A new study has shown that the vegetable oil may release toxic chemicals while cooking and might be harmful for health.

Researchers said that vegetable oil releases toxic chemicals that may be linked to cancer and even the degeneration of the brain. They said that Lard, butter, coconut and olive oil are better and safer choices for cooking compared to vegetable oil. However, the new study directly contradicts with recommendations from the NHS.

Researchers said that said when corn, sunflower, palm and soya bean oils or commonly called vegetable oils are heated; they produce chemicals called aldehydes that are linked to various cancers and neurogenerative diseases.NHS has long warned against cooking with butter and lard and advises people to cut down on foods that are high in saturated fat and have smaller amounts of foods that are rich in unsaturated fat instead. It asks people to use small amount of vegetable oil or reduced fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee.

Martin Grootveld, a professor of bioanalytical chemistry and chemical pathology at DeMontfort University,pointed out that a meal fried in vegetable oilcontains 100 to 200 times more aldehydes than the daily limit set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).They said that using butter, olive and lard were found to produce much lower level of aldehydes and coconut oil was found to the healthiest.