Ok, there's a controversy that I wasn't aware of concerning oils.  (visit
the newsgroup misc.health.alternative and sci.med.nutrition for those who
are curious)  From all the accumulated knowlege that I picked up over the
past few months, I have learned that certain oils are healthier than others.
Recently, there have been a number of conflicting views on which oils are
the healthy.  I am confused now with all these conflicting views, so if
anybody wants to make sense out of it, be my guest.  I am interested in
hearing any comments/critiques on what I currently know about fats.

Here's my ranking of the healthiest fats from best to worst:

1) Esential fatty acids:  Flax seed oil, fish oil, fats in vegetables,
borage, primrose, hemp oil, etc.

Flax seed oil must be processed by the manufacturer by not exposing it to
air or light.  The best manufacturers the maintain the highest level of
quality controls are Flora and Arrowhead Mills.  Recently, some medical
abstracts show that EFA's suppress the immune system.  I'm not sure if this
is bad or good because I take flax oil regularly and see a vast improvement
in my skin and hair complexion.  I'm wondering what is the safest dose?  Dr.
Weil does not recommend fish oil because he says that there can be toxic
compounds in them.

2) Unsaturated fats:  Olive oil, Canola, peanut oil, sunflower, etc.

In Ray Peat's article "Toxicity of Unsaturated Oils"
at: http://garcia.efn.org/~raypeat/nutri.html

This article really throws me off.  The author says that Canola oil is
toxic, and coconut oil is one of the most healthiest oils.  And I thought
that canola was one of the healthiest oils??

3) Saturated fats:  butter, animal foods, etc.

The mainstream tells us to reduce these fats as much as possible.  Coconut
oil is highly saturated, but some claim that it is healthy.  Dr. Weil
disaproves of butter because it contain a lot of pesticides which
concentrate in the fat.  I bypassed that by buying butter made from
hormone-free, pesticide-free, free roaming cows ($6 compared to the regular
butter of $1.29!)  Some people say that butter is actually healthy, so I
have been smearing generous amounts of it on my pitas.

4) Trans-fatty acids or hydrogenated oils

The are known as "plastic fats" and should be avoided at all costs.  It
interferes with the body absorbing EFA's.

Cooking with oils:  Always store oils in the refrigerator to prevent
oxidation, and make sure you buy cold-pressed oils.  I was told that peanut
oil and canola oil are the best oils to cook with because they don't oxidize
as much as other oils when heated.

Walter.