Nutrition Tier Lists: Fats & Oils

hello everybody this is Talon with the

next nutrition tier list a series where

I break down all the options in a given

food group and rank them based on how

nutritious they are and how they impact

your health today we're looking at fats

and oils an often overlooked part of

many people's diets yet one that can

have one of the greatest impacts

calorically as the name would suggest

fats and oils are made pretty much

entirely of one type of macronutrient

fats are unique in the sense that they

provide nine calories per gram and have

several functions that are necessary for

the body to perform at its best

everything from cell membrane structure

to absorption of fat soluble vitamins to

maintenance of nervous function to the

synthesis of myelin to the regulation of

cholesterol and blood pressure to the

preservation of your heart to the

combating of inflammation to Simply

being used as an energy source I hate to

break it to those people on super

low-fat diets but you're missing out a

little bit I understand with fats it can

be very easy to overindulge but it's

also very possible to under indulge that

being said not all fats are created

equally there's two but really three but

really four main types of fats that

you'll see in the foods you eat

regularly and on the items I'll be

featuring on this list there's

monounsaturated and polyunsaturated

saturated and trans fats which I often

compare to the green light yellow light

and red light of the fat World

respectively monounsaturated fats are

generally the most widely accepted to be

healthy especially for your heart

polyunsaturated fats also generally

share that green light distinction and

contain a couple of notable fatty acid

types Omega-3s and omega-6s which the

body cannot make on its own you'll often

hear people talk about how these are

necessary but ideal in a certain ratio

I'll get to more about that later

saturated fats have the most complicated

history showing to be necessary for

optimal function but potentially

hazardous in higher amounts as I hope to

show you today as with a yellow light

sometimes you slow down and sometimes

just speed up and then there's trans

fats which 99 times out of 100 are so

bad for you that I made an entire video

discussing why trans fats are banned in

the states and since I get my numbers

from the USDA they're not going to come

up that often but I will discuss them

when I feel it's necessary the thing is

fats and oils are not as simple as this

one contains monounsaturated fats good

this one contains saturated fats bad not

only does every cooking fat and oil

contain a blend of these but each can be

broken down into different fatty acid

types and lengths and processes each

with their own histories benefits

drawbacks and mixed bag of studies I'm

going to tell you straight up this was

the hardest tier list to date thousands

of people have given their takes on a

very similar concept this is just my

best interpretation of it all so with

that all being said looking at the tiers

for this video we're going to be

comparing the nutritional contents and

benefits of each fat and oil against any

shortcomings or health concerns that

they may possess keep in mind that these

lists are ranked independence of each

other so an a-tier oil may not equate to

an atier meat or an a-tier fruit all

numerical nutritional information on

this list and across this series will be

based on 100 grams of the individual

food but I hope I don't need to be the

one to tell you that you probably

shouldn't be consuming that much this is

simply for consistency and ease of

comparison to put it in perspective most

of the serving sizes for items on this

list fall under 20 grams and often far

less now I want to touch on a few things

before getting into the list proper

first off this video is only going to be

going over oils typically used in

cooking or as dressings and such so no

fish oils as those are most commonly

taken as supplements the next thing is

something called the smoking point every

fatten oil has one and it's where as the

name would suggest it starts to smoke

this isn't necessarily the end of the

world but smoking is evidence of the fat

breaking down potentially releasing

chemicals and oxidizing free radicals so

it's generally not recommended that you

cook above the smoke point thus

different fats and oils have different

uses the last point is refined versus

unrefined oils and this one's pretty

straightforward due to the often heated

nature of the refinement of most oils

unrefined oils are generally a healthier

more nutritious and more authentic pick

this however typically comes at the cost

of a much lower smoke point and with all

that out of the way it's time to show

off my efforts burning the midnight oil

and get to the list first on this list

we've got almond oil almond oil is is

typically very high in monounsaturated

fat it's primarily made up of the

omega-9 fatty acid oleic acid that oleic

