Speaker 1: You can take a good oil like extravergent olive oil,
Speaker 1: and you can turn it into a bad oil that's
Speaker 1: rancid and it's inflammatory if you cook it too high.
Speaker 1: So it's really important that the oils that you're cooking
Speaker 1: with that each one you're making sure that you're not
Speaker 1: going above their smoke point.
Speaker 2: You're listening to the Plant Based Diet podcast where we
Speaker 2: talk about all things plant based. I'm mister Garfin, the
Speaker 2: host of this show and founder of Alternative Food Network.
Speaker 2: Join me in my amazing array of guests who are
Speaker 2: a mix of healthcare professionals, industry executives, and people with
Speaker 2: an interesting story to tell about their plant based journey.
Speaker 2: Let us help you with your journey wherever you're at
Speaker 2: to learn the what, why, and how to eat plant based. Hello. Everyone,
Speaker 2: I hope you're doing well today. Today's episode is going
Speaker 2: to be pretty short and to the point. We are
Speaker 2: talking about oils, the kind you cook with. Now. For years,
Speaker 2: we've been told that certain oils are heart health well
Speaker 2: others should never be in our kitchens. But here's what
Speaker 2: most people don't realize. Some cooking oils can become unstable
Speaker 2: at high heat, lose nutritional value and even create compounds
Speaker 2: linked to inflammation. So today to help us make some
Speaker 2: better choices in our kitchen when cooking, baking, and making dressings.
Speaker 2: I'm joined by doctor Alicia Newsom, who has completed her
Speaker 2: doctorate in chiropractic, master's level studies and sports health science
Speaker 2: and nutrition, along with training in functional medicine and genetics.
Speaker 2: And just a reminder that you can find more of
Speaker 2: Alternative Food Networks content at Alternative Food Network, on Instagram
Speaker 2: and LinkedIn. And now i'd like to welcome doctor Alicia Newsom.
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me here today.
Speaker 2: You know it was interesting I was reading your bio
Speaker 2: and even though today we're going to be talking about oils,
Speaker 2: cooking oils, baking oils, everything to do with oils, your
Speaker 2: bio has you're doing all sorts of things, so perhaps
Speaker 2: we can connect some of the dots for the audience.
Speaker 1: There's a few different ways that people work with me,
Speaker 1: and one is I'm a functional medicine doctor. I work
Speaker 1: with women all over the country and primarily women struggling
Speaker 1: with hormonal imbalances, trouble losing weight, issues with focus, energy,
Speaker 1: digestion issues and really help them get to the root
Speaker 1: cause of what's going on, and then everything that I
Speaker 1: do is without drugs or surgery, and then what my
Speaker 1: business has evolved in over time that turned into me
Speaker 1: doing more executive advisory work, so people that are wanting
Speaker 1: to scale their business without burnout. So that's really big
Speaker 1: when it comes to our hormones. So that's how those
Speaker 1: two started to link together. And I have an integrated
Speaker 1: framework where I work with women on body.
Speaker 3: Being like who are you being?
Speaker 2: Like?
Speaker 3: How are we showing up in life? What do we
Speaker 3: believe about ourselves?
Speaker 1: And then also business and then I also work with
Speaker 1: teams as well within a lot of these companies where
Speaker 1: I either work with their executive team or different groups
Speaker 1: within the company doing wellness challenges.
Speaker 2: That's a very interesting mix of skills that you have
Speaker 2: and that you actually practice, or a coach or advice
Speaker 2: in all those different areas. I will say for the audience,
Speaker 2: the reason we're not talking about hormones is because we
Speaker 2: did not too long ago, a couple of episodes on hormones,
Speaker 2: so I thought, that's not what we're going to talk
Speaker 2: about today again. But if anyone does want to listen
Speaker 2: to those episodes, you can check out Plant Based diet.
Speaker 2: It's a few episodes ago, and just so people understand,
Speaker 2: I find that people are asking me a lot what
Speaker 2: is a functional medicine doctor, what is that? And that
Speaker 2: perhaps if you can explain that, that'll also help explain
Speaker 2: why we're talking.
