Best Cooking Oils for Thyroid and Pcod/ Pcos in India (Hormonal Imbalance and Oil)

Suffering from PCOS or Thyroid? Know which oil is suitable for the condition…A liquid diet, low carb, vegan diet… tried all but still can’t control your PCOS or thyroid condition? Even after eating healthy you are not able to control your hormones, it indicates faulty food composition. Read On to know about Best Cooking Oils for Thyroid and Pcod/ Pcos in India, And how these oils can affect your Hormones.

Hormonal Imbalance at a glance :

We all are aware of PCOS and thyroid conditions. Both are the outcome of hormonal imbalance. This can be an outcome of faulty lifestyle or diet.

• Hyperthyroidism can cause rapid weight loss, an unusually fast heartbeat, and anxiety.
• Whereas,  Hypothyroidism triggers constipation, weight gain as well as extreme fatigue.
• On the other hand, Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition that affects a woman’s hormone levels. Women with PCOS produce higher-than-normal amounts of male hormones. This hormone imbalance causes irregular menses and makes it harder for them to get pregnant.
• PCOS and Hypothyroid both lead to weight gain. It reduces the metabolic rate of the body.
• Being overweight increases the chances of inflammation in the body. Inflammation in turn also makes it difficult to lose weight. It is a vicious cycle

One such major thing that affects inflammation and hormone imbalance is the cooking oil we use. There is a lot of misinformation available on the nature of oils. Hence, most of us do not know which are the healthiest for cooking. Unfortunately, most of the Advertisement industry focuses on the use of refined and polyunsaturated oils. These oils are not really healthy. This is because the imbalance in fatty acids can lead to systemic inflammation. Seed Oils, in particular, should be avoided completely in hormonal dysfunction.

Processed Seed Oils and Hormonal Imbalance:

Seed oils can increase systemic inflammation. When these Seed based oils undergo processing, they lose the original property of oilseeds. Thus, it worsens the inflammation in the body.

Seed oils include:

• Oils of vegetable,
• Rice Bran,
• Soybean,
• Canola,
• Rapeseed,
• Sunflower and
• Safflower.

Seed oil is widely used as it neither has peculiar flavor, nor color or taste. This makes it easy to blend in any recipe. These oils are not capable enough to maintain good cholesterol levels. This is because of high omega 6 levels compared to omega 3 fatty acids. While, perfect cholesterol level is the key to adequate estrogen, progesterone, and follicle stimulating hormone required to manage PCOS.

Whereas, Omega 3 fatty acid has a tendency to improve the systemic inflammation. The correct amount of omega 3 fatty acid not only improves metabolism but also reduces inflammation. Additionally, it increases immunity and maintains hormonal levels.

Best Cooking Oils for Thyroid and Pcod/ Pcos in India:

If you are still wondering about the best cooking oils for thyroid and Pcod/ Pcos in India (Hormonal Imbalance and Oil). Here are some pointers that will help you choose the right oil.

Best oils to reduce inflammation and balance the hormones in the body:

• Cold pressed oils:

The major problem to tackle while handling the hormonal issue is to reduce inflammation. Thus, oils high in omega 3 fatty acid are most preferable. Cold pressed oils has it’s omega 3 content intact along with other nutrients that otherwise get destroyed during processing.

When cooking, the best oils are cold-pressed oils that do not undergo cheap heat or chemical extraction methods. Cold-pressed oils retain their nutrition, enzymes, and antioxidants, making them good for your health. They may be slightly more expensive, but they’re worth that extra cost. Examples of cold pressed oils are coconut, groundnut sesame oil.

• High- quality Saturated Fats:

From sources like coconut oil, and ghee.

• High- quality Monounsaturated Fats:

From sources like sesame oil and olive oil. Always choose cold pressed oils. Avoid cheaper chemical extracted oils. Amongst foods, avocados and nuts are great sources of monounsaturated fats.

• High-quality Polyunsaturated Fats:

From sources like cod liver oil and flaxseed oil. Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, albacore tuna, and trout are other good sources of Omega-3 rich polyunsaturated fats.

