Can you cook avocado oil on high heat?

This brief guide will answer the question “Can you cook avocado oil on high heat?”. We will discuss all the aspects related to the cooking of avocado oil, such as the temperature range to cook it, its health benefits and some health concerns. Finally, we will also discuss the methods to preserve avocado oil. 

Can you cook avocado oil on high heat?

Yes, you can cook avocado oil on high heat; however, you should not use it for deep fry. r. You can safely use avocado oil for sauteing meats and vegetables because it usually does not surpass the 180 °C (near to the smoke point of avocado oil) (1).

Avocado is a botanical fruit with a large seed. It is easy to extract its oil and it has gained popularity due to its health benefits (2,3,4). Keep reading to know more about this amazing oil. 

What is the smoke point, and what is the smoke point of avocado oil?

The smoke point of oils is the temperature at which an oil starts to degrade and the triacylglycerols break down into fatty acids and glycerol; glycerol and fatty acids will convert into smaller molecules like alkanals, acrolein, and other chemicals potentially toxic (5).

The chemical components formed above the smoke point can produce a bluish smoke. Therefore, you can empirically know the smoke point of your oil if you notice a bluish smoke during cooking (5). 

Avocado oil  starts smoking  at 196 °C, so it is good for cooking at temperatures below 196 °C, for example (5):

• Baking in the oven at < 180 °C.
• Saute vegetables and meats.

Frying is not advised because frying tends to raise temperature above 200 °C; however, if you control the temperature during frying below 196 °C, you can use avocado oil. Otherwise, you should consider other oils with higher smoke points like canola oil for frying (5).

What happens if you cook avocado oil on high heat?

If you overheat your avocado oil, it will lose most bioactive compounds and vitamins (with healthy effects), because they are very sensitive to heat (6). Therefore, you will be missing the health benefits that avocado oil can offer (we will discuss this topic in brief).

Moreover, heating the oil above the smoke point (196 °C in the case of avocado oil) will produce toxic components like acrolein, E,E-2-4 decadienal, aldehydes, and free radicals (7,8).

The toxins generated by lipid degradation (acrolein, E,E-2-4 decadienal, aldehydes, and free radicals) can increase your risks of (7,8): 

• Obesity, due to the inflammation caused by toxins
• Cancer due to the free radicals effect on your cells genetic information
• Liver and Kidney damage because your body needs to remove and filter all toxins, and liver and kidney are the main organs for those functions.

What are the health benefits of avocado oil that can be affected by cooking on high heat?

Avocado oil is rich in healthy components like monounsaturated fats, Omega-3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, and polyphenols. Unfortunately, when you cook avocado oil on high heat (above its smoke point; 196 °C), most of the health benefits are gone because the high heat will degrade the aforementioned components. 

All the health benefits in your body (2,3,4) that can be missing if you overheat avocado oil are:

• The monounsaturated fatty acids can help regulate your lipids in blood (cholesterol, triacylglycerides, and low-density lipoproteins), reducing your risks of stroke and cardiovascular diseases.

• The carotenoids, polyphenols, and chlorophylls have antioxidant properties that can reduce the risk of several types of cancer like prostate, skin, and colon.

• Avocado oil has two carotenoids acting specifically in the eye’s health: lutein and zeaxanthin; lutein and zeaxanthin help reduce inflammation in the retina caused by smartphones and screens light (e.g., blue light).

• Oleic acid is the main monounsaturated fatty acid in avocado oil. Oleic acid induces the production of molecules that increase your insulin sensitivity, like gastric inhibitory polypeptide and the glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GIP and GLP-1, respectively).

Can uncooked avocado oil make you sick?

Yes, as well as any other food, edible oils can be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, fungi, or other microorganisms if they are not produced with hygiene (9).

If you consume contaminated avocado oil, there are severe chances of getting infected with the molds and spores. The symptoms of a food-borne disease includes (10):

• Diarrhea.
• Stomach ache. 
• Abdominal cramps.
• Frequent bowel movements.
• Vomiting. 
• Fever.

Cooking avocado oil could reduce the pathogenic bacteria, but it does not guarantee to destroy the toxins that produce food-borne diseases (9,10). 

Is avocado oil heat-sensitive?

Yes, avocado oil is generally heat-sensitive as it has its iodine value between 65 and 95. However, you can cook it on high flames to cook until it reaches its smoking point and just before it is about to break down (6). 

Conclusion

This brief guide answered the question “Can you cook avocado oil on high heat?”. We discussed all the aspects related to the cooking of avocado oil, such as the temperature range to cook it, its health benefits and some health concerns. Finally, we will also discuss the methods to preserve avocado oil. 

References

1. Guillaume C, De Alzaa F, Ravetti L. Evaluation of chemical and physical changes in different commercial oils during heating. Acta Scientific Nutritional Health, 2018;2(6):2-11.

2. Cervantes-Paz B, Yahia EM. Avocado oil: Production and market demand, bioactive components, implications in health, and tendencies and potential uses. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf, 2021;20(4):4120–58.

3. Foscolou A, Critselis E, Panagiotakos D. Olive oil consumption and human health: A narrative review. Maturitas, 2018;118:60–6.

4. Tan CX. Virgin avocado oil: An emerging source of functional fruit oil. J Funct Foods, 2019;54:381–92.

5. Katragadda HR, Fullana A, Sidhu S, Carbonell-Barrachina ÁA. Emissions of volatile aldehydes from heated cooking oils. Food Chem, 2010;120(1):59–65.

6. Resende LMB, de Souza VR, Ferreira GMD, Nunes CA. Changes in quality and phytochemical contents of avocado oil under different temperatures. J Food Sci Technol, 2019;56(1):401–8.

7. Lozano-Castellon J, de Alvarenga JFR, Vallverdu-Queralt A, Lamuela-Raventos RM. Cooking with extra-virgin olive oil: A mixture of food components to prevent oxidation and degradation. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2022;123:28-36.

8. Katragadda HR, Fullana A, Sidhu S, Carbonell-Barrachina ÁA. Emissions of volatile aldehydes from heated cooking oils. Food Chem, 2010;120(1):59–65.

9. Gobena W, Girma S, Legesse T, Abera F, Gonfa A, Muzeyin R, Yohannes T, et al. Microbial safety and quality of edible oil examined at Ethiopian public health institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A retrospective study. Journal of Microbiology & Experimentation, 2018;6(3):136-139. 

10. Pigott DC. Foodborne illness. Emerg Med Clin North Am, 2008;26(2):475–97, x.