of the benefits of coconut oil-

• Promotes heart health- important during peri-menopause and menopause
• Promotes weight loss – very important when we are going through perimenopause
• Supporting a healthy metabolism
• Providing you with an immediate energy source
• Keep your skin radiantly healthy and youthful
• Supports the proper function of thyroid gland
• Helps with immune system

Coconut oil is a 2/3 medium chain fatty acid(MCFA) known as medium-chained triglycerides or MCTs.  The benefits of MCFAs are

• They permeate your cell membranes easily, unlike the LCFA – long chain fatty acids that most vegetable and seed oils are comprised of
• They are easily digested, thus putting less strain on your digestive system.
• They are sent directly to your liver, where they are immediately converted into energy rather than being stored as FAT
• They stimulate your body’s metabolism

Coconut oil fights diabetes by not producing an insulin spike in your body….and yes it can help prevent diabetes.

* Kidney Jing (Essence) has an important role in the physiology and it determines our constitution.  It is determined at the time of conception and how you use it can depend on your life span and quality of life – strength and vitality.  Essentially it is a very precious substance which should be guarded and not wasted.  Excessive sexual activity, stress and work can all contribute to the deficiency of it.  However, I like to believe that it can be restored with chi exercise – Tai Chi, Chi Gung, or Asian bodywork- which works directly with the chi.