A perfect balanced diet focuses on getting sufficient Omega 3 fatty acids. Sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and walnuts are also high in omega 3 fatty acid.

The daily Requirement of Oil:

• The requirement of fatty acid in daily diet is a ratio of 1:1.5:1 of MUFA: PUFA: SFA.
• The recommendation of oil is around 20 – 25 grams of visible fat in a day.
• Use appropriate amounts of oil, ghee, and butter as per recommendation by the professional for maximum benefit.

To Understand the concept of cold-pressed, Organic, Virgin, Extra Virgin, and refined Oils, you can see this article on How to select the best oil for health?

Tips to Select Best Cooking Oils for Thyroid and Pcod/ Pcos:

• Buy organic oils, as conventionally grown ones often contain high levels of pesticide residues.
• Buy cold-pressed oils.
• Avoid refined oils extracted from peanut, corn, soybean, canola, grapeseed, sunflower and generic “vegetable oil”. These oils have a high smoke point but are also highly processed, often containing chemical solvent residues and harmful trans-fats.
• However, unrefined versions of sunflower oil and grape seed oil are acceptable. They have lower smoke points thus can be used for old or for low heat cooking only.
• Buy Grass-fed Butter and Ghee. Or best is to use Home-made.

When oils contain a relatively high amount of omega-6 fatty acid compared to omega 3 fatty acid, it leads to inflammation. This inflammation further worsens the condition of hormonal imbalance.

Avoid These Cooking Oils for Thyroid and Pcod/ Pcos:

• Oils High in omega 6 fatty acid content: Inflammation is one of the primary causes of insulin resistance, weight gain, hormone imbalance.

• Processed seed oils: Oil from seeds requires a variety of chemicals for extraction of oil. This destroys the omega 3 fatty acid in the seeds. Chronic low-grade inflammation promotes unhealthy weight gain, especially around the abdomen. This affects insulin function, cognitive processing, memory function, and mood.

• Hydrogenated oils / Dalda: Hydrogenated oils undergo a process of addition of hydrogen for solidification. Partially hydrogenated fats tend to have trans fats whereas fully hydrogenated fats contain high omega 6 fatty acids. Most processed and packaged foods may even contain a blend of liquid vegetable or seed oil with fully hydrogenated oils in products like salad dressings, mayonnaise, and sandwich spreads because then they can be labeled as “zero trans-fat”.

• Low smoke point oils: The smoke point is a point at which the oil will begin to vaporize in the pan, creating smoke. This smoke is made up of water, free fatty acids, and some oxidized elements as a result of the heating. If you heat an oil past its smoke point, it suddenly becomes more toxic and less healthy for you. Avoid olive oil for high-temperature cooking. Use olive oil in salad directly or for sautéing or stir-frying vegetables rather than cooking in olive oil. Restrict butter and margarine as much as possible as it contains trans fats along with low smoke point.

Conclusion: Which oil is best for Thyroid? And, Which Oil is best for PCOS?

Select oils containing sufficient amounts of omega 3 fatty acids like cooking friendly olive oil.

• The cold pressed and virgin varieties of Olive oil, groundnut, and coconut oil is also a great option for cooking.
• Grass-fed and Homemade butter and ghee can also be consumed.
• Very small amounts of flaxseed oil, evening prime rose oil or cod liver oil adds on to the benefits of the oil.
• Indian diet plan for PCOS/ PCOD and weight loss.
• Diet plan for Hypothyroidism and weight loss.
• Benefits of Flax seeds and Chia seeds.

Endnote:

Hormonal imbalance is very easy to control via food and healthy lifestyle. Eating right foods heals your body internally maintaining hormonal balance and combat hormonal disorders. Thus, eliminating all inflammation-causing foods from your diet will help to control hormonal imbalance. A simple change from processed oils to oils to be used mentioned above is a major step towards healthy living. Hope this article on best cooking oils for thyroid and Pcod has helped you find a solution to your question. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch amazing health-related videos. Subscribe now.