Cooking Oils and Frailty

Can Your Cooking Oil Affect Your Risk of Frailty?

A new study looked at how the type of cooking oil you use might impact your risk of frailty as you get older. Frailty is a condition that makes you weaker and more prone to health problems. Here’s what the research found:

Key Findings

1. Animal Fat Oils Are Better:
   • Older adults who used animal fat oils like lard had a lower risk of becoming frail compared to those who used vegetable oils like soybean or canola oil.
   • Using animal fat oil reduced the risk of frailty by 28%.
2. Switching Oils Makes a Difference:
   • Switching from vegetable oil (canola, sunflower, cottonseed, soybean, etc.) to animal fat oil (lard, tallow, butter) lowered the risk of frailty.
   • Switching from animal fat oil to vegetable oil increased the risk of frailty.

What Does This Mean for You?

1. Choose Animal Fat Oils:
   • Using animal fat oils for cooking might help reduce your risk of frailty.
2. Stay Consistent:
   • It’s beneficial to stick with animal fat oils or switch to them from vegetable oils.

Why Does This Happen?

• Nutritional Benefits: Animal fats are stable at high temperatures and may prevent harmful compounds from forming.
• Better Taste and Appetite: Animal fats can improve the taste of food and are more nutritious, which can help you eat better and stay healthy.

Practical Tips

1. Talk to Your Doctor:
   • Before changing your diet, consider checking with your healthcare provider.
2. Balanced Diet:
   • Make sure to eat a variety of foods, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and a variety of animal fats and proteins.

Conclusion

Choosing the right cooking oil can play a role in preventing frailty as you age. Animal fat oils might be a better option to help you stay strong and healthy.

Link: https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-024-05052-8