5 Healthy Oils for Women over 40
I want to share a not-so-secret tidbit with you. Fat can be good for you!!
Oils and fats are a necessary element for every woman’s diet–but not all are created equal. Here is a list of five healthy oils to add to your pantry right now for optimal hormone balance for women. Women should generally choose unrefined oils as these are less inflammatory for the body.
Why care about inflammation, you may ask? Inflammation is responsible for many illnesses and health issues—here is a short list: Diabetes Type 1&2, Fatty liver disease, Endometriosis, Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Asthma, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, Rheumatoid arthritis, Obesity, and Cancer.
Adopting a diet and lifestyle that reduces inflammation is key for supporting your health and hormones as your hormones dip lower during perimenopause and menopause. This will help to counterbalance the effect of hormonal drop.
Now, back to the oils. Choose the highest quality you can afford–organic is best, and go for those in dark bottles to protect the beneficial properties of the oils.
Coconut Oil is known to help balance sugar, boost the immune system, is high in good fats, is antifungal, and antibacterial, and energizing–coconut oil is best for high temperature cooking, baking, sautéing or frying. Choose unrefined, virgin, cold-pressed, and organic. It does have a flavor, so I prefer to choose this oil when what I am cooking “goes” with the slight flavor of coconut.
Avocado Oil is another oil that is best for high temperature cooking, baking, sautéing or frying–it’s smoking point is 520 degrees F. The flavor of avocado oil is minimal–so this is a nice one when you are wanting minimal flavor especially when baking if you plan to use oil to substitute your fat.
Olive Oil is a wonderful oil with many different flavor profiles depending on the type of olive used in creation of the oil–to be used for cooking, drizzling, and dipping–though high temperatures can cause the oil to smoke which ruins the healthful properties of the oil–try not to heat olive oil above 350/375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sesame Seed Oil is estrogen balancing, rich in B Vitamins, minerals, and boosts progesterone–and is the perfect oil to use when you are looking to add an Asian flavor to foods–and it is good for moderate heat, or a quick saute. I use sesame oil for stir-frys, and for making asian inspired noodles, or dressings.
Flaxseed Oil is filled with beneficial properties, like healing the gut, boosting estrogen, and it is rich in zinc, and omega 3 fatty acids, and should be used only in cold food preparations like making dressings or adding to energy balls or bars that don’t need to be heated.
So, tell me, which of these oils do you currently use? As you can see, there are healthy fats that are ideal to use in moderation for every woman’s diet.
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