Benefits of Cottonseed Oil

There’s a good chance you have not heard of cottonseed oil, but you may have eaten it fairly often anyway. Cottonseed oil has been used for over a century for many different reasons. It has become a common ingredient in many of our foods, but you probably didn’t even taste it. But what exactly is cottonseed oil? And why is it being used in so many of our foods? If your asking these questions, we are here to help.

 

We should first tell you what cottonseed oil is. Cottonseed oil is a cooking oil that comes from cottonseed plants. It is very similar to other cooking oils, such as canola oil and soybean oil, and it has a very mild taste. Because of its consistency, taste, and ability to be put into high temperatures without changing, it makes it ideal for different methods of cooking. It is frequently used in air frying, baking and deep-frying, making its uses variable. Besides food, cottonseed oil can also be found in many soaps and other cosmetics. There is a wide application of cottonseed uses as an oil, but the main one people are interested in is our foods.

 

If cottonseed oil is in so many of our foods, there must be a reason for it. For starters, cottonseed oil is much cheaper to produce than some of the other oils. This makes it ideal for food producers since they won’t have to spend as much money. Since they are spending less, they can charge less, so using cottonseed oil allows food to be more affordable at the grocery store. Also, because of its neutral taste, it is able to enhance the natural taste of the ingredients it is mixed with, unlike the other oils. Companies producing food can therefore add cottonseed oil without fear that it will ruin the taste of the product.

 

We now know why companies like to add cottonseed oil into their products, but why should you consume it? There are some health benefits to consuming cottonseed oil, as long as it is done in moderation. Compared to other oils, cottonseed oil is very low in trans-fats. Too much trans-fats in your diet is unhealthy for you, and therefore you should try to limit your intake of them. Using cottonseed oil instead of say, canola oil, allows you to have less trans-fats in your diet. On top of this, cottonseed oil is also very high in Vitamin E. Vitamin E is a strong antioxidant, which can help prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease. If you are not getting enough Vitamin E in your diet, adding more foods with cottonseed oil could be a nice solution for you.

 

Like anything, you should moderate the amount of cottonseed oil in your diet. Consuming too much of any one thing can be bad for you, and cottonseed oil is no different. If you are curious as to how much cottonseed oil you should be consuming, or if you would just like to learn more information about it, there are resources on the web that can help. You should always know as much as you can about the foods you are consuming in order to have a healthy body. Hopefully this article was able to shed a little bit of light on the benefits of cottonseed oil for you, so that you can know about the things you are putting into your body and how they are affecting you.