Cooking Fats & Oils — Health Quality Comparison

Fat / Oil	SFA (g)	MUFA (g)	PUFA (g)	ω-6 (g)	ω-3 (g)	ω6:ω3	Trans (g)	Vit E (mg)	Smoke Pt (°C)	Ox Stability (h)	Health Score
Extra Virgin Olive	13.8	73.0	10.5	9.8	0.76	12.9	0.00	14.4	190	14.0	60
Avocado Oil	11.6	70.6	13.5	12.5	0.96	13.0	0.00	12.0	271	12.0	64
Coconut Oil	82.5	6.3	1.7	1.7	0.02	85.0	0.00	0.1	232	36.0	44
Butter	51.4	21.0	3.0	2.2	0.32	6.9	3.28	2.3	150	4.0	35
Ghee	61.9	28.7	3.7	2.8	0.47	6.0	2.50	2.8	252	9.0	44
Lard	39.2	45.1	11.2	10.2	1.00	10.2	0.10	0.6	190	8.0	50
Tallow (Beef)	49.8	41.8	4.0	3.1	0.60	5.2	2.60	2.7	250	20.0	50
Duck Fat	33.2	49.3	12.9	12.0	0.90	13.3	0.00	2.7	190	10.0	52
Sunflower (Hi-Ol)	9.7	83.7	3.8	3.6	0.20	18.0	0.00	41.1	232	25.0	69
Sunflower (Hi-Lin)	10.3	19.5	65.7	65.0	0.20	325.0	0.00	41.1	227	3.5	40
Canola Oil	7.4	63.3	28.1	18.6	9.14	2.0	0.04	17.5	204	7.0	72
Soybean Oil	15.7	22.8	57.7	50.4	6.79	7.4	0.53	8.2	234	5.0	47
Corn Oil	12.9	27.6	54.7	53.5	1.16	46.1	0.06	14.8	232	5.0	39
Peanut Oil	16.9	46.2	32.0	32.0	0.00	∞	0.00	15.7	232	8.0	49
Sesame Oil	14.2	39.7	41.7	41.3	0.30	137.7	0.00	1.4	210	6.0	40
Walnut Oil	9.1	22.8	63.3	52.9	10.40	5.1	0.00	0.4	160	2.5	46
Flaxseed Oil	9.4	18.4	67.8	12.7	53.40	0.2	0.00	0.5	107	1.5	50
Grapeseed Oil	9.6	16.1	69.9	69.6	0.10	∞	0.00	28.8	216	3.0	36
Rice Bran Oil	19.7	39.3	35.0	33.4	1.60	20.9	0.00	32.3	254	9.0	54
Palm Oil	49.3	37.0	9.3	9.1	0.20	45.5	0.00	15.9	235	22.0	53
MCT Oil	97.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.00	0.0	0.00	0.0	160	40.0	49
Almond Oil	8.2	69.9	17.4	17.4	0.00	∞	0.00	39.2	216	7.0	62
Macadamia Oil	15.0	78.0	3.0	2.6	0.00	∞	0.00	1.5	210	15.0	53

Worse

Better

Data Sources & Methodology

USDA FoodData Central — nutritional composition per 100 g. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/
Smoke points: The Culinary Institute of America / Serious Eats / Wikipedia compilations. Values vary widely with refining: e.g. refined avocado oil 249–271°C vs. virgin ~190°C; refined canola 204°C vs. expeller-pressed 190–232°C.
Oxidative stability: Rancimat induction times from peer-reviewed lipid chemistry literature. Heating studies (e.g. ACTA Scientific Nutritional Health, 2018) show oxidative stability — not smoke point — best predicts degradation products under heat; extra virgin olive oil was the most stable oil tested despite its ~190°C smoke point.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 (released Jan 2026): prioritize oils with essential fatty acids such as olive oil; keep saturated fat < 10% of calories. Note the advisory committee's recommendation to replace butter with plant-based oils was not adopted in the final edition. https://realfood.gov/

Health Score formula: Composite of 10 sub-scores (each 0–100, then averaged):
Positive: MUFA%, Omega-3, Vitamin E, Smoke Point, Oxidative Stability → higher = better.
Negative: SFA%, Trans Fat, Omega-6:3 Ratio → lower = better.
Moderate: PUFA% → optimal ~15–25%, penalised if too high (oxidation risk) or too low.

Interpretation caveat (updated 2026): The score remains opinionated and reflects a Mediterranean-diet-aligned perspective. Current authoritative evidence is more favourable to omega-6-rich seed oils than this weighting implies: the American Heart Association (2024, corrected 2025), a 30-cohort pooled analysis in Circulation, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School (2025) find linoleic acid intake is associated with lower cardiovascular risk and is not pro-inflammatory, and that the ω6:ω3 ratio is a poor risk marker — guidance is to raise omega-3 intake rather than cut omega-6. The largest recent outcome study (Zhang et al., JAMA Internal Medicine, 2025; N≈221,000) found higher butter intake was associated with increased mortality, while plant-based oils (soybean, canola, olive) were associated with lower mortality — replacing butter with plant oils cut estimated premature-death risk by up to 17%. Individual health needs may vary.