Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
Organic Ghee from Grass-Fed CowsMacadamia Nut Oil: Better than Olive Oil?
Have you tried macadamia nut oil yet?
NOW brand gets great reviews. Buy it on Amazon here or iHerb here
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I’ve tried several brands of macadamia nut oil.
There is some variation in taste but, wow, mac oil is flavorful, yet mild enough to go with many different foods.
The price can be pretty reasonable, often much less than good quality extra virgin olive oil.
It’s often claimed that olive oil is the healthiest oil for humans to consume.
To be precise, it’s extra virgin olive oil that is supposed to be so healthy.
Although extra virgin olive oil has properties that may be positive for health, some of the beneficial compounds are partly (or entirely) destroyed by heat.
Therefore, to get all of the potential benefits, you need to add extra virgin olive oil to food after cooking, or to heat it minimally.
The truth is that the best extra virgin olive oil is probably neutral at best, neither particularly good or bad for health. If you like olive oil, then using a small amount of a good quality extra virgin olive oil, unheated, or minimally heated, is better than using most other vegetable oils. But there are better choices, like macadamia nut oil.
Olivado Macadamia Nut Oil - one of my favorite brands
Why Macadamia Nut Oil is Better than Olive Oil
1. Better Fatty Acids for Health + More Vitamin E to Prevent Rancidity
Macadamia nut oil is higher in ‘healthy’ monounsaturated fat than olive oil – a whopping 80% of the fat in the oil is mono compared to ~ 74% in olive. Both mac and olive oil are FAR higher in mono than canola *, which only contains ~ 58% monounsaturated fat.
Macadamia nut oil is the best plant source of palmitoleic acid, an omega-7 monounsaturated fat. This is the most prominent fatty acid in human sebum.
Palmitoleic acid has positive effects on blood lipids, without the oxidative potential of the unsaturated fatty acids, like omega-6. It also makes an effective moisturizer if you want to use the oil topically.
Mark Sisson author of The Primal Blueprint says that he shaved with macadamia nut oil to great effect. 6 drops applied to his shower-softened facial hair was all that he needed. He also liked the way that he could see where he was going with his razor – no foam.
Okay, shaving with mac oil is a bit extravagant, but I wanted to mention it because if you don’t like the mac oil you buy for some reason, it isn’t a total waste – you can use it on your skin.
Macadamia nut oil contains a good ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fat – a better ratio than olive oil, and very little omega- 6 overall compared to olive oil (~ 3% vs ~ 8% in olive oil) Most people get far too much omega 6 thanks to the increased use of crappy vegetable oils like corn and soy and safflower in the last few decades.
Macadamia nut oil contains more vitamin E than olive oil. This, with the low level of polyunsaturated fats it contains, makes it less prone to go rancid. The shelf life after opening is about twelve months without refrigeration.
2. More Versatile
Mildly nutty, yet intriguingly buttery, macadamia nut oil marries well with many foods. Unlike extra virgin olive oil, which has a strong flavor, macadamia nut oil is a LOT more versatile.
Devoted fans of olive oil may like the taste of the oil in different dishes, even cake, but I sure don’t, and I’m not alone.
You can use macadamia nut oil in some cake and quick bread recipes that call for oil because it’s far milder than olive. For example, it would probably work well in some of the gluten free cake recipes on the sites I mention in my post Gluten Free Cake Recipes: 7 Good Online Resources. However, if you want an unflavored cooking oil to safely bake with, I recommend that you melt some unflavored coconut oil and use that instead.
I particularly like how macadamia nut oil tastes with fish, poultry and lamb dishes, and carrots.
People love it in home made salad dressing.
Sometimes I have mixed 2 parts coconut oil and 1 part macadamia nut oil together to flavor tuna salad. Very nice.
And if you like to make your own mayonnaise, it’s a great oil to use, apparently. I haven’t tried that yet.
3. Higher Smoke Point
Smoke point is the temperature that oil burns and develops off flavors.
Macadamia nut oil smokes at ~ 450°F, compared to extra virgin olive oil’s ~4oo°F.
Also, unlike extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil keeps it’s flavor at that high heat.
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Better Fat Choices: Quick Advice About Fats
Get most of your dietary fat from truly outstanding choices, namely:
* Coconut oil
There are healthy unflavored kinds if you don’t like a coconut taste. See Where to Buy Coconut Oil to learn more.
* Butter or ghee. See Is Butter Healthy?
* Fat from the meat on naturally raised grass-fed ruminants (cows, bison, sheep)
100% grass-fed is best, but if you can’t get that, then naturally raised grain finished meat is ok.
For flavor, on occasion, use the following plant oils:
* Macadamia nut oil
* Extra virgin olive oil, but ideally you should favor mac oil!
* ALERT: canola oil is junk, even the organic non-GMO stuff. It’s far too high in omega-6 and it’s closer to a frankenfood than most people realize. Toss canola oil ASAP if it’s in your home, don’t buy foods that contain it, and inform restaurants and manufacturers that you don’t want them to use canola either.
2 Responses to “Macadamia Nut Oil: Better than Olive Oil?”
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I been using mac nut oil. I haven’t tried the brands you recommended but may the next time I am out. I really try to use it sparingly because it is so costly. I’ve been meaning to try making mayo with part mac oil and part MCT oil and then ferment it so it lasts longer.
Hi Lucy,
Using the MCT oil sounds like a great idea! If you make that and ferment it, I’d love to know how it turns out. I have a bottle of NOW MCT oil in my cupboard.