acid has been widely accepted to be

beneficial for heart health managing

cholesterol levels and reducing the risk

of heart disease almond oil as a whole

has been shown to manage blood sugar and

blood pressure levels and almond oil is

very high in vitamin E an antioxidant

that's shown to benefit hair and skin

and lower risks of certain chronic

diseases really the only thing to watch

out for is that unrefined almond oil has

a pretty low smoke point at about 225

degrees Fahrenheit roughly 105 degrees

Celsius and thus it's not recommended

for cooking the temperatures for refined

almond oil are on screen and they're a

bit more forgiving overall almond oil is

a solid choice that you can consume

generally without worry and I'm going to

put it in the a tier avocado oil is

primarily made up of monounsaturated fat

its primary fatty acid is oleic acid

which is shown to be heart healthy and

reduces the risk of certain chronic

diseases while having a positive impact

on cholesterol avocado oil is typically

high in vitamin E and is a solid source

of lutein a carotenoid antioxidant that

the body uses mainly to preserve Eye

Health avocado oil is also shown to

reduce joint inflammation and pain from

arthritis one of the safest and

consistently most heart promoting oils

out there I'm going to put avocado oil

in the top tier

butter is mainly made up of saturated

fat its primary fatty acid is the longer

chain saturated fatty acid palmitic acid

the saturated fats in butter have long

been controversial associated with heart

issues particularly artery clogging

however the link between the saturated

fat found in butter and the risk of

heart disease is generally so much lower

in more recent studies it's insane the

main saturated fats in butter to discuss

are palmitic acid and stearic acid which

are shown to have a neutral to slightly

positive effect on LDL cholesterol

mainly influencing less dangerous larger

LDL particles and butyric acid a short

chain fatty acid that's shown to reduce

intestinal inflammation improve insulin

sensitivity and Aid in treating IBS and

saturated fats as a whole are still

linked to improved bone liver brain and

immune Health in controlled amounts

grass-fed butter does also contain

conjugated linoleic acid a ruminant

trans fat that some studies show Aid in

weight loss and as an anti-cancer

however to me butter is not entirely in

the clear as most Studies have shown

diets consisting of mainly saturated

fats still have a higher likelihood to

lead to heart issues than diets

consisting of mainly unsaturated fats

and I for one am not holding my breath

waiting for that to change butter is

also not advised to be consumed by

people who are allergic to milk protein

but those who are lactose intolerant

should generally be safe due to how

little milk sugar is left over overall

I'm gonna put butter in the beets here

it definitely has its place but if

you're a huge butter fanatic it probably

wouldn't hurt to swap it with some of

the higher tier vegetable oils sometimes

canola oil also called rapeseed oil but

I'm not going to call it that is mainly

made up of monounsaturated fats with the

main fatty acids being oleic acid and

the next most prominence being the

omega-6 linoleic acid first off canola

oil is a solid source of vitamin E and

vitamin K and its oleic acid content is

generally heart healthy canola oil also

contains a solid amount of linolenic

acid an omega-3 used for various bodily

functions like hormone creation it

should be mentioned that this version of

Omega-3 needs to be converted before

being used so it's not as useful as say

the Omega-3s in Seafood but every little

bit definitely helps the omega-3 to

omega-6 ratio is generally considered

safe on its own as well now some Studies

have shown a pretty strong link between

canola oil and inflammation and

oxidative stress While others see

nothing overall this is an oil that I'm

going to say can and should be used in

moderation and I'm going to put it in

the beads here chicken fat is a fairly

balanced blend of our three main types

of fat poultry fats are notably lower in

saturated fat than other animal-based

options options like butter lard and

Tallow and chicken fat is notably the

highest in polyunsaturated fats of all

the animal fats mainly coming in the

form of the omega-6 linoleic acid still

with a hefty amount of oleic acid most

studies on chicken fat find it to be

heart healthy upon consumption having a

consistent LDL lowering effect chicken

fat is also higher in choline which is

needed for the synthesis of the

neurotransmitter acetylcholine and other

functions like lipid transportation and

it's shown to have a positive effect on

skin hair and nail Health the only real

potential downside of chicken fat is

still the link between animal-based

long-chain saturated fatty acids in this

case palmitic acid and a precursor for

cholesterol and heart issues and even

then this is still one of your Best Bets

in terms of animal fats I'm going to put

