Is Corn Oil Healthy?

Corn oil has found its way into a multitude of products in the U.S.  It’s low cost, coupled with widespread availability, has made it popular with industrial producers, and so its found in everything from soaps and biodiesel, to products marketed as being easy healthy snacks – and your pantry.  Its popularity in cooking lies in the combination of cost and high smoke point, making it ideal for high temperature use, such as frying.

Corn Oil

Corn oil, which is found in the germ, accounts for about 4% of the total weight of corn.  Corn oil is obtained by first separating the corn germ from the kernel.  The oil is acquired from the germ by impeller pressing, which removes around 75% of the total oil.  Yields can be improved by using solvents, such as hexane, to extract any remaining oil from the presscake.  Residual solvents are subsequently evaporated from the oil and re-used.  The resulting product is unrefined corn oil, which has a smoke point of 352°F.  Further refining includes removing residual corn oil ingredients, such as free fatty acids or phospholipids, then de-colorizing and de-odorizing.  The finished product has a smoke point of 450°F, making it suitable for both the kitchen, or industry.

Refined corn oil is composed of 15% saturated fat, 30% monounsaturated fat, and 55% polyunsaturated fat.  The primary saturated fat is palmitic acid, which is found in palm oil.  The monounsaturated fat is almost exclusively oleic acid ,which is the fat that made olive oil famous, and the polyunsaturated fat is almost exclusively omega-6.  Like all other plant oils, corn oil has no cholesterol.

While conventional wisdom tells us that polyunsaturated fats should be healthy, more recent studies have suggested that consuming very high amounts of omega-6 fats, relative to omega-3′s, can cause a host of health problems.  The widespread consumption of omega-6 has been blamed for a variety of health problems, and corn oil has been fingered as the culprit, due to its high omega-6 content.

Corn oil also contains vitamin E, with the main constituent being gamma-tocopherol, which is the same form of vitamin E prized by moroccan argan oil advocates for use in cosmetics.  Corn oil contain 8.2 , whereas argan oil comes in at around 9.3 .  Although corn oil doesn’t have the same levels of oleic acid, the amount of vitamin E compares quite favorably.

Generally, I avoid using much corn oil in my cooking or baking endeavors.  Although advocates say it contributes very little flavor, my experience says otherwise.  Not only that, the perceived need to increase omega-3 consumption makes it less than appealing.

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