Sesame Oil
Where sesame oil sits on the inflammation scale
Sesame oil is not very inflammatory, and it is the exception in a family with a bad name. It scores 4 out of 10 on the inflammation scale, right in the middle. Toasted sesame oil is a seasoning more than a cooking fat, and it goes over the noodles at the end, a teaspoon at a time. Almost nothing you use by the teaspoon shifts inflammation either way.
What stops it scoring lower is the fat inside the bottle. About four tenths of it is omega-6, the fat people mean when they say seed oils are bad. And most of us already eat far more omega-6 than omega-3. Every splash widens that gap. That is what keeps sesame oil out of the low end of the scale, where olive oil sits.
What holds it up is what survives the press. Sesame seeds carry two plant compounds, sesamin and sesamol. Both stay in the oil, where they act as antioxidants. They also stop the oil from turning rancid, which most seed oils do quickly, and rancid oil is the inflammatory kind. Give people sesame every day, by the spoonful, and one of the inflammation markers in a blood test comes down.
So use it the way it was meant to be used. A teaspoon of the toasted kind over vegetables, rice or noodles costs you nothing. Deep frying in the light kind every day is another matter, and olive oil handles that job better anyway.
Sesame Oil on the AIP diet
Sesame oil is not allowed during the elimination phase of AIP. Sesame is a seed, and the protocol removes every seed and every seed oil, sesame included. It is usually an early reintroduction, and one of the easier ones, because pressing leaves almost none of the seed protein behind in the oil. Until then, olive oil or coconut oil does the same job.
Benefits
- Carries sesamin and sesamol, plant compounds that work as antioxidants
- Those same compounds keep the oil from going rancid on the shelf
- Mostly unsaturated fat, unlike butter, coconut oil and the other solid fats
- A teaspoon of the toasted kind flavours a whole dish, so a little goes a long way
Watch out for
- Around 40% of its fat is omega-6, which most diets already have too much of
- Toasted sesame oil smokes at a low temperature, so it is a poor frying fat
- Sesame is one of the more common food allergies
- Cheap bottles are often cut with soybean oil, so check the label
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Frequently asked
Is sesame oil a seed oil?
Yes, and it is the one seed oil that gets a pass from most people who avoid the rest. It is pressed from sesame seeds, so it carries the same omega-6 fat that gives the group its reputation. What sets it apart is the company that fat keeps. The lignans left in the oil act as antioxidants and stop it going rancid, and most people use it by the teaspoon rather than by the cup.
Is toasted sesame oil worse than plain sesame oil?
No, and if anything the toasted kind is the better buy. Roasting the seeds before pressing makes the oil more stable and gives it the smell you are paying for. The catch is heat. Toasted oil burns at a low temperature, so it belongs on the food at the end rather than in a hot pan.
Can you cook with sesame oil?
Light sesame oil takes moderate heat and is fine for a stir fry. Toasted sesame oil is not. It smokes and turns bitter well before a pan gets properly hot, so add it once the heat is off. If you fry most days, let olive oil do the cooking and keep the sesame for the flavour at the end.
Is sesame oil allowed on the AIP diet?
Not during the elimination phase. Sesame is a seed, and AIP takes out all seeds and seed oils while things settle down. It is usually reintroduced early and it tends to go well, because pressing leaves almost none of the seed protein in the oil. Until then, olive oil and coconut oil cover the same jobs.
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