The Healthiest Oil You Never Heard Of

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The Healthiest Oil You’ve Never Heard Of

I eat the healthiest oil I can find, and Tea Seed Oil is one you’ve probably never heard of.

What is Tea Seed Oil?

Tea Seed Oil is different from Tea Tree Oil.

It is not an essential oil.

• Tea Seed Oil is from the seeds of the Camellia oleifera plant, related to tea you drink
• Tea Tree Oil is from Melaleuca, a completely unrelated plant native to Australia

There are two species of the Camellia tree, Oleifera and Sinesis.   People call the tea plant a shrub, a bush or a tree.

• Camellia Oleifera is the species used to create tea seed oil (using the seeds).
• Camellia Sinesis is the species used to create drinking tea such as green, white, oolong (using the leaves).

How Tea Seed Oil is Grown and Processed

Tea Seed Oil is cold-pressed from the seeds of mature camellia oleifera trees.

Camellia trees do not produce seeds until seven years of age, and once seeds are present it takes a year for seeds to mature.   According to Arette Foods which makes this oil, the trees are organically grown in remote mountains at high elevation.  The seeds are hand-picked and cold-pressed.  No chemicals, no heat.

The Healthiest Oil You’re Missing

Tea Oil is also known as Camellia oil.

It has a mild fragrant flavor that goes with anything. It’s not a heavy oil like Olive Oil, but thinner – more like almond or avocado oil.  If the taste or “oiliness” of olive oil overpowers your food, try Tea Oil instead.  Along with its mild taste and pleasant tea-like aroma, this oil has impressive health benefits.

Benefits of Tea Seed Camellia Oil

• High smoke point (485F) allows this to be used for a variety of cooking methods without becoming rancid and inflammatory.  I don’t cook with olive oil as it is rather fragile and best suited for seasoning.
• More monounsaturated fatty acids than olive oil.
• Fewer saturated fatty acids than olive oil.
• Contains high levels of Vitamin E.
• Contains polyphenol antioxidants. Polyphenols are plant chemicals that help the body create antioxidants.  Consuming naturally occurring polyphenols is an easy way to help fight free radicals causing damage at the cellular level.
• Cholesterol-free with zero trans fat.
• Contains Omegas 3 and 6, but has less Omega 6 and Polyunsaturated Fats than Olive Oil.
• High in Oleic Acid fats which are good for the heart and may lower cholesterol. This article has more. 

Note on Omega 6’s:  If you’re eating a strict Paleo Diet and avoiding processed foods and vegetable oils, you may actually need a few extra Omega 6’s. While villainized as 100% bad, we actually need a certain level of Omega 6’s and this is one of the healthiest oils to get them from.

How To Use Tea Seed Oil

Tea Oil has a light, nutty taste I prefer over olive oil for most applications.  The high smoke point makes it versatile for cooking or seasoning.  I use it, along with Avocado Oil, in most salad dressings in place of olive oil.  Here’s a list of ten simple salad dressings from my website. You can substitute Tea Seed Oil unless the olive oil is a key flavor.

• Use Tea Seed Oil for roasting vegetables.  Toss veggies with the oil, season and roast until tender.
• Saute chopped garlic in Tea Seed Oil and add fresh green beans, salt and pepper.
• Drizzle over salmon before baking or use in a marinade to help tenderize grass-fed meats.
• Since Arrette Tea Seed Oil contains restorative nutrients such as Vitamin E, it’s a great oil to use on your skin.
• Note there are other tea seed oils sold only for skin care. Don’t use them for eating as they are highly processed.

Arette Organics makes several varieties of this oil, flavored with tea leaves. You can find it on Amazon here.