chicken fat in the AIDS here it still

maybe shouldn't be your go-to but the

upsides are definitely there coconut oil

is probably the most controversial item

on this list and is by far the highest

in saturated fat it's mainly made up of

a unique medium chain saturated fatty

acid called Lower gas acid but contains

several other types of saturated fatty

acids including two other notable medium

chain fatty acids caprylic acid and

capric acid medium chain triglycerides

specifically lauric acid are linked with

weight loss specifically fat burning

when compared to other saturated fats A

reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's

disease antimicrobial and anti-fungal

properties and it's mainly used for

energy functioning similarly to

carbohydrates in that way coconut oil as

a whole is a good source of antioxidants

like tocopherols flavonoids and

polyphenols which have anti-inflammatory

and brain protective benefits as for

cholesterol and heart health it's still

a bit of a mixed bag some more recent

studies show consistent HCL increases

and LDL decreases which is ideal but

most studies throughout history of which

there are many show LDL increases there

does still seem to be a general

consensus that this is one of the oils

that too much is a bad thing and too

much can come quicker than most other

oils but opinions on coconut oil have

changed drastic over the last couple

decades I believe mainly due to the

uniqueness of its medium chain saturated

fatty acids and if there's one item on

this list I have hopeful optimism for

this is it that all to say I'm going to

put coconut oil in the beets here

corn oil is mainly made up of

polyunsaturated fat the biggest

contributor being the omega-6 linoleic

acid but before I break that down corn

oil has a pretty high amount of vitamin

E and is rich in phytosterols that have

anti-inflammatory effects notably beta

cytosterol which is shown to help

decrease overall blood cholesterol

levels but getting back to omega-6 if

there's one thing you've heard about

polyunsaturated fats is that there's two

subtypes that your body cannot make on

its own Omega-3s and omega-6s both of

these are needed for optimal bodily

function with omega-6s like linoleic

acid being used to stimulate skin and

hair Health maintain bone health

regulate metabolism and maintain

reproductive Health the catch is that

the ratio at which you consume Omega-3s

and omega-6s is important as it has been

shown that too much omega-6 to omega-3

can result in inflammation and various

chronic diseases such as heart disease

diabetes arthritis and Alzheimer's

ideally you get as close to a one-to-one

ratio as possible but a four to one

ratio of Omega a 6 to omega-3 is still

generally considered safe the problem is

that the average Western diet typically

sees a ratio of about 15 to 1 and oils

like corn oil are not helping in that

case they definitely have their place

especially if you're aware of all the

ways that this ratio can be offset but

realistically you can do so much better

than corn oil it has its merits but I'm

going to put it in the d-tier cottonseed

oil is mainly made up of polyunsaturated

fats with the most prominent fatty acid

once again being litholic acid it's a

solid source of vitamin E and vitamin K

and is shown to overall contribute

positive effects on cholesterol

consistently showing to lower LDL levels

but the main point to pay attention to

is those omega-6s again they're

necessary for skin bone and reproductive

Health but cottonseed oil is definitely

not helping balance that ratio to help

prevent potential inflammation again you

can do better than cottonseed oil and

I'm going to put it in the d-tier duck

fat is another fairly balanced poultry

fat it's mainly made up of the

consistently heart healthy oil acid and

is notably highest in saturated fat

among the poultry fats but is still

lower than butter lard and Tallow duck

fat is shown to lower LDL cholesterol

and as a whole reduce risks of certain

chronic diseases duck fat is also higher

in choline which is needed for the

neurotransmitter acetylcholine again the

relevant amount of animal-based

saturated fats still gives many people

pause but duck fat is still one of the

better options even for this and comes

with its own distinct benefits while you

probably shouldn't cook exclusively with

duck fat I'm going to put it in the

eights here flaxseed oil is mainly made

up of polyunsaturated fat but does

something really novel by having most of

it being the omega-3 fatty acid

linolenic acid and the main draw of

flaxseed oil is that linolenic acid

which is shown to boost heart health

reduce inflammation and lower risks of

certain cancers while easing symptoms of

arthritis it's also a solid source of

vitamin E which is used for skin health

and wound healing now unfortunately the

main draw here the Omega-3s does come

with a couple caveats alpha linolenic

acid as found in flaxseed oil is a nice

omega-3 boost but the conversion to use

