Safflower Oil: What Are Its Health Benefits?

Safflowers are the annual flowering plants mainly cultivated in Asian and African countries, especially from Iran and India to the Nile River and Ethiopia. This plant belongs to the Asteraceae family or sunflower family that grows 0.3 to 1.2 meters high and its flowers would be red, yellow, white, and orange which are used in various industries such as the textile industry and food industry.

It is better to know that Safflowers were popular in the communities of Babylon, Palestine, and Ancient Egypt mainly due to the noticeable health effects of their oil. But right now, some medicines are produced based on these positive impacts that we elaborated in the following article.

What is safflower oil?

Safflower oil comes from flowers of Safflower, by which people since thousands of years ago could cure some health conditions. However, consumers utilized this product for other aims. In the industries, some instruments break kernels of this thistle-like plant into pieces. After that, chopped safflower kernels should be compressed to create oil.

Safflower oil varieties

People have access to two types of Safflower oil. First of all, high-linoleic Safflower oil which is rich in unsaturated fats. Secondly, high-oleic oil Safflower that belongs to the monosaturated fats. Right now, people consider high-oleic Safflower oil for cooking food due to its high smoke point (around 450 °F/ 232 °C). In fact, the smoke point of high-oleic oil is higher than other common oil such as canola oil and sunflower oil. Thus, people show more tendency toward consuming Safflower in comparison to other products.

History of safflower oil usage

Although Safflower oil is famous for its usage in cooking, it was considered as a popular traditional medicine since people knew its warm and pungent nature and nutrition values would be beneficial in healing patients who suffered from heart or liver diseases. Another functionality of Safflower oil was varnishing and painting by reason of its durability. Moreover, Safflower oil is utilized in cosmetics industries to make cosmetics with no side effects for skin and beauty.

Despite the vital and irrefutable roles of Safflower oil in traditional ways, we cannot deny its advantages for our health which will discuss below.

Safflower oil benefits

Although Safflower is a well-known old plant for different functionalities in industries, its oil plays a pivotal role in boosting the functionalities of all organs. This oil contains 74.3 milligrams of vitamin E and strengthens our immune system considerably. On the other side, it is rich in unsaturated fats and lower cholesterol. As a result, the performance of some organs such as the heart, liver, digestive system, and blood vessels will noticeably enhance after adding Safflower oil to the daily diet. However, persons who follow ketogenic diets are interested in using this oil to lose weight.

If you want to know more about the pros and cons of Safflower oil in healthy life, it is advisable for you to read below.

Strengthening the immune system

First and foremost, Safflower oil contains vitamin E that can supply our necessary antioxidants. As a result, the presence of this oil in the diet strengthens the immune system. Nutritionists suggest patients who suffer from immune system deficits consume this oil for cooking instead of sunflower oil or other common oils. The other group of people who can use Safflower oil in their diets is cancer patients. They need to strengthen their immune system by using dietary nutrients which are wealthy in vitamin E and Safflower oil is a perfect example for these foods.

Improving heart health

The second benefit to put forward is enhancing heart health. Physicians and nutritionists argue that oil that is rich in unsaturated fat and decreases the amount of cholesterol is better for heart health. Studies by chemists and biologists presented that Safflower contains some good fat or “HDL” that can remove the bad fats “LDL” from blood vessels. Therefore, it can improve the flow of blood through our bodies. The other reason for the importance of Safflower oil is its key role in eliminating inflammation of the heart because the heart can beat better without any smart pain and disorder.

Achieving and maintaining a healthy liver

The other indispensable benefit of Safflower is its impact on boosting liver wellness. In fact, its function in lowering cholesterol leads to a decrease in saturated fat in the liver. As a consequence, people are more capable of protecting their liver health like those who undergo conditions relevant to fatty liver.

Safflower oil as a pain reliever

Omega-6 and omega-3 are two types of necessary fatty acids by which people who sustain severe pains of arthritis can relieve their smarting pains. As a matter of fact, omega-6 plays a

significant role in lowering the neuropathic pains relevant to diseases such as diabetes and joint inflammation. Omega-3 is another fatty acid that is a pain reliever for those who suffer from heart disease, arthritis, and fatigue.

Controlling diabetes

Another advantage of Safflower oil is managing the amount of blood sugar and insulin. Omega-6 of this oil decrease the quantity of blood sugar attached to hemoglobin. As a result, nutritionists suggest patients with diabetes to cook their foods by Safflower oil.

Safflower oil for weight loss

Scientists believes that the effects of Safflower oil on lowering LDL would be beneficial in losing weight. However, some studies presented that overusing this oil has a negative impact on weight loss. Nonetheless, if you add a small amount of Safflower oil to the salad dish or other foods, you get full quickly, because of a false feeling.

Improving the skin 

People with dry and inflamed skin can use moisturizers that contain safflower oil. This cosmetic product improves dryness and roughness of skin because of its vitamin E, although omega-3 is another highly-influential element in skin rejuvenation and resurfacing processes.

Improvement of brain functionality

Fatty acids of Safflower oil have some advantages in boosting memory skills, fostering the immune system of patients with MS and people with ADHD.

Strengthening the digestive system

Safflower oil is a laxative drug for people who undergo issues of constipation and strengthens the functionality of the gut because of the ability of Safflower oil to lower LDL as well as reduce the gut inflammation due to its fatty acids

Possible side effects of Safflower oil

Despite the various health benefits of Safflower oil, we cannot deny its side effects. Just imagine, Safflower oil has some drawbacks for pregnant women and crucially increases the rate of stillbirth. Furthermore, Safflower oil is not advisable for patients who have had surgery recently or those who use aspirin regularly. It is better not to forget that Safflower oil is an allergic food

for some people and you should be completely aware of the pros and cons of this oil.

Conclusion

Safflower oil comes from the Safflower plant and people can improve functionalities of the heart, liver, and brain, although it would be useful in skin rejuvenation and weight loss. This oil has a higher smoke point in comparison to other common oils and is practical in cooking healthy foods. You can buy it easily from Tebtack online shopping center.