Why Grape Seed Oil???

I received a comment the other day asking about the difference between Grape Seed Oil and Olive Oil and when I use which and why... so here's a brief breakdown of MY understanding...

I switched over to Grape Seed Oil with my cooking when I first heard about the high Smoke Point it has (421 degrees F) which means that you can use it to cook food up to that temperature without the oil breaking down or deteriorating or really changing flavor. Olive Oil on the other hand has a lower Smoke Point (350 degrees F) which means that when you cook with it, be it sauteing, frying, or baking it will begin to break down, change flavors, and possibly even let off a toxicity which you can often smell when cooking with it at high temperatures. So almost always, I use Grape Seed Oil when cooking with heat- with the exception of Coconut Oil (I use that when cooking eggs and when making baked goods, it's Smoke Point is 360 for reference) and I leave my Olive Oil for "cold cooking" such as salad dressings and the like.

All 3 oils that I mentioned above have great health benefits as well. For instance, Grape Seed Oil contains antioxidants as well as Vitamin E & C and beta-carotene. It has also been shown to lower LDL cholesterol ("bad cholesterol") and increase HDL ("good cholesterol"). Similar findings have been shown with Olive Oil, as well as it's benefits for the heart and preventions of cancer.