What is Safflower Oil?
Safflower Oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the seed of safflower plants. Researchers believe safflower oil is the healthier option than olive oil when cooking at high temperature. Some research also suggests it has additional health benefits when people use it for cooking or apply in skin.
In this article we will list the top benefits of safflower oil along with its use, side effects, and compare safflower oil with other daily oils.
Here’s a quick summary about the post:
Inside this article (Quick Summary)
What are the benefits of safflower oil?
Safflower oil offers variety of health benefits. Here are some of the key benefits of safflower oil:
1. Source of fatty acid
Safflower plant is rich in unsaturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. Our body needs these types of fat for regular function. Researchers believe unsaturated fatty acids are more healthy than saturated fats.
These fats help in our memory and hormone regulation allowing our body to absorb fat soluble vitamins like A, D, K and E. It is also rich in fiber content making us feel fuller. It also helps to prevent scarring, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
2. Protects your skin
When you apply safflower oil to your skin, it acts as a shield for acne, eczema, and dark spots. Safflower oil is rich in anti-inflammatory properties which are potentially helpful in treating pimples, acne spots. Antioxidants present in the oil helps your body to keep skin cell in good health.
Palmitoleic acid found in safflower oil helps in delaying appearance of premature aging, moisturizes skin, enhances brightness and elasticity of skin.
3. Lowers Cholesterol levels
Fatty acids like omega-6 present in the safflower helps in lowering the cholesterol level in the body. It also contains linoleic acid which reduces low-density lipoprotein cholesterol which is the primary cause of heart diseases. It also counterattacks hypercholesterolemia (higher cholesterol levels).
4. Prevents Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is the buildup of fats, cholesterol in artery walls commonly known as plaque. These plaques are the major cause of blood clots. Safflower oil is famous for reducing inflammation and preventing the thickening of blood vessels thus preventing atherosclerosis. Also, the linoleic acid present in the oil helps in preventing hardening of the arteries.
5. Reduces risk of obesity
Safflower oil contains some amount of serotonin levels which helps in releasing serotonin. It helps in burning fat and prevents being overweight if used appropriately during cooking. Speaking of cooking, check our healthy crispy fried onion recipe.
6. Prevents constipation
If you frequently suffer from constipation, then you should switch your cooking oil to safflower. It acts as a lubricant in the large intestine. It also acts as a mild laxative and offers relief from straining at hard stools. Additionally, it helps in digestion by strengthening the stomach and intestines.
7. Good for high heat cooking
The smoke point of safflower oil is about 450-degree Fahrenheit meaning it can easily withstand high temperature without oxidizing. This makes safflower oil perfect for high heat cooking like roasting, baking, and frying.
8. Stabilizes blood sugar
Study conducted by Ohio State University concluded that consuming safflower oil for 16 weeks led to significant reduction in hemoglobin A1C, which is a marker used to measure the long-term blood sugar level. Monounsaturated fat also helps in improving insulin sensitivity allowing your body to use insulin more precisely to maintain a stable blood sugar level.
9. Improves heart health
As safflower oil is rich in unsaturated fat and linoleic acid it helps in reducing inflammation and improving heart’s health therefore reducing chances of developing health condition like heart attack and stroke.
Safflower Oil: Nutrition Facts
The following nutrition information is provided by Nutrition Value for the portion size of 224 grams of Safflower oil.
| Calories | 1980 Cal. |
| Saturated Fat | 17 g |
| Carbohydrate | 0 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Vitamin E | 34.1 mg per 100 grams |
| Vitamin K | 7.1 µg per 100 grams |
| Calcium | 0 g |
Safflower Oil: Comparison
Safflower oil is one the best oil for you if you like deep fried foods. Unlike other vegetable oils. Safflower oil can withstand the high temperature making it a perfect choice for deep frying. Here is comparison of safflower oil with other popular cooking oils.
Safflower oil vs Olive oil
Safflower oil has high smoke point than olive oil making it a perfect choice for high temperature cooking. Unlike olive oil, Safflower oil is rich in polyunsaturated fats, linoleic acid, Vitamin E.
