- Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature, like the vegetable oils used in
cooking. Oils come from many different plants and from fish. Some common oils are:
- canola oil
- corn oil
- cottonseed oil
- olive oil
- safflower oil
- soybean oil
- sunflower oil
- Some oils are used mainly as flavorings, such as walnut oil and sesame oil. A number
of foods are naturally high in oils, like:
- nuts
- olives
- some fish
- avocado oil
- Foods that are mainly oil include mayonnaise, certain salad dressings, and soft (tub
or squeeze) margarine with no trans fats. Check the Nutrition Facts label to find
margarines with 0 grams of trans fat. Amounts of trans fat will be required on labels
as of 2006. Many products already provide this information.
- Most oils are high in monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats, and low in saturated
fats. Oils from plant sources (vegetable and nut oils) do not contain any cholesterol.
In fact, no foods from plants sources contain cholesterol.
- A few plant oils, however, including coconut oil and palm kernel oil, are high in
saturated fats and for nutritional purposes should be considered to be solid fats.
Source: USDA, MyPyramid.gov