If you love to cook or bake, there’s a new oil on the supermarket shelf that will not only take your culinary creations to the next level, but also provide a significant boost to your health.
Using super high oleic safflower developed by CSIRO scientists, Plenty Safflower Oil has the highest proportion of oleic acid, a heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acid, and the lowest amount of saturated fats of all common cooking oils. If you are looking for health ingredients at discounted prices from Holland and Barrett, go to Latest Deals.
Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist Nicole Senior says it’s really important we’re finding ways to incorporate healthy oils into our diets. And super high oleic safflower oil not only ticks the box for health, with a neutral flavour it also ticks the box for versatility.
Why do we need oil in our diets?
While fats often get a bad rap, there’s a group of superheroes among them known as healthy fats or unsaturated fats. These incredible nutrients maintain cholesterol levels within a healthy range and act as guardians for your heart, potentially reducing the risk of cardiovascular problems. That’s not all—they can also work wonders for your skin, eyes and brain[i].
“Healthy oils are good for you and they make food taste great,” says Senior. “But you need to choose the right oil for the job. Obviously, being a dietitian, I think in terms of health and nutrition first – and with health and nutrition, you’re talking about liquid oils, the ones you find in the supermarket. You want to be looking for plant-based oils with a high unsaturated fat content.”
The next consideration when choosing an oil is culinary. What are you making? Are you cooking something, or dressing something, where you want the flavour of the oil to feature? Or do you want the flavour of the food to feature?
A neutral-tasting oil – such as safflower, blended vegetable, canola or grapeseed – will let the flavours of the food shine through. Something like extra virgin olive oil is going to add some big flavours to your homemade salad dressings, roast vegetables or drizzled over pasta.
When cooking, you also need to consider temperature. If you’re going to be using very high temperatures – like stir frying or barbecuing – you need to choose an oil that has a high smoke point. Super high oleic safflower oil has the highest smoke point (266°C) of all oils on the supermarket shelves today – no more setting off the smoke alarms in your kitchen! And it has a neutral flavour, so the food can really shine.
What makes safflower oil so great?
“Plenty super high oleic Safflower Oil has a 4.5 health star rating, and was the first oil on the market to reach this rating[ii],” says Senior. “That’s because oleic acid, also known as omega 9, is a heart-healthy, monosaturated fatty acid and a so-called ‘good fat’ recommended by the Heart Foundation.”
Super high oleic safflower has the highest unsaturated fat content of all oils – 92% monounsaturated fats. The benefits of super high oleic acids are wide-ranging. They boost “good” cholesterol levels and decrease “bad” cholesterol levels, which helps avoid a build-up of plaque in the arteries.
“And when we talk about heart health, we’re also talking about type 2 diabetes,” says Senior.
According to the Heart Foundation[iii], people with diabetes have a heightened risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Compared with those without diabetes, individuals with the condition face up to four times higher chances of experiencing a heart attack or stroke.
“So, super high oleic safflower oil not only ticks the box for health, with that neutral flavour it also ticks the box for versatility,” says Senior.
An Australian success story
Safflower is the first food product to be developed using super high oleic safflower seeds, developed by CSIRO scientists over an eight-year period[iv].
“This is an Australian product, an Australian success story,” says Nicole. “It’s grown and developed in Australia, using Australian scientific knowhow. And it’s grown by Australian farmers. That’s important. We want to look after Australian farmers and eat local food where possible.”
Super high oleic safflower oil also ticks the box in terms of sustainability.
“When Plenty makes super high oleic safflower, there is no waste,” says Senior. “All of the meal that is left after they take the oil out, it gets fed to livestock, which is fantastic. This is a product that’s good for Australia and it’s good for the environment – and they’re important things for us to consider.”
[i] https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/dietary-fats
[ii] https://www.plentyfoods.com.au/product/plenty-safflower-oil-750ml/
[iv] https://www.csiro.au/en/research/plants/crops/Oil-crops/SHO-safflower
