{
  "meta": {
    "title": "Cooking oils",
    "updated": "2026-10-04",
    "itemCount": 12,
    "disclaimer": "Educational reference for common bottled cooking oils. Not medical advice, not a diet prescription, and not a cooking safety guarantee.",
    "heartHealth": {
      "summary": "Replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat is associated with lower LDL cholesterol in controlled feeding studies reviewed by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans advisory process. Mediterranean-style eating patterns that emphasize olive oil and other unsaturated fats are associated with lower cardiovascular risk in observational cohorts. Those are population patterns and lipid trials, not proof that one oil adds years of life.",
      "sources": [
        {
          "label": "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025",
          "url": "https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf"
        },
        {
          "label": "Guasch-Ferré 2022, Journal of the American College of Cardiology (olive oil intake and mortality)",
          "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2021.10.041"
        }
      ]
    },
    "nutrients": {
      "basis": "Per 100 g edible portion unless noted",
      "note": "Fatty acids and vitamin E are USDA FoodData Central values on the cited row. Energy is reported as kcal per 100 g on SR Legacy oil rows (typically 884 kcal) and on Foundation Foods where published. When a nutrient is omitted on the FoodData Central profile, the field stays blank.",
      "source": "https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/",
      "audited": "2026-10-04"
    },
    "water": {
      "summary": "Global average green + blue + grey water footprint, 1996-2005, from Mekonnen and Hoekstra (2011) Table 3 only. Published as cubic meters per metric ton, which equals liters per kilogram of the Table 3 product row. Not a farm-level or U.S. figure.",
      "source": "https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1577-2011",
      "audited": "2026-10-04",
      "policy": "Table 3 derived oil product rows when they match the oil on this list. Primary crop rows are used only when Table 3 has no matching oil product (avocado oil uses Avocados). Appendix figures and proxy crops are not used."
    },
    "heat": {
      "summary": "Smoke point ranges are not on USDA FoodData Central. This starter page does not rank oils for high-heat cooking without a single USDA row. Filters use dominant fatty-acid profile from the cited nutrient row instead.",
      "audited": "2026-10-04"
    }
  },
  "items": [
    {
      "id": "extra-virgin-olive-oil",
      "name": "Extra virgin olive oil",
      "aliases": ["EVOO", "extra virgin olive"],
      "source": "fruit",
      "profile": "monounsaturated",
      "category": "Olive",
      "why": "A monounsaturated-rich oil tied to Mediterranean eating patterns in observational research. Guasch-Ferré and colleagues (JACC, 2022) linked higher olive oil intake with lower total and cause-specific mortality in two U.S. cohorts. That is not a randomized trial of extra virgin olive oil alone.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 884,
        "fatG": 100,
        "satFatG": 15.4,
        "monoFatG": 69.2,
        "polyFatG": 9.07,
        "vitaminEMg": null,
        "fdcId": 748608,
        "description": "Oil, olive, extra virgin (Foundation)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": 14431,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3: Olive oil, virgin (global average total 14 431 L/kg)."
    },
    {
      "id": "olive-oil",
      "name": "Olive oil (salad or cooking)",
      "aliases": ["olive oil", "refined olive oil"],
      "source": "fruit",
      "profile": "monounsaturated",
      "category": "Olive",
      "why": "The generic USDA SR Legacy row for olive oil used in salads and cooking. FoodData Central does not split every retail grade; compare labels when you need cold-pressed or extra virgin specifically.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 884,
        "fatG": 100,
        "satFatG": 13.808,
        "monoFatG": 72.961,
        "polyFatG": 10.523,
        "vitaminEMg": 14.35,
        "fdcId": 171413,
        "description": "Oil, olive, salad or cooking (SR Legacy)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": 14726,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3: Olive oil, refined (global average total 14 726 L/kg). Not the same row as extra virgin."
    },
    {
      "id": "avocado-oil",
      "name": "Avocado oil",
      "aliases": ["avocado"],
      "source": "fruit",
      "profile": "monounsaturated",
      "category": "Fruit oil",
      "why": "A high-monounsaturated oil pressed from avocado fruit. Small clinical studies have looked at lipid effects versus other oils; this page cites the USDA row, not a longevity trial of avocado oil.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 884,
        "fatG": 100,
        "satFatG": 11.56,
        "monoFatG": 70.554,
        "polyFatG": 13.486,
        "vitaminEMg": null,
        "fdcId": 173573,
        "description": "Oil, avocado (SR Legacy)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": 1981,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3: Avocados (1 981 L/kg). Table 3 has no separate avocado oil product row."
    },
    {
      "id": "canola-oil",
      "name": "Canola oil",
      "aliases": ["rapeseed oil", "low erucic acid rapeseed"],
      "source": "seed",
      "profile": "monounsaturated",
      "category": "Seed oil",
      "why": "Low-erucic acid rapeseed oil sold as canola in North America. The USDA row is a refined seed oil with a high monounsaturated share and meaningful polyunsaturated fat.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 884,
        "fatG": 100,
        "satFatG": 7.365,
        "monoFatG": 63.276,
        "polyFatG": 28.142,
        "vitaminEMg": 17.46,
        "fdcId": 172336,
        "description": "Oil, canola (SR Legacy)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": 4301,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3: Rape oil, refined (4 301 L/kg)."