Safflower oil is comparatively cheaper than olive oil and have extended health benefits than olive oil. Here is a complete break down between safflower oil and olive oil.
| Safflower Oil | Olive Oil | |
| Content | Rich in polyunsaturated fats, omega-6 fatty acid. | Rich in monounsaturated fat, omega 3 & 6 fatty acid. |
| Vitamins | High amount of Vitamin E | Rich in Vitamin K |
| Smoke Point | 490 ° F | 391° F |
| Types | Oleic and Linoleic | Light, Virgin and Extra Virgin Olive oil |
| Best For | Medium or High heat cooking | Low or no heat cooking |
| Price (Comparison) | Cheap | Expensive |
| Obtained From | Safflower Seeds | Olive Seeds |
Safflower oil vs Sunflower oil
Both Safflower and Sunflower oil are rich in unsaturated fats and are healthier cooking options. Sunflower oil contains 43.9% polyunsaturated fat however safflower contains 12.8% which makes safflower oil best for high temperature cooking.
Safflower oil is rich in antioxidants whereas sunflower oil is rich in vitamin E. Below is the complete breakdown between Safflower oil vs Sunflower oil.
| Safflower Oil | Sunflower Oil | |
| Contents (Fat) | Saturated 7.5%, monounsaturated 75.2%, polyunsaturated 12.8% | Saturated 10%, Monounsaturated 45.4%, polyunsaturated 43.9% |
| Smoke Point | 490 ° F | 449.6 ° F |
| Types | Oleic and Linoleic | High Linoleic, high oleic and mild oleic |
| Best For | Medium or High heat cooking | Medium or High heat cooking |
| Contents (Best For) | Vitamin E and Antioxidants | Vitamin E |
| Obtained From | Safflower Seeds | Sunflower Seeds |
Safflower oil vs Canola oil
Safflower oil is comparatively expensive than canola oil. Safflower oil is mostly high oleic, pressed oil whereas canola oil is lower cost conventional oil. Safflower oil contains 70-75% monounsaturated fats whereas canola oil only has 50-60%.
Below is the complete breakdown between Safflower oil vs Canola oil.
| Safflower Oil | Canola Oil | |
| Contents (Fat) | 70-75% Monounsaturated | 50-60% Monounsaturated |
| Smoke Point | 490 ° F | 399.2 ° F |
| Types | Oleic and Linoleic | Expeller Pressed, Non-GMO Expeller Pressed, Regular and Organic |
| Best For | Medium or High heat cooking | Low or Medium heat cooking |
| Price (Comparison) | Expensive | Cheap |
Safflower Oil vs Rice Barn Oil
Safflower contains 2.73 times more polyunsaturated fat than Rice Barn oil and has comparatively low amount of iron. Both oils are rich in Vitamin E. Both Safflower and Rice Barn oil are rich in omega-6 while contains traces of omega-3.
Below is the complete break down between Safflower oil vs Rice Barn oil.
| Safflower Oil | Rice Barn Oil | |
| Content (Fats) | 12.8% Polyunsaturated, 70-75% monounsaturated | 35% Polyunsaturated, 39.3% monounsaturated |
| Smoke Point | 490 ° F | 449.6 ° F |
| Obtained From | Safflower Seeds | Rice Husk |
| Vitamin E (Per 100g) | 34.1 mg | 32.3 mg |
| Vitamin K (Per 100g) | 7.1 µg | 24.7 µg |
| Best For | Medium or High heat cooking | Medium or High heat cooking |
Safflower Oil vs Avocado Oil
Avocado oil has high smoke point rather than Safflower oil making it best for high heat cooking or frying. Safflower oil contains 6.61% more monounsaturated fat than avocado oil and has 34.77% less saturated fat than Avocado oil.
Below is the complete break down between Safflower oil and Avocado oil.
| Safflower Oil | Avocado Oil | |
| Contents (Fat per 100g) | 75.22g monounsaturated, 7.54g saturated, 12.82g polyunsaturated | 70.55g monounsaturated, 11.56 saturated, 13.49 polyunsaturated |
| Smoke Point | 490 ° F | 520 ° F |
| Best For | Medium or High heat cooking | Medium or High heat cooking |
| Obtained From | Safflower Seeds | Avocado |
| Price (Comparison) | Cheap | Expensive |
Okay! Enough comparison let’s jump to side effects of safflower oil. Safflower oil is a healthier option but only has few side effects.
Side effects of Safflower Oil
Safflower oil does not harm our health if it is consumed in recommended daily amount. However, there is slight chance that it may thin your blood and slow down the blood clotting. This may increase risk of bleeding on people with bleeding disorders or who are undergoing surgery. Additionally, due to slow blood clotting, it may take longer to heal wounds and cuts.
Conclusion
Safflower oil is a healthy high temperature cooking oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids. It offers several health benefits like blood sugar control, improves heart health, enriches skin, lowers inflammation and much more. It is also rich in calories and low in minerals which is a perfect aid as a part of balanced diet.