Speaker 1: About Yeah, yeah, because you probably think most doctors aren't
Speaker 1: talking to me about oils.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1: So in functional medicine, think about it that Let's say
Speaker 1: that you have a headache. You can go take some
Speaker 1: ibuprofen or some tile and all motrend, whatever you prefer,
Speaker 1: and that headache will most likely go away, unless there's
Speaker 1: some other things going on. But you take your tile
Speaker 1: and all your headache goes away. You feel better, but
Speaker 1: you did not have a headache because you had a
Speaker 1: tile and all deficiency. There's something else going on inside
Speaker 1: of the body. So in functional medicine, we're looking underneath
Speaker 1: the surface to see what's really going on. What's the
Speaker 1: root cause of why someone may have in my case,
Speaker 1: issues with hormones, low energy trouble, losing weight, digestion issues,
Speaker 1: all of those different types of things. So we're really
Speaker 1: looking at the root and we're looking at what's going
Speaker 1: on holistically with a person. So instead of like just
Speaker 1: looking at the heart or just looking at the brain,
Speaker 1: or you know, just looking at the hormones, we're really
Speaker 1: looking at everything in your body when it comes to toxins,
Speaker 1: when it comes to deficiencies, which could be nutrition, it
Speaker 1: could be sleep, it could be digestion. And then we're
Speaker 1: also looking at mental emotional stress and how that impacts
Speaker 1: the body as well.
Speaker 2: Right, And we talk a lot on this show about
Speaker 2: the pillars of health, so you just mentioned several of them,
Speaker 2: So okay, let's get into oils.
Speaker 1: It really does impact our hormones, It impacts our health
Speaker 1: like all of these different types of things. And it's
Speaker 1: something people use every day and don't always think about
Speaker 1: am I using the right oils or you know which
Speaker 1: one should I use? And there's so much information out there,
Speaker 1: so I'm excited about this topic.
Speaker 2: What oils should we avoid?
Speaker 3: All Right?
Speaker 1: So a lot of the oils that you want to avoid,
Speaker 1: and why is because some oils can be very inflammatory
Speaker 1: to the body. Okay, And the oils that you want
Speaker 1: to avoid are going to be your vegetable oils, canola oil,
Speaker 1: soybean oil, corn oil, peanut oil, cottonseed oil, some flower oil.
Speaker 1: Those are some of the less popular ones. But the
Speaker 1: more popular ones are going to be your vegetable oil,
Speaker 1: canola oil, peanut oil. And that's because a lot of
Speaker 1: these oils they go underneath very heavy processing techniques that
Speaker 1: are good because they make them shelf stable. You can
Speaker 1: go to the grocery store, they can sit there for years,
Speaker 1: and then you bring them home. They can sit on
Speaker 1: your counter for years. But when you think about things
Speaker 1: in nature and the things that are healthy for us
Speaker 1: to consume, none of it lasts forever, right, none of
Speaker 1: it's lasting for years and years and years. The other
Speaker 1: thing is is that the way that these oils are processed,
Speaker 1: they're oftentimes extracted with high heat, and a lot of
Speaker 1: them go through different deodorizing processes that create trans fats
Speaker 1: and then, as you know, a lot of that is
Speaker 1: not good on the body at all when it comes
Speaker 1: to our cardiovascular health, when it comes to inflammation overall
Speaker 1: in the body.
Speaker 3: So those would be the top ones to avoid.
Speaker 2: And then when it comes to cooking, what are the
Speaker 2: best oils to you?
Speaker 1: All right, So it's very important to know a few
Speaker 1: things when it comes to cooking, and that is the
Speaker 1: smoke point.
Speaker 3: Okay, So you can.
Speaker 1: Take a good oil like olive oil, extravergin olive oil,
Speaker 1: and you can turn it into a bad oil that's
Speaker 1: rancid and it's inflammatory.
Speaker 3: If you cook it too high.
Speaker 1: So it's really important that the oils that you're cooking
Speaker 1: with that each one you're making sure that you're not
Speaker 1: going above their smoke points. So the best ones to
Speaker 1: cook with for high heat are going to be your
Speaker 1: avocado oil, and that could be refined avocado oil or unrefined.
Speaker 1: Anytime you see refined versus unrefined, unrefined just means that
Speaker 1: it went through less processing. It's more nutritious, it may
Speaker 1: have more pronounced flavors, but the refined oils they can
Speaker 1: withstand higher heat. So avocado oil is my go to
Speaker 1: for cooking on high heat, as well as coconut oil.
Speaker 1: Refine coconut oil can be good for cooking on high heat.
