Celebrity oil: Rice bran oil

There are number of cooking oils available in the market and recommended by experts which commonly includes Rice bran oil, olive oil, canola oil and mustard oil. All these have been found to be better options compared to other vegetable oil available in the market. Olive oil has high level of omega 3 fatty acids beneficial for heart. Canola oil too has good amount of omega 3 fatty acids but not available easily and is expensive too just like olive oil. Olive oil cannot be used for frying purpose because of low smoke point. Mustard oil has specific taste which is not liked by all.

Rice bran oil is one of the most trending oil in the market today. As the health benefits were identified, this oil gained lot of attention and today it is the recommended oil to all. There are television advertisements marketing its healthy benefits. With people getting increasingly health consciousness they are turning to healthy food options too. Rice bran oil can replace other oils and has been associated with many health benefits to human body.

This oil is extracted from rice bran, a byproduct from rice milling. It has ideal fatty acid profile which makes it a better option compared to other oil. It has high Vitamin E level and many other antioxidant compounds such as oryzonal, polyphenols, polysterols etc. And therefore has a better shelf life too. This oil is also said to absorb less while cooking and therefore indirectly contributes to low intake of calories in the diet.

Poor lifestyle choices such as consumption of unhealthy food that is high in fat, less activity, no exercise has increased the incidence of many medical conditions especially heart problems like blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke etc. So there is a need to make few good food choices in our kitchen which may lessen or reduce the incidence of such conditions.

Many studies have shown a positive association between rice bran oil and healthy heart mainly because of the antioxidant compounds present in it. It is also found to lower bad cholesterol (VLDL, LDL,TG) and increase the good cholesterol (HDL). Rice bran oil also has high smoke value which makes it perfect for deep frying and other cooking process.

Apart from health benefits, being a source from a byproduct it is also said to be consumer friendly oil because the cost of the oil is not very much different from other high grade vegetable oil.