rate is fairly poor compared to those

found in seafood and fish oils and thus

those are still highly suggested the

other issue is that flaxseed oil has a

very low smoke point and is thus not

recommended for cooking just drizzle it

over a salad or something but overall

flaxseed oil is one of those oils that

simply doesn't really seem to do

anything wrong and one that you can

freely use regularly without much worry

thus I'm going to put it in the eights

here ghee is clarified butter made by by

separating butter fat from milk solids

and water thus it's primarily made of

saturated fat and somewhat resembles

butter like butter the main fatty acids

to pay attention to are palmitic acid

stearic acid and butyric acid with the

first two being your typical longer

chain animal fats having a generally

neutral effect on cholesterol and

butyric acid being a shorter chain acid

shown to reduce intestinal inflammation

treat IBS and improve insulin

sensitivity the medium chain and shorter

chain triglycerides are consistently

shown to be more beneficial ghee

consistently contains more vitamin A

than butter which is mainly used for Eye

Health and preservation and conjugated

linoleic acid a natural trans fat shown

to Aid with fat loss ghee also contains

a way higher smoke points and is

virtually guaranteed to be lactose free

while the differences are subtle ghee is

just the better butter and I think it's

earned a spot in the eighth year goose

fat is mainly made up of monounsaturated

fat in fact it's the highest in

monounsaturated fats of all the animal

fats on this list mainly being oleic

acid that oleic acid is shown to benefit

heart health by managing cholesterol

levels and reducing the risk of heart

disease goose fat is a good source of

choline and is the lowest in saturated

fat of all the animal fats on this list

it still maybe shouldn't be your go-to

but as a whole I'm going to put goose

fat in the AIDS here grapeseed oil is

mainly made up of polyunsaturated fats

in fact it's the highest on this list in

polyunsaturated fats and by extension

omega-6 fatty acids those omega-6s

namely linoleic acid are overall good

for cholesterol and play key roles in

skin bone and reproductive health and

grapeseed oil is high in vitamin E an

antioxidant known for its skin health

benefits however grape seed oil is the

worst culprit for throwing off your

omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio which when left

unchecked can lead to inflammation in

various chronic diseases and so grape

seed oil finds itself in the d-tier with

some of the other seed oils hazelnut oil

is made almost entirely of

monounsaturated fats namely oleic acid

are resident heart healthy fatty acid

shown to manage cholesterol levels and

blood pressure and reduce the risk of

cardiovascular disease it's also one of

the best sources on this list of vitamin

E an antioxidant used for skin health

and wound healing I don't know why

hazelnut oil isn't talked about more

because it's nothing short of amazing

I'm going to put it in the top tier lard

is a mix of fatty acid types mainly

monounsaturated and saturated fats I

love how what I thought was the most

stereotypically saturated fat full item

on this list isn't even mainly made up

of saturated fat and the saturated fats

found in lard palmitic and stearic acid

contribute primarily in neutral effects

on cholesterol anyways one that gets

outshined by the heart healthy oleic

acid we've discussed so much it's not

going to contribute much to your

Omega-3s or omega-6s and has a nice

little vitamin boost to go along with it

lard is about as middle of the road in

every aspect as far as fats go and I

honestly don't understand why it gets

such a bad reputation I wouldn't say use

it all the time but in moderation it

shouldn't cause any harm in a

well-balanced diet and for that I'm

going to put it in the B tier margarine

is generally made up of a blend of

different types of fats it's usually

made from vegetable oils namely corn

cotton seed safflower soy and sunflower

oils now modern day margarine is mainly

made up of our heart-healthy oleic acid

and that's about where the good ends

traditional margarine is basically

synonymous with partial hydrogenation

and the presence of risky trans fats

it's usually highly processed and

infused with chemicals and preservatives

and all of this still applies to

margarine in many of the countries

outside of the states however since

trans fats were banned in the U.S

recently companies have started using a

couple other processes to achieve the

desirable butter like texture from

vegetable oils the first is just full

hydrogenation creating artificial solid

saturated fats as opposed to semi-solid

trans fats and while this concept is

still fairly young so far it's not

seeming much better the other is called

interestification which is hardened by

combining saturated fats and unsaturated

oils and while the jury's still

primarily out on this one I'm not

holding my breath for it to be much