    },
    {
      "id": "sunflower-oil",
      "name": "Sunflower oil",
      "aliases": ["sunflower seed oil"],
      "source": "seed",
      "profile": "polyunsaturated",
      "category": "Seed oil",
      "why": "A linoleic sunflower oil row on FoodData Central. High-oleic sunflower oils differ; this page does not merge them without a separate USDA row.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 884,
        "fatG": 100,
        "satFatG": 10.1,
        "monoFatG": 45.4,
        "polyFatG": 40.1,
        "vitaminEMg": 41.08,
        "fdcId": 171017,
        "description": "Oil, sunflower, linoleic (less than 60%) (SR Legacy)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": 6792,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3: Sunflower seed oil, refined (6 792 L/kg)."
    },
    {
      "id": "sesame-oil",
      "name": "Sesame oil",
      "aliases": ["sesame seed oil"],
      "source": "seed",
      "profile": "polyunsaturated",
      "category": "Seed oil",
      "why": "A toasted or untoasted retail oil may differ from the USDA salad-or-cooking row. Included for its published fatty-acid split and Table 3 water row.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 884,
        "fatG": 100,
        "satFatG": 14.2,
        "monoFatG": 39.7,
        "polyFatG": 41.7,
        "vitaminEMg": 1.4,
        "fdcId": 171016,
        "description": "Oil, sesame, salad or cooking (SR Legacy)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": 21793,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3: Sesame oil (21 793 L/kg)."
    },
    {
      "id": "peanut-oil",
      "name": "Peanut oil",
      "aliases": ["groundnut oil"],
      "source": "legume",
      "profile": "monounsaturated",
      "category": "Legume oil",
      "why": "Pressed from groundnuts. Common in frying and stir-fry; the USDA row is a refined salad-or-cooking oil, not a defatted peanut flour product.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 884,
        "fatG": 100,
        "satFatG": 16.9,
        "monoFatG": 46.2,
        "polyFatG": 32,
        "vitaminEMg": 15.69,
        "fdcId": 171410,
        "description": "Oil, peanut, salad or cooking (SR Legacy)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": 7529,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3: Groundnut oil, refined (7 529 L/kg)."
    },
    {
      "id": "coconut-oil",
      "name": "Coconut oil",
      "aliases": ["copra oil"],
      "source": "fruit",
      "profile": "saturated",
      "category": "Tropical oil",
      "why": "Very high saturated fat on the USDA row. Population studies of coconut oil and heart disease are mixed and often confounded by overall diet; this page lists nutrients only.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 892,
        "fatG": 99.06,
        "satFatG": 82.475,
        "monoFatG": 6.332,
        "polyFatG": 1.702,
        "vitaminEMg": 0.11,
        "fdcId": 171412,
        "description": "Oil, coconut (SR Legacy)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": 4490,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3: Coconut (copra) oil, refined (4 490 L/kg)."
    },
    {
      "id": "flaxseed-oil",
      "name": "Flaxseed oil",
      "aliases": ["linseed oil", "flax oil"],
      "source": "seed",
      "profile": "polyunsaturated",
      "category": "Seed oil",
      "why": "A cold-pressed flaxseed oil row with a very high polyunsaturated share. Often used in small amounts; not a high-heat cooking default on this page.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 884,
        "fatG": 99.98,
        "satFatG": 8.976,
        "monoFatG": 18.438,
        "polyFatG": 67.849,
        "vitaminEMg": 0.47,
        "fdcId": 167702,
        "description": "Oil, flaxseed, cold pressed (SR Legacy)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": 9415,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3: Linseed oil, refined (9 415 L/kg)."
    },
    {
      "id": "walnut-oil",
      "name": "Walnut oil",
      "aliases": ["walnut"],
      "source": "nut",
      "profile": "polyunsaturated",
      "category": "Nut oil",
      "why": "A polyunsaturated-rich nut oil row. Walnuts as whole nuts appear in cohort studies; walnut-oil-specific mortality data are not cited here.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 884,
        "fatG": 100,
        "satFatG": 9.1,
        "monoFatG": 22.8,
        "polyFatG": 63.3,
        "vitaminEMg": 0.4,
        "fdcId": 171030,
        "description": "Oil, walnut (SR Legacy)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": null,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3 lists walnuts as shelled or peeled primary crop, not walnut oil. No oil product row is used."
    },
    {
      "id": "grapeseed-oil",
      "name": "Grapeseed oil",
      "aliases": ["grape seed oil"],
      "source": "seed",
      "profile": "polyunsaturated",
      "category": "Seed oil",
      "why": "A by-product oil row with a high polyunsaturated share. Not the same food as table grapes on the longevity produce page.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 884,
        "fatG": 100,
        "satFatG": 9.6,
        "monoFatG": 16.1,
        "polyFatG": 69.9,
        "vitaminEMg": 28.8,
        "fdcId": 171028,
        "description": "Oil, grapeseed (SR Legacy)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": null,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3 has a Grapes primary crop row, not grapeseed oil. That crop row is not borrowed here."
    },
    {
      "id": "soybean-oil",
      "name": "Soybean oil",
      "aliases": ["soya oil", "vegetable oil soy"],
      "source": "legume",
      "profile": "polyunsaturated",
      "category": "Legume oil",
      "why": "A major refined salad-or-cooking soybean oil row in U.S. diets. Blended vegetable oils without a USDA match stay off this starter list.",
      "nutrients": {
        "kcal": 884,
        "fatG": 100,
        "satFatG": 15.558,
        "monoFatG": 22.794,
        "polyFatG": 57.744,
        "vitaminEMg": 8.18,
        "fdcId": 171411,
        "description": "Oil, soybean, salad or cooking (SR Legacy)"
      },
      "waterLPerKg": 4190,
      "waterNote": "Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 Table 3: Soybean oil, refined (4 190 L/kg)."
    }
  ]
}