Peanut oil is just one of the wide range of oils readily available on the market today. Popularly used in cooking, peanut oil falls under the definition of a superfood. This versatile oil lowers cholesterol levels, can help prevent cancer and lowers blood pressure levels. Moreover maintains healthy skin and improves your body’s overall blood flow. It truly is a wonder straight from nature.
This article will take a detailed look at this health and benefits of peanut oil. Let’s have a look at where this oil can fit in with your daily routine and diet.
What is Peanut Oil
It is another name for groundnut oil or the Arachis oil. Peanut oil is extracted from the edible parts of the peanut plant. The structure of a peanut plant develops the peanuts underground while the flowers stay aboveground. This is the prime reason it is commonly referred to as groundnut oil.
Peanuts are often classified in a group with other nuts like walnuts and almonds. However, peanuts are actually a part of the pea and bean family.
You can find peanut oil in a variety of flavors and fragrances. These fragrances can range from being mildly sweet to being strong and nutty. This gives rise to several varieties of groundnut oils-each made of a different form from the extraction process.
Cold Pressed Oil
In this form, peanuts are crushed to extract their oil outwards. This process is usually performed in low heat conditions, which helps keep the natural essence and maintain its natural nutritional level.
Refined Oil
Here, peanuts are refined and bleached, and often deodorized to remove all the allergens from them. The process makes this oil safe for those who suffer from peanut allergies. They often use this kind of oil in deep frying processes.
Gourmet Oil
Also known as a specialty oil, gourmet peanut oil is roasted and unrefined in nature. This leaves more room for the oil to be intensely flavored. This type of oil is mainly used in stir-frying methods to give the dishes a nuttier flavor.
Peanut Oil Blend
When this oil is mixed with similar ones, it can give rise to other low-priced oils. Soybean oil is just one example of this kind of blend. This often makes this oil affordable to most consumers and restaurateurs. It is seen as a prime choice for deep frying food items.
Nutritional Information
Groundnut oil is used all around the globe as a part of various delicacies. However, it is more widely popular in the Chinese and the South East Asian culture. Its nutrition facts are as follows:
| Fat | 4.5g |
| Calories | 35-40 (approx.) |
| Vitamin E Presence | 0.7mg 4% RD |
| Smoking Point | 437 |
Health Benefits
Here is a closer look at some important health benefits peanut oil offers.
Boost Your Heart Health
The presence of vitamin E in peanut oil works wonders for your body, especially your heart. Vitamin E fights off all radical bodies present in your body. If not targeted, these radical bodies can cause several diseases. Peanut oil is also rich in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, Furthermore, can also lower the risk of heart disease by as much as 30 percent.
Better Cholesterol Levels
Groundnut oil, if used regularly in cooking, can combat various complicated heart conditions while simultaneously bringing down your cholesterol levels. Using peanut oil as a substitute for other cooking oils can help you reduce the cholesterol levels by more than 15 percent. This is because cholesterol-inducing agents are not found in groundnut oil. The cholesterol levels do not rise from the presence of sterol, which can avoid the absorption of cholesterol in the stomach.
Maintains Blood Pressure
The human body produces innumerable hormones throughout the day. One of these hormones, angiotensin, plays a crucial role by constricting our blood vessels, leading to higher blood pressure levels. However, this reaction of the human body is contradicted by resveratrol.
Resveratrol forms a significant part of peanut oil. Its benefits extend far beyond providing our body with the necessary anti-oxidants. This nutrient can help to lower our body’s stress levels, directly benefiting our health. This works wonders for us in extremely high-pressure conditions.
Helps Relieve Arthritis Pain
To reap the benefits of peanut oil, you do not have to stick to conventional means of cooking. You can use this oil topically by applying it to arthritis-affected joints.
The natural pain-relieving properties, also known as anti-inflammatory properties, help reduce arthritis-related pain.
Massaging the oil directly in the skin works wonders by not just combating the pain, but also helping circulate the blood. Mixing it with a petroleum jelly base first can help prolong the pain-relieving process.
