Reusing Oil For Cooking - Why You Should Never Do It!

Reusing or reheating can lead you to so many health problems like experiencing acidity frequently and rise in cholesterol levels. This is a very usual practice in the common people's kitchen and lifestyle. This situation is very dangerous and the problem is ignored so much and no one pays attention to the after effects of this.

The fancy name used for the reusing of cooking oil or raising the temperature of a cooking oil to high temperatures repeatedly is thermal abuse of frying oil. This is a condition which is very commonly noticed in restaurants for serving items which need frying like french fries and the oil used is constantly heated. Oil is also reused when you are deep frying and changing the oil on a frequent basis does not go with the economic point of view.

Points to be kept in mind while reusing cooking oil

Bacteria and free radicals

If the cooking oil which is used before and is not stored with proper straining and it should be stored after it loses its heat which means when the used oil becomes cool. There should not be any kind of food particles left in the oil as bacteria feeds or grows on them. Growth of a bacteria named clostridium botulinum is seen when the used oil is not refrigerated and this leads to botulism which increases the risk of dangerous food poisoning.

Bacterial growth does not take place in freezing or refrigerated cooking oil. Oil contains a lot of free radicals in it and molecules which are known to harm our cells and make the condition worse by increasing the chances for cancer. You should avoid using rancid (old and stale) oil as this ruins the quality of the food and has many health related issues, but you should not worry about it much because our nose easily identifies rancid oil.

Smoke point

It is the point or temperature at which the breaking down of oil starts and leads to the formation of smoke. Usually vegetable oil tends to have greater smoke point than that of oils made up of animal fat or refined oil. The smoke point drops every time you reuse the cooking oil.

Cooking oil with a very high smoke point is very expensive

You can reuse a perfectly stored cooking oil which was not overheated in its first use but you should discard the cooking oil as soon as you notice smoke coming from it. You should use cooking oil having a greater smoke point than 375 degree Fahrenheit, if any cooking oil has smoke point less than it will never be fit for reusing.

Storing oil for reuse

You should follow the proper steps for storing the used cooking oil. The steps for proper storage of cooking oil are :

• Bring down the temperature of the cooking oil which means let the cooking oil cool down to a temperature which is easy to handle.
• Strain the cooking oil through layers of coffee filters, paper towel or cheesecloth so that all the food particles present in the cooking oil have been removed. 
• It should be stored in a clear glass jar or container.
• The jar is to be sealed tightly and the date is to be mentioned on the label.
• Do not refrigerate or freeze this used cooking oil for over a month of time.
• Never mix this oil with an oil which is unused.

After refrigeration or freezing you may notice cloudiness in the oil but this will disappear after you bring the cooking oil out to room temperature. A cooking oil which has foam, bad or foul odour, smelling like the food which was cooked in it previously or changes its colour while heating should never be considered for reuse. 

Risks involved with the reusing of oil without any kind of precautions

Oil becomes carcinogenic because of reuse

Any kind of substance which has become carcinogenic can lead the person to a greater cancer risk. It is found that the more you reheat or reuse a cooking oil the more aldehyde toxic elements are produced from it. The person can experience problems like inflammation when you eat food which is cooked by reusing a cooking oil as this increases the amount or number of free radicals inside the body.  Inflammation is considered as the main reason behind many other dangerous conditions or problems like obesity, diabetes and heart diseases. Your body can lose its immunity power and become less immune to diseases which makes the person more prone to infection because of high Inflammation.

Increase in the LDL cholesterol

Consumption of food which is cooked in smoked or black oil which has been used repeatedly and reheated for many times results in the increase of level of LDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is considered as bad cholesterol for our body because when the level of this cholesterol increases in our body it leads to so many dangerous conditions and risks like chest pain, stroke and various heart diseases. A lot of cholesterol related problems can be avoided by refusing to cook food in used cooking oil.

Acidity

When the burning sensation in the throat and stomach area increases and becomes a persistent and frequent problem than usual, then you should know that the reason behind this condition is eating food which is cooked in reheated or reused cooking oil. You should stop and avoid eating food from roadside, junk food and deep fried food when you start to experience more acidity than usual. Following this will surely help you reduce the acidity and will help you know the reason behind your acidity problem.

Weight Gain

The usage of cooking oil which has been used earlier can result in weight gain which leads to an overweight condition called obesity which is very dangerous and is not at all healthy. This condition of obesity leads to very serious problems such as diabetes, heart diseases, liver problems etc.

Conclusion

You should be aware of the problems associated with the reuse of cooking oil and the after effects. If you want to reuse a cooking oil you should properly strain it and clear it with all the steps stated above. You should never take any kind of food product which is cooked in this kind of oil. The steps mentioned in this article will surely prove helpful for you to not get any kind of problem and stay away from life threatening diseases or conditions. Always consume food cooked in healthy oil for a healthy life.

EAT HEALTHY STAY HEALTHY!