better overall there's just no real

reason to use margarine if you care at

all about your health especially with so

many other safer more studied and more

nutritious options and because of that

it's going in the F tier olive oil is

overwhelmingly made up of

monounsaturated fats particularly the

generally agreed upon to be heart

healthy oleic acid oleic acid is great

for managing cholesterol levels raising

HCL and lowering LDL and is shown to

lower blood pressure levels and reduce

the risk of cardiovascular disease olive

oil also has notable links to reduced

risk of certain cancers certain

respiratory diseases and type 2 diabetes

it's a pretty solid source of vitamin K

which is mainly used for blood clotting

and vitamin E and antioxidant knowns for

its skin health benefits olive oil also

contains a wide array of phenolic

compounds phytochemicals with

anti-inflammatory properties notably

oleocanthal which seems to have a

protective effect against Alzheimer's

disease the main draw of the popular

extra virgin olive oil is less

refinement and a higher concentration of

fat soluble vitamins and antioxidants

and the only notable drawback of extra

virgin olive oil is that it's not

recommended for super high heat cooking

overall olive oil stands the test of

time as one of the best cooking fats

there is and it's earned a spot in the

top tier palm oil is mainly made up of

saturated fats followed closely by

monounsaturated fat the palmitic Acid

found in palm oil is shown to have a

neutral to slightly negative effect in

regards to cholesterol but studies on

how palm oil affects overall heart

health are all across the board with

some studies showing protection against

heart diseases and even going as far as

to say it's LDL lowering effect is

comparable to that of olive oil but the

majority of them are not nearly that

positive palm oil does contain tocal

triadles a form of vitamin E known for

its brain protective benefits the thing

is you can usually just do a lot better

than palm oil and while it's probably

better than the typical seed oil I'm

going to put it in the seeds here peanut

oil is mainly monounsaturated fats

specifically the heart healthy oleic

acid and in fact the high overall

unsaturated fat concentration leads

peanut oil to be very heart healthy on

top of that peanut oil is shown to

improve insulin sensitivity the thing is

that omega-3 to omega-6 ratio is

literally non-existent and in excess can

lead to some serious inflammation

overall peanut oil is a fine oil to use

in moderation and I'm going to put it in

the seeds here rice brain oil is a mix

of fat mainly mono and polyunsaturated

the two main fatty acids are oleic and

linoleic acids both of which are shown

to overall improve cholesterol levels

and heart health rice bran oil contains

an impressive amount of vitamin E an

antioxidant known for its skin health

and wound healing effects it also

contains original which is shown to

suppress inflammation and to a lesser

extent enhance immune response but rice

bran oil is often highly processed so

these nutrients are usually a bit

hampered and even at its best rice bran

oil still has a high amount of omega-6

and realistically very little omega-3

not the worst choice in the world but

I'm going to put rice bran oil in the

seeds here safflower oil is an

interesting subject it comes in two main

varieties high oleic and Highland no

league with the primary fatty acids in

each being pretty self-explanatory these

are the numbers for the better and

seemingly more common High oleic

safflower oil at its highest safflower

oil has just as much oleic acid as other

vegetable oils like avocado and olive

oil that oleic acid is overall HDL

boosting and LDL lowering while also

shown to reduce inflammation and manage

blood pressure both types of safflower

oil are pretty high in vitamin E but

Highland oleic safflower oil more

closely resembles other seed oils with a

crazy high omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio

potentially contributing to inflammation

or raising chances of certain chronic

diseases this makes a pretty drastic

difference so I'm going to put High

oleic safflower oil in the eights here

but Highland oleic safflower oil would

be more at home in the sea tier sesame

oil is a pretty even split between mono

and polyunsaturated fat those mainly

being oleic and linoleic acids both of

which are shown to generally be heart

healthy and just like sesame seeds

sesame oil has a lot going for it under

the surface sesame oil is known for its

anti-inflammatory and antioxidant

properties shown to reduce blood

pressure and regulate blood sugar its

antioxidant sesimal is shown to have

neural protective benefits and help

prevent Parkinson's disease sesame oil

is also shown to improve symptoms of

arthritis it does have the issue of an

awful omega-3 to omega-6 ratio

potentially leading to inflammation but

it's probably the best of the oils that

have that issue and for that I'm going