Speaker 1: And then when you start getting into your olive oils,
Speaker 1: that's where the most you want to do with olive
Speaker 1: oil is just like a low heat light saltain. But
Speaker 1: really it's best for drizzling onto foods there. But you
Speaker 1: can do a little bit with that. You can do
Speaker 1: some baking with it. And then butter is another one
Speaker 1: as well too for those that consume butter. The main
Speaker 1: thing with butter to make sure is one that is
Speaker 1: graspped and then two that you're not heating it up
Speaker 1: where it's turning brown.
Speaker 2: And you've mentioned a couple times smoke points. Can you
Speaker 2: explain exactly what you mean by that.
Speaker 1: Yes, So the smoke point is the temperature where the
Speaker 1: oils they basically start to burn. So now it's releasing
Speaker 1: free radicals and then that creates damage to the cells
Speaker 1: in the body. So it's really important that we're not
Speaker 1: adding or taking a good oil and heating it higher
Speaker 1: than its smoke point and then now it's rancid. It's
Speaker 1: creating all these free radicals and then damaging the cells
Speaker 1: of our body.
Speaker 3: So that's what it is.
Speaker 1: It's basically when the oil it stops glistening that's a
Speaker 1: good thing to look at as well, and it starts
Speaker 1: to burn and smoke.
Speaker 2: We are going to put a link in our show
Speaker 2: notes to this episode to your Healthy Cooking smoke point guide,
Speaker 2: so if anyone I guess wants to read it up
Speaker 2: a little further on smoke points, we'll have a link
Speaker 2: for that. Perfect Okay, so we've talked about cooking, what
Speaker 2: to avoid, what to use, What about for salad dressings
Speaker 2: or dressings in general.
Speaker 1: Yes, so olive oil is great for that extra virgin
Speaker 1: olive oil. And the difference with extra virgin olive oil
Speaker 1: versus virgin olive oil versus olive oil is how many
Speaker 1: presses it's gone through. So just down the street from me,
Speaker 1: we have an olive meal, and extra virgin olive oil
Speaker 1: would be like that first press, so they press the
Speaker 1: olive it's cold press. That's the other thing that's really
Speaker 1: good about a lot of these oils here that I'm
Speaker 1: about to talk about. You just they're cold pressed, so
Speaker 1: you press them almost like squeezing lemon, and that first
Speaker 1: bit of oil that comes out that it would be
Speaker 1: considered the first press, and that's extra virgin olive oil.
Speaker 1: The second press is when it's virgin olive oil, and
Speaker 1: then from there you know olive oil. So the best
Speaker 1: is going to be your extra virgin olive oil. Again,
Speaker 1: you can lightly saltae with it, but it's great for
Speaker 1: dressings and finishings.
Speaker 3: Other good oils.
Speaker 1: That are great for only gentle saltaeing and dressings and
Speaker 1: finishing are going to be hempseed oil and wanna oil.
Speaker 3: Those are great as well.
Speaker 1: And then the ones that you don't ever want to
Speaker 1: cook with, you don't ever want to heat them up,
Speaker 1: they're just for dressing finishing are going to be flax
Speaker 1: seed oil, pumpkin seed oil, almond oil, and Macadamian nut
Speaker 1: oil is another really good one as well. And those
Speaker 1: all have so many good properties in them. Anti inflammatory.
Speaker 1: They're rich in omega three fatty acids, where those oils
Speaker 1: we want to avoid, like the vegetable oils and the
Speaker 1: canola oils. They are very high in omega six fatty
Speaker 1: acids where we don't want too much of those, But
Speaker 1: these oils are very good, and omega three fatty acids
Speaker 1: mono unsaturated fats. They're rich in polyphenol, so very very healthy.
Speaker 1: And all of these are great for just you know,
Speaker 1: finishing or using as dressings on salads and things like that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I'll admit I really just stick to
Speaker 2: olive oil. Yeah, in my salad dressings.
Speaker 1: You know, olive oil, maybe some balsamic vinegarette.
Speaker 2: Yeah, But in terms of oils, I've never used. I mean,
Speaker 2: I use hemp seeds the seeds. You know, in my breakfast,
Speaker 2: I use ground flax. It also breakfasts, but I don't
Speaker 2: use them as oils.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they can be fun and they can add some
Speaker 1: like nutty flavors, more earthy flavors and things like that
Speaker 1: to different dishes.
Speaker 2: Now, what about for baking, because I like to bake,
Speaker 2: and I'll tell you I have used I don't know
Speaker 2: if this is right or not, but I have used
Speaker 2: avocado oil in baking and it seems to be fine.
