Cooking Oils Causing Cancer? Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts," I
was diagnosed with an early-stage hormone-positive, pre-
menopausal breast cancer. I have been increasing my intake of
veggies, fruits, omega 3's. Recently, I heard that olive oil
loses its nutritional content at high heats and can actually be
a carcinogen. Is this true? What are the best oils to use for
high heat and for my health. Thanks! Karen Wagner MS, RD, LDN,
Clinical dietitian specialist for the Abramson Cancer Center,
responds: Thank you for the great questions, and I wanted to
commend you on making important dietary changes. Increasing your
fruit, vegetable and omega-3 consumption is a great way to
improve your overall diet. To try to clear up the confusion
about olive oil, we need to start with the “smoke point” of
oils. The “smoke point” of an oil is the temperature at which
the oil starts to break down or smoke. Delicate oils, such as
extra virgin olive oil, walnut oil, and flax seed oil, have
relatively low smoke points, around 300 d