Can You Use Avocado Oil For Popcorn?

Avocado oil is a natural oil made from the pulp of the avocado fruit, which grows in tropical and subtropical regions.

Avocados are native to Central America, with Mexico, New Zealand, the United States, South Africa, and Chile being the leading producers of avocado oil today.

For these reasons, they are becoming increasingly popular for cooking and can be used raw or cooked in a diverse range of cuisines.

They’re high in antioxidants such as tocopherols and lutein, which have a number of health benefits.

Tocopherols, a fat-soluble vitamin E molecule, and lutein, a fat-soluble carotenoid pigment, are both better absorbed when ingested with fat.

Hence, avocado oil offers an excellent combination of fats and vitamins that are easily absorbed.

Avocado oil, both refined and unrefined, has a nutritional profile that is more or less similar.

But if you desire a high flavor content, then extra virgin avocado oil extracted mechanically and unprocessed would be a wonderful choice for your dish.

Can You Use Avocado Oil For Stovetop Popcorn?

Avocado oil can be used for high-temperature cooking without the fear of it releasing any toxic compounds and trans-fats into the food.

However, it has to be kept in mind that the smoke point varies depending on the processing level of the oil with the refined avocado oil having the highest smoke point temperature.

Stovetop popcorn is the next best way after the air-popping method that uses no oil.

In fact, it could be considered a better option than the latter if you desire a flavorful, nutritious, and fulfilling snack to control hunger by the addition of avocado oil.

1. Start with high-quality popcorn kernels. Try using organic, non-GMO kernels.
2. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add enough avocado oil to coat the bottom of the pan and add the kernels.
3. Cover the pot or Dutch oven and cook, shaking occasionally, until the kernels have all popped. This should take about 5 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and transfer the popcorn to a large bowl—season with salt, pepper, and any other desired spices or toppings. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Avocado oil is composed of 76 percent monounsaturated fats in the oleic and palmitoleic acids, 12 percent polyunsaturated fats (linoleic and linolenic acids), and 12 percent saturated fats (palmitic and stearic acids).

It also contains loads of potent antioxidants that aid in the battle against free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can cause cell damage over time.

Excess free radicals can lead to a condition called oxidative stress, and prolonged periods of oxidative stress in turn, can lead to serious diseases such as heart disease or cancer.

Some of the potential benefits avocado oil provides are:

1.       Improved heart health

High levels of LDL and triglycerides can build up in the arteries, hardening them and raising the risk of a stroke or heart disease.

Given that there are only a few human studies on the effects of avocado oil on heart health, a small study in humans found that eating avocado oil lowers bad cholesterol LDL, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and inflammatory markers in our body.

This conclusion is supported by several animal experiments that found comparable findings.

Avocado oil has also been shown in a rat experiment to lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure to levels similar to those seen when taking blood pressure medication.

These findings hold a lot of promise in the potential of avocado oil in the prevention and management of risk factors of heart disease.

2.       Improved eye health

Avocado oil contains lutein, a carotenoid pigment found naturally in our eyes, which is a strong antioxidant.

It acts as a light filter in our eyes, protecting them from the sun’s harmful rays.

An eye disease called Age-Related macular degeneration is a leading cause of visual impairment and blindness in the developed world.

In a study called The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), researchers tried different formulations of carotenoids to test their effect on age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

One such formulation was the lutein and zeaxanthin, when administered as a supplement, reduced the incidence of advanced AMD by 25% over 5 years in people already diagnosed with AMD.

However, this study didn’t see any significant results in preventing AMD in non-AMD people over the span of 5 years.

3.       Improves skin health

Avocado oil also contains antioxidants such as vitamin A and vitamin E, which are linked to healthier skin.

In addition, polyunsaturated fatty acids found in avocado oil play an important role as human skin barriers and have some effects on preventing and treating skin inflammation.

Monounsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic acid, are essential for preserving the skin’s water permeability barrier integrity.

As a result, while avocado oil may be applied topically to improve skin health, research shows that the majority of the lipid composition of the body and skin tissues is closely linked to dietary fat intake, and a lack of essential fatty acids or altered fat metabolism can cause significant skin problems.

Thus, a diet rich in unsaturated fats and vitamins is required to avoid premature aging and skin irregularities, which may easily be done by incorporating avocados and their oil into the diet.

4.       Rich in antioxidants

Avocado oil is high in antioxidants, including vitamins and carotenoids, which help protect us from chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Free radicals are an unavoidable part of life and are obtained from various sources such as smoke, pollution, and industrial chemicals.

These unstable molecules are balanced by antioxidants to prevent the body from going into a condition called oxidative stress.

When the body is excessively exposed to oxidative stress, severe diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s, and heart disease can result.

When mixed with popcorn, the powerhouse of polyphenolic antioxidants found in avocado has proven extremely effective in boosting blood flow and lowering the risk of numerous diseases, including cancer.