[luvtim]

I've been using extra virgin olive oil but was wondering if we are allowed to use peanut oil or any other oils out there? I am in phase 2.

[H-ko]

Did you look on the phase 2 food list in the FAQ forum? I know olive oils and canola are good, not sure about which others might be okay. I would think that if the nuts are okay, that nut oils would be okay in limited quantities (such as a little walnut oil in a salad dressing). But that is just a guess. I think it doesn't list some oils one way or the other - that is, some are on the good list, some are on the bad list, and some aren't listed at all.

[beachgal]

luvtim, you can have many kinds of healthy oils. Canola has actually been found to be even healthier than olive oil, so I use it more often. You can also use peanut, walnut, sesame, hazelnut, soy, flaxseed, rapeseed, etc. Just make sure you use them in moderation as they contain lots of calories (all oils are 9 calories per gram). Stay away from unhealthy oils (i.e. coconut, palm) and from anything called 'vegetable oil' until you know what oils they used to make their mix.

Here's some good information on what makes an oil healthy, from http://www.pioneerthinking.com/ara-heartoils.html:

Monounsaturated fats are known to help reduce the levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol without lowering the good HDL cholesterol. The most widely used oils that are high in monounsaturates are olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil. Polyunsaturated fats, made up of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids are also considered relatively healthy and include corn, soybean, safflower, and grapeseed oil. . Oils high in omega-3 rich polyunsaturate fat such as walnut oil, flaxseed oil and canola oil are a good addition to the diet since our body require omega-3s for good health but cannot manufacturer them. New studies show incorporating omega-3s into your diet reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart disease.

[luvtim]

Thank you so much. That was very helpful.