What is Safflower Oil?

As you probably guessed, safflower oil comes from safflower seeds. Safflower is a plant and the flowers, seeds, and oil that comes from the seed are often used in medicine. The oil has been used for preventing heart disease and stroke, treating blood clotting conditions, heart disease, coughing, fevers, chest pain, inducing sweating, and as a laxative. Historically, women have relied on safflower oil to force a period that is absent or to relieve a painful menstrual period. Safflower oil can also be used to dye fabrics, color cosmetics, or moisturize the skin. It has no color and is often used to cook food or to make salad dressings, and it is used to create margarine. While it is used for cooking, safflower oil actually has no real taste of its own. Safflower oil also lacks vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps protect bodies against damage caused by free radicals, and keeps immune systems strong, and prevents blood from clotting. Other oils offer a better option for vitamin E, including dark toasted sesame oils and oils made from macadamia, walnuts, hazelnuts, and pistachios. Safflower Offers a Tasteless Oil Ideal for Cooking Without Changing Flavor Using safflower oil means you can use it to stretch your favorite salad dressings without adding or changing the flavor, or cook foods without changing the flavor of them. It will keep your food from sticking when you fry it, but you won't get any flavor infused from the cooking oil into your meats or veggies. If you're looking to add flavor from oil, stick with olive oil or sesame oil. Safflower Oil is High in Polyunsaturated Fats If you are looking to lower your cholesterol, safflower oil may be a good option. The American Heart Association claims that replacing trans fats and saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats that are consumed in moderation can help lower your risks for heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels in your blood. But it's important to note that safflower oil's polyunsaturated fats also lower the healthy, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels so it is not as good for you as monosaturated fats like the fats contained in olive oil and peanut oil. High Smoke Point Many people like to cook with safflower oil because of its high smoke point – it can reach high temperatures before it begins to burn. You can use it in the deep-fryer without it burning, giving you great chicken wings! Safflower oil can also be kept in the refrigerator without solidifying, so it's ideal as a base for salad dressings, with no need to let the oil return to room temperature before you can use it. Where Can I Buy Safflower Oil? Medlabgear.com offers 50ml of filtered safflower oil. People reportedly use the oil for skin moisturizing, treating inflammation or eczema, reducing the appearance of wrinkles, improving hair quality, decreasing body fat, and decreasing sugar in the blood.