Do This When Ordering At A Restaurant To Avoid Unhealthy Cooking Oils

However, it is possible to enjoy your favorite restaurant without sacrificing a healthy eating plan: When Mark Sisson, founder of Primal Kitchen and author of the Two Meals a Day Cookbook joined us on the mindbodygreen podcast, he shared a simple hack to make dining out healthier. Below, find his tip to avoid unhealthy cooking oils.

Sisson explains that, oftentimes, certain cooking oils can sabotage a seemingly healthy meal: "Seed oils happen more often than not in most restaurants," he explains. A restaurant may use the best cut of grass-fed beef, the best wild-caught fish, or the best organic produce they can find, "and then they screw it all up by making dressings with soybean oil or cooking it in some old, rancidified industrial seed oil," he notes.

Fats like butter and cold-pressed, unrefined extra-virgin olive oil are less processed than many of the other conventional cooking oils. This means that they're exposed to less heat and, thus, don't lose their antioxidants and minerals. The key is to look for varieties that are as natural and minimally processed as possible, if you can. 

According to Sisson, making a restaurant meal healthier simply comes down to asking for substitutes like extra-virgin olive oil, butter, and vinegar. These less-processed alternatives offer greater nutritional benefits than many of the others that restaurants may rely on. For more of Sisson's healthy eating tips, make sure to tune in to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or check out the video below!