Healthy Cooking Oils {Health}

[Source:advocuae.com]

Oils are not entirely bad and you can not cut down on oils completely. So, it is essential to be aware of the healthiest oils which are safe to use and do good to your bodies. 

Refined Vegetable Oil

These oils are available under various brand names and are supposed to be extremely healthy and cholesterol controlling and many other benefits. But, in a nutshell, all these oils are processed in industrial conditions under high heat and pressure and refined to a lot of extent. Now, I have said again and again that cold processed oils are the best otherwise they lose their nutrients. And, in the industrial environment, the oils undergo a process called hydrogenation. 

In this process, hydrogen molecules are added to the unsaturated fatty acids of the oils to convert them to saturated fatty acids. While the oils with saturated fatty acids are healthiest and stablest of the cooking oils, in practice this process of hydrogenation is not taken to its completion. Because of this, the oils are partially hydrogenated. Partially Hydrogenated oils have molecules which are inflammatory in nature and are main reasons for diseases of heart and cause burning sensation in the body. 

What is termed as a 'Healthy Cooking Oil'? 

So, now the question is what is healthy? As I said above, saturated fat oils are healthiest as they are stable and generally have a high smoke point. You do not want to have an oil which burns and turns to smoke very soon because frying brings the oil to a very high temperature. And, if the oil reaches its smoke point, the oil loses its nutrients and its chemical bonds undergo changes on its own because of which oil may become entirely unhealthy. 

Now, coconut oil has the highest amount of unsaturated fats which is why it is an extremely healthy cooking oil. But, excess consumption of coconut oil in a day leads to high calories in the body. But, coconut oil has a high smoke point because of which it is a good oil. Similarly, safflower oil, pure ghee (made at home and not from animal fat), groundnut oil, mustard oil, rice bran oil and sesame oil are healthy cooking oils. 

Olive Oil

If you love olive oil to the core, you must be infuriated that how come it has not made it to the list? Well, actually, it does. But, there are certain points regarding olive oil which I wanted to clarify. It is an monounsaturated oil. 

Now, I have seen it often and have personally also probably recommended that Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) should be used. But, that is not true. EVOO is actually very delicate oil whose, if subjected to high heat, chemical structure changes rendering the oil useless and unhealthy. So, use EVOO only for salads and cooking at low temperatures. Virgin Olive Oil should be used for cooking at high heat as it is more heat resistant but it is little less nutrient when compared to EVOO. And, Pomace is the grade of olive oil which is actually suitable for Indian Cooking as it's structure doesn't get altered with high temperatures.

Which oil do you use? I personally like Sesame and Mustard oil.

Homemade Cleanser for Eyes {DIY}

Ok, so it is a very common complaint with cleansers that they do not remove the eye makeup very effectively. Yeah, it really happens. So, I'll share what I do for that. Not that I apply eye makeup but removing sunscreen around the eyes or kajal also requires the same effort.

I use a mixture of almond oil and castor oil. Remember the Oil Cleansing Method in which castor oil is the main ingredient. Castor Oil has cleansing properties apart from its many beneficial effects so it is one of the major oils used for removing residue from the skin. But, using castor oil alone is not recommended for the skin as it is quiet thick and concentrated. So, it is better to mix it with a carrier oil. The reason we choose almond is that it is also effective for removing makeup and aids the growth of eyelashes. So, mix almond oil and castor oil in 3:1 ratio and store it in a glass bottle. 

To remove makeup, take a generous amount of the oil and massage the entire area around the eyes. Make sure you have enough oil that your skin glides along the skin coz you don't want to pull and tug at the skin around the eyes which is very thin and can lead to wrinkles and fine lines if disturbed too much. Massage for 5 minutes and remove the oil with cotton very gently without pulling on the skin. You can use face wipes too. And, then, wash off with a cleanser.

Caution: Do not use Coconut Oil as it makes the eyes sting badly. Almond oil or castor oil do not have any such reactions to the eyes.

Get rid of Stretch Marks

What are Stretch Marks?

Stretch Marks not only appear due to pregnancy but are very common among teenagers too. They can be red, purple or white in color, distorted in shape, long or short, wide lines and instantly recognizable. And, they can be present anywhere on the body but specially concentrated where you might accumulate a lot of fat like shoulders or upper arms, breasts, belly area, fat on the back just above and including the buttock region and thighs front or back. They can occur on anyone at any time.

Why do Stretch Marks appear?

During teenage, there are a lot of physical changes in the human body. One of the changes is sudden growth hence consequent stretching of the skin. Thus, these sudden stretches can tear the collagen and make the skin thinner in certain areas. The places where the collagen has torn and has become thinner are prone to appearance of stretch marks.

Stretch Marks can appear due to sudden height increase, sudden weight gain and weight loss, muscle growths, excessive exercising using improper equipments and also due to hormonal changes in the body.

How to prevent Stretch Marks?

A proper balanced diet is always best. A balanced diet ensures proper collagen production and maintainence, hence reducing the chances of collagen tear. Crash Diets and weight loss programs should be avoided. I have already discussed the ways to increase skin elasticity which is one of the ways to prevent stretch marks.

How to treat Stretch Marks?

• Coconut oil repairs the inner lying tissue structure of the skin
• Almond oil is rich in vitamin E oil so helps with regeneration of collagen
• Lavender oil (if you can get hold of original and pure lavender oil) is good for healing stretch marks or lavender flower masks are also good for the purpose though you can not find lavender in India
• Cocoa Butter and Shea Butter (if you get hold of unrefined cocoa or shea, mostly found in African stores) have lot of important nutrients for the skin
• Aloevera gel is again great for stretch marks, mix the aloevera gel with almond or coconut oil and it is great as a moisturizer for dry skin too