Speaker 3: Yep.
Speaker 1: Avocado oil is great because it has such a high
Speaker 1: smoke point, so you can use it in you can
Speaker 1: use it in baking, and it really just depends on
Speaker 1: how high you're baking something. You can use coconut oil
Speaker 1: in baking, that's great. The for refined it's typically four
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty degrees that you won't want to go above,
Speaker 1: and most things that were baking, we're not going that high.
Speaker 1: Unrefined would be three hundred and fifty degrees, So it
Speaker 1: just depends on how hot things are getting there often.
Speaker 2: Not really baking more than three point fifty, I don't think.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: So, yeah, a lot of those same oils, even olive oil,
Speaker 1: can be used in baking as well. Just sometimes when
Speaker 1: we get to that skillet where we have to be
Speaker 1: careful you know, which oils were using to make sure
Speaker 1: that we're not making them inflammatory.
Speaker 2: Okay, so so for baking again, avocado oil and coconut oil.
Speaker 3: That's what you would yes, Yes.
Speaker 2: Is there anything I know this was intended to be
Speaker 2: a quick and dirty episode about oils, but is there
Speaker 2: anything that we didn't cover that you would like to mention?
Speaker 1: I mean, really just have fun in the kitchen. Oh,
Speaker 1: like you said, like having not tried some of the
Speaker 1: other oils, like, it can be.
Speaker 3: Fun, you know.
Speaker 1: I also look at cooking as something that allows us
Speaker 1: to get more into our creative energy, you know, and
Speaker 1: it can be it can really help d compress us,
Speaker 1: especially if we've had like stressful days as long as
Speaker 1: cooking doesn't trust you out.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: But to be able to just like cook and experiment,
Speaker 1: it's always something really fun. I even wrote it down.
Speaker 1: Every morning, I write down like my goals for the day,
Speaker 1: and I have this new journal that then says, like
Speaker 1: what's my reward? And it's always hard for me to
Speaker 1: come up with a reward, but I today I was.
Speaker 3: Like, I'm going to make that ice cream.
Speaker 1: There's this recipe that I've been looking for for this gelato,
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna make that today.
Speaker 3: When I finish everything. What kind It's a strawberry gelata.
Speaker 1: I've been making protein ice creams and now I'm going
Speaker 1: to make a gelato tonight. So I am new to
Speaker 1: it this past month. It's my new kind of thing
Speaker 1: that I'm trying out, and my kids want to make
Speaker 1: different things. My son is three and I read him
Speaker 1: this Peete the Cat book every night, and he has
Speaker 1: like all the flavors memorized.
Speaker 3: So he's like, let's make the blue raspberry and you.
Speaker 2: Know all of that very cute. Well, I guess you're
Speaker 2: you're eliminating a lot of the sugar that's typically in
Speaker 2: regular ice creams.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, So I'll use stevia glycerate because it doesn't
Speaker 1: have as much of an aftertaste as some of the
Speaker 1: other stevia, So I'll use that as a sweetener. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm experimenting.
Speaker 2: All right, Well, it was great to meet you. If
Speaker 2: someone who's listening wants to find you, where can they
Speaker 2: do that?
Speaker 1: Yes, So doctor alicianewsom dot com. That's my website and
Speaker 1: then everything's my name. You can even just Google me
Speaker 1: or Instagram, Facebook LinkedIn all of them. It's doctor Alicia Newsom.
Speaker 1: We want to spell yes l I Cia Newsome with
Speaker 1: an E at the end.
Speaker 2: Right, great, okay, wonderful. Well again, easy, easy episode, but
Speaker 2: hopefully informative for people, because anyone who's cooking or making
Speaker 2: anything at home is going to be using some type
Speaker 2: of oil. I hope you found this helpful. Please share, rate,
Speaker 2: leave a review, and follow Plant Based Diet on your
Speaker 2: favorite podcast listening platform. You can find us on YouTube
Speaker 2: and Instagram at Alternative Food Network. We also publish a
Speaker 2: monthly newsletter that includes plant based recipes, links to our
Speaker 2: latest episodes, and the occasional giveaway. You can subscribe for
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Speaker 2: and click the newsletter sign up button. Until next time,
Speaker 2: Thanks for listening. All content provided or opinions expressed in
Speaker 2: this podcast or for informational purposes only, and are not
Speaker 2: a substitute for professional medical advice. Please seek advice from
Speaker 2: your doctor or other qualified healthcare practitioner.