Refined oil: features of the composition, benefits and harm

Probably everyone knows since childhood the taste and smell of natural sunflower oil.Nowadays, few people buy such a product, most consumers prefer refined oil with deodorized perfume. Nevertheless, information about the usefulness of such a composition causes serious doubts among scientists.

Refined oil is widely used in cooking for a wide variety of dishes - meat and fish are fried on it, they are filled with vegetable salads and introduced to cereals. The reason for the popularity of the product is simple - it does not have a specific smell and a characteristic bitter taste, as is the case with natural oil. But many believe that This deodorized oil actually has nothing to do with the present.

Refined oil is a fully refined product. During processing, it is cleaned of all sorts of impurities and unnecessary additives. However, some technologists claim that during such processing it loses all its nutritional and healing value, moreover, it becomes quite dangerous for people. Other experts completely refute this assertion. Disputes about the expediency of using refined oil in cooking do not subside, and there is no exact answer about its usefulness and potential harm.

Refining is resorted to when there are excess impurities in the initial composition, as well as to improve product characteristics - no sedimentation, achieving transparency and a longer shelf life. At the same time, when cleaning, the oil also loses most of its vitamins, macro- and microelements, the loss of phosphatides, vitamins A, D, and E.

In the manufacture of this oil, the natural dye is removed from it, as well as the components responsible for its flavor and aroma. Oil undergoes deodorization, which is why the refined product is much inferior to the unpurified in terms of the concentration of the necessary substances.

Oil is obtained in several ways. Cold pressing involves the use of a press. In this product, all concentrations of minerals and beneficial vitamins are fully preserved, and, of course, the taste and smell peculiar to sunflower. The main disadvantage of this product is a small shelf life. When hot-pressed, the product is squeezed and subjected to mandatory hydration and filtration. This oil has a more darkened shade and strong smell. Under the action of elevated temperatures, some of the nutrients in it are destroyed, so the composition is not as nutritious and useful as the oil obtained in a cold way.

Refined oil is produced using extraction. To do this, the seeds are treated with an organic solvent - hexane. By the way, he is considered to be the analogue of gasoline all over the world. At the same time, chemists insist that it is not possible to completely evaporate this substance from the product, although the manufacturers claim that they completely neutralize all the hexane residues by counteracting alkali and hot steam. What is obtained as a result of the interaction of oil, hexane and alkali, then further refined and bleached. For this, kieselgur is used - deatomaceous earth. This is a natural sorbent, which is released from rocks under the influence of vacuum.

At the final stage of processing, the product is filtered and thoroughly deodorized using water vapor and vacuum. After all these manipulations, carotene, lecithin and many other components necessary for the body “leave” the base product.

If you talk about vegetable oil as a whole, then this is a very important product, its benefits to the body are enormous.

The oil extract obtained from sunflower has the most beneficial effect on the body. The components present in it take part in a metabolism and promote increase of cellular immunity.

The composition of vegetable oil has the fatty acids necessary for normal functioning of the brain - linoleic, linolenic and oleic.

The product has a high content of alpha-tocopherol, more commonly known as vitamin E. This element is characterized by pronounced antioxidant properties, which allow you to stop the processes of fading in the body and reduce the severity of age-related changes. This vitamin is quite useful for the restoration of reproductive function, it increases the elasticity of blood vessels and joint mobility.

The oil has an impressive concentration of phosphorus, which is necessary for the normal development of the musculoskeletal system. It participates in the metabolism and synthesis of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. If this element is lacking, the central nervous system is inhibited, which has the most harmful effect on the brain and inhibits the mental and mental development of a person.

Vegetable oil has found wide application in medicine due to the peculiarities of removing bacteria from it. To do this, it is recommended to dissolve a certain amount of product in the mouth every morning. After 10-15 minutes, the oil should be spit out and rinse the mouth thoroughly. Such a simple procedure is quite effective. It allows you to maintain the health of internal organs and prolong the youth of all systems and tissues.

It is known that on the basis of vegetable oil produce medicine for chronic nasopharyngitis. To do this, it is mixed with wild rosemary, insist for three weeks, filtered and dripped into the nose.

With the help of vegetable oil, you can get rid of painful constipation - for this, take two or three tablespoons of oil in the morning and evening. And if you insist in it red hot pepper, you can get a good remedy for joint pain.

Treatment with vegetable oil has long been used in traditional and traditional medicine.

Obviously, vegetable oil is a very valuable and nutritious product. That's just the question of the preservation of all these components in the refined composition is open. Proved that heat treatment makes it not as useful as unrefined. The main advantage is the complete harmlessness of the product when creating hot dishes - when heated, for example, when cooking or frying products, it does not emit carcinogens, which often happens when using natural oil.

In addition, the refining of the oil makes it hypoallergenic and allows you to include this product in the diet, even those who are allergic to oilseeds.

It is noteworthy that the refined liquid does not foam during cooking and does not form smoke or burning.

The main harm of the refined oil is that during processing the concentration of trans-fats increases in it - substances that cannot be absorbed by the human body - their content reaches 25%. The most dangerous thing is that they do not appear with time, but accumulate, gradually transforming into toxins. That is why people who regularly use such a product gradually develop a whole “bunch” of unpleasant ailments: endocrinological problems, heart pathologies, atherosclerosis, and even oncological diseases.

Oil that has passed through refining becomes dangerous for a number of reasons:

• During processing, the product is exposed for a long time to the influence of hot steam and chemicals, so the probability of preservation of useful elements in it is almost minimized.
• Refined oil cannot technically be cleaned of all chemical components that are used for its refining; therefore, their residues accumulate in the body, leading over time to serious diseases.
• Refined oil is much more susceptible to oxidative processes than the crude.
• The qualitative composition of the refined product is very different from the original composition of the natural.

All of these points clearly indicate that the refined composition is not useful for the human body. Regularly including it in the diet, a person contributes to his slagging, because all the harmful substances accumulate inside the tissues, causing poisoning of vital systems and organs.

It is obvious that refined oil is not at all the food product that should be used in cooking. It is not only devoid of all useful, but also contains some concentrations of harmful substances. For frying, you should use dishes with a non-stick coating, and for filling vegetable salads, give preference to unrefined formulations.

If you really do not like the natural product with its peculiar taste and aroma, then try to purchase oil from reliable manufacturers; for this, pay attention to a number of points when buying.

• Purchase oil in a transparent container to make sure that there is no sediment and no impurities in its structure.
• Shelf life should not exceed 2 years. The smaller it is, the more the composition of the product is close to natural.
• The etiquette must necessarily contain a mark on compliance with all requirements in accordance with GOST, since products made according to specifications, undergo much less strict quality control.
• Pay special attention to the specified category of vegetable fat, for example, "Premium", as well as "Top grade" or "First grade."
• Specify the date of manufacture and bottling - they must match.
• The bottle itself should not contain leaks and deformations.

In conclusion, we can say that refined oil, despite the absence of useful elements, is nevertheless suitable for use in cooking - it is indispensable for stewed, baked and even fried dishes, the main thing in its use is not to overdo it. The measure is good in everything, and if you use oil in your kitchen only occasionally, you will not cause any harm to the body.

If there were no refined and deodorized oils, many would have had to completely switch to food prepared on animal fatty oil, which is very dangerous for the pancreas and the entire digestive system.

Sunflower refined oil of the Zlato, Golden Maslenitsa, Ideal, Oleina and Sloboda brands took part in the competition for the title of the best product of the TV program “Test Purchase”. On the results, see below.