to put it in the beads here vegetable

shortening is a pretty even blend

between saturated and monounsaturated

fats it's usually made from cotton seed

Palm or soybean oils much like margarine

traditional shortening was once defined

by its trans fats and even though those

are banned in the states many vegetable

shortenings in other countries will

still contain them these days shortening

is often created through full

hydrogenation making artificial

saturated fats an interestification

which chemically messes with a variety

of pre-exist fatty acids to mimic taste

and texture both of these processes are

still relatively new in shortening and

while they're in theory better than

trans fats there haven't been enough

human studies to confirm this all in all

too I assume no one's surprise

shortening is not going to be escaping

the F tier soybean oil is mainly made up

of polyunsaturated fats specifically the

omega-6 linoleic acid this is shown to

be generally heart healthy and

beneficial for cholesterol soybean oil

is a great source of vitamin K which is

mainly known for blood clotting and it's

also shown to support bone health

however like many other oils on this

list in excess it can cause an

unevenness between your Omega-3s and

your omega-6s and for that I'm going to

put soybean oil in the seeds here

sunflower oil is very similar to

safflower oil in the sense that it comes

in two main types high oleic and

hyalinoleic with each typically

representing at least 70 percent of the

fatty acid makeup once again we'll be

looking at the high oleic option more

closely which is shown to be beneficial

for cholesterol and heart health while

combating inflammation it's also among

the highest of the oils in vitamin E in

a very similar fashion High linoleic

sunflower oil is reminiscent of the

other seed oils with a wickedly High

omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio potentially

leading to inflammation if left

unchecked so I'm going to be putting

High oleic sunflower oil in the eights

here while Highland oleic would be in

the seeds here beef Tallow is a pretty

even split between saturated and

monounsaturated fat what the main

contributors being oleic palmitic and

stearic acids the oleic acid in Tallow

is shown to be generally heart healthy

and so are the typically minimally

processed saturated fatty acids Tallow

is a good source of choline just not as

much as the poultry fence but Tallow

does excel in being rich in conjugated

linoleic acid a natural ruminant trans

fat shown to Aid with weight loss Talos

also shown to be good for skin Health

overall Tallow is a solid fat choice

that I think often goes under the radar

I'm going to put it in the B tier and

last on this list we've got walnut oil

walnut oil is primarily made up of

polyunsaturated fat with an actually

decent amount of it being the omega-3

linolenic acid linolenic acid is shown

to be heart protective and stress and

inflammation reducing walnut oil is also

high in polyphenols notably lagenamins

which have anti-inflammatory and blood

sugar regulatory properties it's also

shown to lead to better cognitive

function now walnut oil still has a

pretty high omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio but

one that's a bit safer than most

polyunsaturated fat dominant oils the

main downside to walnut oil is that it's

not really recommended for cooking but

overall I think this is a really

underutilized Choice that's going to

round out our list in the B tier so fats

and oils literally calories incarnate to

some unnecessary evil and to others the

part that makes or breaks a meal I think

we can all agree that we need fats in

our diet and I think we can all agree

that we need somewhat of a variety of

them as well just in the same way that

you can't build a proper house without

both brick and mortar you can't build a

proper body without different types of

fats and even though you may need more

of one than another it doesn't make the

other parts inferior or any less

necessary just as with anything in life

or nutrition balance is required except

trans fats those still suck but I think

Beyond those relatively vague and mostly

affable claims I'm gonna have a hard

time keeping everybody on the same page

there's no denying that this is one of

the most controversial topics in

nutrition and I've been putting this

list off for a while I don't think

you're stupid if you disagree with me

there's so much conflicting information

out there the most important part is

making an active effort to understand

why we consume what we consume and if

you can feel confident in justifying a

choice that's really all most of us

because you right now now if you enjoyed

the video or at the very least learned a

little something I encourage you to

subscribe because there's plenty more of

these on the way let me know which food

group you think I should make a tier

list for next and remember that all I

ask is that you advocate for your body

you only get the one