Oils and fats are a much misunderstood area of our modern diet. We moved away from cooking with saturated fats (e.g. meat fats, dairy fats) as we were told they were causing us too many problems.
Types of oils and fats
Oils and fats are members of the same family, the only difference is that, at room temperature, fats are solid and oils are liquid. There are two natural forms of fats and oils – saturated and unsaturated. With modern manufacturing methods, we also now have some unnatural forms of fats called hydrogenated fats and trans fats.
Oil Overview
Sources: Nuts seeds, beans, oily vegetables, and animal fats like milk butter or animal tissue
Energetics: V↓PK↑
Taste/Rasa: Sweet
Potency/Virya: Warm
Vipaka: Sweet
Actions: Nutritive, demulcent and laxative. Maintain fat, nerve, and marrow tissues, allowing for easy secretion and discharge.
Use for Cooking: Adjunct and flavoring
Use for Massage: Softens skin and congestion, absorbed into the skin thus providing lubrication to the whole body.
Contraindications: Not used with ama, congestion, toxic blood, massage not done with red or oozing skin diseases or with severe pain or palpitation, light oil applied to the abdomen.
Oil List
Almond Oil
Energetics: V↓PK↑
Taste/Rasa: Sweet, slightly bitter
Potency/Virya: Warm
Vipaka: Sweet
Actions: Demulcent, expectorant, tonic, the same as the nut
Indications: Good for coughing, wasting diseases of the lungs and kidneys. It soothes skin and muscles, relieves tension, and pain. Excellent massage oil – absorbs well, reduces wrinkles and stretch marks. Builds immunity and increases ojas.
Avacado Oil
Energetics: V↓K↑; P↑ (mildly)
Taste/Rasa: Sweet astringent
Potency/Virya: Warm
Vipaka: Sweet
Actions: Same as fruit, only more nutritive.
Indications: It strengthens muscles and liver, nourishes the skin, is good massage oil, good for salads.
Castor Oil
Energetics: V↓PK↑ (in excess); or VPK↓
Taste/Rasa: Bitter, sweet
Potency/Virya: Warm
Vipaka: Pungent
Actions: Purgative, antispasmodic, analgesic
Indications: One tsp. with a cup of warm milk and 1/2 tsp. of ginger before sleep is a strong remedy for clearing srotas and cleansing āma. Effective purgative for constipation, and can be used on children. As an analgesic good for epilepsy, arthritis, nerves, and pain. External (in packs) promotes healing of sores, wounds, sprains, and injuries. It detoxifies, reduces abdominal tumors, swellings and pain, menstrual cramps.
Because it is the best vāta healing oil to ingest, and also the best purgative oil, castor has been dubbed the “King of Oils”. An Ayurvedic analogy clarifies the role of castor oil. The lion is the king of the jungle. Wherever he goes all other animals run away. Similarly, when castor oil reaches the internal body, all vāta disorders run away. It is one of the major remedies for vāta ailments. Taken internally, it heals enlarged prostate, hernia, fevers, pain, and swellings of the waist, genitals, abdominal, and back. As a purgative, use two teaspoons of castor oil with warm water before bed.
Corn Oil
Energetics: P↓V↑ mildly, dryer and is somewhat better for Kapha
Taste/Rasa: Sweet, astringent
Potency/Virya: Hot
Vipaka: Sweet
Actions: Demulcent, diuretic
Indications: Difficult urination, nourishes the skin
Coconut Oil
Energetics: VP↓K↑
Taste/Rasa: Sweet
Potency/Virya: Cool
Vipaka: Sweet
Actions: Tonic, emollient, refrigerant
Indications: Specific for pitta, nourishes and softens skin. Good for inflammatory skin, psoriasis, eczema, sunburn, burns, chapped lips, dry cough with fevers, burning in lungs. Increases Śukra dhātu, one of the easiest oils to digest.
Flaxseed/Linseed Oil
Energetics: VK↓P↑; K↑ (in excess)
Taste/Rasa: Sour, sweet
Potency/Virya: Warm
Vipaka: Pungent
Actions: Expectorant, lubricating laxative
Indications: Good for cough, loosens phlegm and draws mucus from the system.
Margarine
Actions: Depends upon the vegetable oil used.
Indications: Depends upon the vegetable oil used. One of the worst things to use for the whole body as it increases free radical damage to the body.
Mustard Oil
Energetics: KV↓P↑
Taste/Rasa: Pungent
Potency/Virya: Warm
Vipaka: Pungent
Actions: Stimulant, demulcent
Indications: Excellent for kapha and vāta disorders. For kapha external/internal. Anti-cough, loosens lung mucus, congestion, cold, joint heaviness, arthritis, abdominal pain.
Olive Oil
Energetics: VP↓K↑
Taste/Rasa: Sweet
Potency/Virya: Neutral
Vipaka: Sweet
Actions: Mild laxative
Indications: Benefits the liver, softens gallstones, bile, skin, hair, lower cholesterol, good for salads, massage (particularly general use or day massage since it is lighter in property). It may help control blood pressure and diabetes.
Peanut Oil
Energetics: V↓PK
Taste/Rasa: Sweet
Potency/Virya: Warm
Vipaka: Sweet
Actions: Laxative, demulcent, diuretic
Indications: Cooking oil, not as nutritious as sesame. Causes atherosclerosis.
Safflower Oil
Energetics: V↓P↑; K↑ – mildly
Taste/Rasa: Sweet, pungent
Potency/Virya: Warm
Vipaka: Pungent
Actions: Laxative, emmenagogue, difficult or delayed menstruation.
Indications: Lighter – better for kapha, circulation, heart, blood, immune-boosting, contains vitamin E.
Sesame Oil
Energetics: V↓PK↑ highly Sattvic
Taste/Rasa: Sweet
Potency/Virya: Warm
Vipaka: Sweet
Actions: Tonic, rejuvenation, sedative, laxative, nutritive.
Indications: Is the best of the oils. When used externally for Abhyaṅga they penetrate into the skin and nourish and detoxify the deepest tissue layers. It aggravates Pitta skin and eye conditions, as it is hot in potency. The application on skin for Abhyaṅga helps lose weight in heavy people and helps gain weight in thin people, is constipating, kills parasites, and when properly processed, it heals all diseases. Deep frying is not good with sesame oil, but sauté is the best method of using sesame oil.
Sesame aids all dhātus, lungs, kidneys, brain, debility, convalescence, rejuvenation, calms nerves, relieves muscle tension, spasms, and pain, relieve anxiety, tremors, insomnia, convulsions, dry cough, chronic constipation, voice and vision, growth of hair, nails, teeth,
bones, children, elderly, most deeply penetrating oil, best for vāta, best for yogic diet, improves the immune system and ojas, prevents free radical damage.
Soy Oil
Energetics: PK↓V↑
Taste/Rasa: Sweet, astringent
Potency/Virya: Cool
Vipaka: Sweet
Actions: Demulcent, diuretic
Indications: Nourishes the skin, high in vitamin E.
Sunflower Oil
Energetics: VPK↓
Taste/Rasa: Sweet
Potency/Virya: Cool
Vipaka: Sweet
Actions: Nutritive
Indications: Nourishes the skin, good for cough, and heat in lungs, high in vitamin E.