Prevention Of Cancer
The oil is rich in antioxidants, specifically resveratrol, which helps promote healthy bodies on the inside. These healthy bodies work directly to eliminate radical bodies.
The radical bodies are dangerous by-products of various cancer-inducing cellular activities. If not combated, your chances of developing cancer over some period are inevitable. Compared to other vegetable oils, groundnut oil works beautifully to keep your body safe and secure.
Beautify Your Skin
Using groundnut oil as a fundamental ingredient in everything you cook will bless your skin with a glow you never thought was possible.
The oil supports your skin’s natural health thanks to the presence of Vitamin E in high quantities.
However, if not used as a cooking ingredient, peanut oil can also be directly applied to your skin by massaging it in gently. This application offers two benefits.
One, it provides your face with the required amount of moisture. And two, it provides you with daily protection against the sun’s harmful UV rays.
Helps Preserve Neurological Functions
As people get older, neurological diseases become more widespread. Though tragic and serious, the potential of this situation happening can be prevented with groundnut oil.
The presence of antioxidants in this oil can help reverse the onset of these neurological dysfunctionalities. Cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s and Dementia can either slow down drastically or can even stop altogether from constant usage.
A Remedy For Constipation
Most cooking oils promise to act as relievers for constipation. However, when it comes to practicality, these oils tend to turn the situation upside down.
Instead of acting as a remedy for constipation, they take things up a notch and often promote diarrhea-like symptoms. Groundnut oil, on the contrary, does what it says.
Unlike other cooking oils, it helps relieve constipation symptoms. As little as one teaspoon of peanut oil every day is more than enough to combat constipation.
Anti-Aging Properties
The oil not only acts as a moisturizer but can also help the skin by providing anti-aging benefits. The presence of Vitamin E works comes into play here too.
The oil can be applied topically to fight off the radical bodies which otherwise promote the signs of aging and wrinkles.
Key To Healthy Hair
Vitamin E, the versatile compound found in peanut oil, works wonders for your hair too. Not only does this oil helps moisturize your hair and scalp, but it also works to prevent split ends and other forms of hair damage.
Moreover, it helps enhance your hair’s overall volume and reduces the loss of necessary protein building blocks.
Better Immune System
Peanut oil has been proven to directly boost your body’s immune system. The presence of resveratrol helps to do so.
This antioxidant body fights off the production and onset of any form of viral and fungal infections, which can otherwise cause serious damage to your internal health.
These antioxidants help stimulate the production of white blood cells to fight off all the alien agents present in our body, making it safe, secure and healthy.
Using Peanut Oil – A Different Perspective
Apart from a direct cooking ingredient and as part of your skin care regime, peanut oil can also be used in a few other ways.
Making Natural Soaps
Thanks to its naturally conditioning properties, you can use the oil to make homemade natural soaps.
The presence of these natural conditioners in the soap will enhance the health of your skin.
Creation Of Biodiesel
Peanuts are composed of more than 50 percent of natural oils, which is the prime reason it can produce such large amounts of biodiesels.
Though this alternative fuel is more expensive compared to its counterparts, it forms a significant part of our future fuel requirements.
Use In Vaccinations
The use of peanut oil in vaccinations has been going on for over fifty decades. It is used in various vaccination shots to enhance immunity levels in a number of people.
Due to its natural antioxidant properties, the oil has become a big part of the medical process.
This oil is truly a versatile ingredient. We can rightly define it as a super food.
You May Also Like
No products found.
Conclusion
Groundnut oil, often overlooked from the health perspective, is a superior super food that can help you in multiple ways.
Not only will it provide your dishes with the ‘nuttiness’ they require, but it will help your body’s antioxidant levels to keep it healthy.
Investing in peanut oil is one of the best decisions you can make. The way you use it is ultimately up to you. The possibilities are endless.
Last update on 2023-04-18 at 02:11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API