Cooking Oil Smoke Point and Cancer
A cooking oil's smoke point is the temperature at which it begins to smoke visibly when heated. When an oil starts smoking it is oxidizing and could damage your body.
A smoke point is the maximum safe cooking temperature. You should avoid heating the oil past this temperature. If you do heat past the smoke point you increase the risk of the oil turning brown, forming oxidized chemicals that can harm your body and increase your risk of cancer. People who work in kitchens and restaurants with cooking oils and poor ventilation have an increased lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer risk.
Each oil manufacturer has a different chemical composition because of processing methods and each batch of fruit, vegetable and seed will vary. These factors will affect the smoke point.
Fat/Oil | Quality | Smoke Point |
---|---|---|
Flax seed oil | Unrefined | 225°F |
Safflower oil | Unrefined | 225°F |
Sunflower oil | Unrefined | ... |