Traditional to Moroccan cuisine and rich with antioxidants and essential fatty acids, argan oil benefits to health are rapidly becoming valued worldwide. Easy recipe for unrefined argan oil salad dressing included!
Argan oil benefits are becoming more well known in recent years. This is primarily due to its high quality as a natural cosmetic aid for external use.
In particular, consumers learning how to make personal care products such as homemade hair gel are figuring this out rather quickly. Using the highest quality oils achieves shiny hair and lustrous skin without any health risk from toxins. Argan oil and cocoa butter are some of the top oils to use for this purpose.
Surprisingly, the historical use of argan oil in Northern African cultures is actually as a food! In particular, it is a pleasing accompaniment to most any raw or lightly grilled dishes.
This golden oil is produced from the fruit kernels of the Argania spinosa or Argan tree, endemic to the Northern African country of Morocco.
Rich with antioxidant phytochemicals and essential fatty acids, argan oil benefits to health are well known and valued by local cultures and becoming widely acknowledged worldwide.
Argan Oil Fatty Acid Composition
Argan oil is about 80% unsaturated fat by composition, of which about 32% is essential linoleic fatty acids and 47% oleic acid. This makes it similar to canola oil. The difference is that argan oil is completely unhybridized, not genetically modified and much less likely to be tainted with free radicals.
Argan oil’s beneficial fatty acid composition also bears a certain resemblance to olive oil. However, argan oil is actually more stable and almost three times richer in vitamin E. The high content of tocopherols and the type of omega-3 fatty acids found in both soaked raw nuts and fish give it the unique capacity to help reduce rates of inflammation and neutralize free radicals within the body.
As a healthy and traditional fat, argan oil has been found to prevent oxidation and hence slow aging, while simultaneously stimulating digestion and boosting brain power. Argan oil contains rare sterol molecules and phytochemicals that cannot be found in other plant-derived oils.
How Argan Oil Benefits Health
Modern research is suggesting that argan oil benefits to health consist of the following when consumed as a whole food processed in a traditional manner:
- Powerful anti-oxidant action
- Stimulates the nervous system and builds brain capacity
- Reduces joint and rheumatism pain
- Calms hypertensive tendencies
- Facilitates digestion by increasing pepsin
- Stabilizes blood sugar/insulin levels
Modern Argan Oil Processing
As with any food, processing is key. There are two very different processes used to extract argan oil.
Make sure you aren’t fooled into buying industrialized argan oil!
- High-impact mechanical techniques employed by big companies.
- Traditional manual pressure extraction used in small native cooperatives.
The method of processing greatly affects the quality of the final product as well as argan oil benefits to health. In addition, processing of argan oil impacts the economic viability of the local peoples harvesting it and the sustainability of Argan forests.
If argan oil benefits are sought via consumption as a food, it is particularly important to source oil manufactured the traditional, manual way.
Traditional Processing
The following steps are followed to produce only the highest quality argan oil richest in antioxidants with no rancidity of the oil from overly aggressive processing (quality source):
- The argan fruits are harvested from stands of trees and left to dry on the roofs of mud houses.
- The pits are then manually removed with the help of two stones.
- A thin protective skin is peeled off, and the pits are subject to a light toasting, a key step for giving the oil its distinct savory flavor.
- The slightly heated pits are then ground and slowly kneaded in traditional stone mills to produce a creamy paste.
- After about 30 minutes of continuous mixing, and with the careful addition of small amounts of boiled water, the precious oil slowly dissociates from the rest of the paste.
- This shimmering golden liquid is argan oil in its true form.
Like truly authentic, 100% olive oil, please note that you get what you pay for when it comes to argan oil. Â If the price seems too good to be true, it is likely not pure and/or was processed in a manner that negatively impacts its benefits to health.
Also be sure the color is golden as shown in the picture below.
Enjoying Argan Oil in Your Kitchen
In native Moroccan cuisine, argan oil is used liberally to season dishes, acting as a dressing for salads and adding flavor to tagines, couscous, grilled vegetables and desserts.
Great chefs in Europe have also borrowed this secret, using the smooth qualities of argan oil to add depth and warmth to their exquisite dishes.
Easy Argan Oil Salad Dressing
Quick and easy basic salad dressing using argan oil for a dose of healthy fats to add depth of flavor to dishes and encourage hair and nail health from the inside out.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp argan oil
- 2 Tbl raw honey
- 1 Tbl dijon mustard
Instructions
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Mix the cider vinegar and oils together in a small bowl.
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Emulsify the mustard and honey into the liquid with a fork.
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Serve immediately.
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Best made fresh every time you need it.
Have you tried argan oil?  How have you been most enjoying its benefits in your home – externally, internally or both?
References
More Information
Get Your Fats Straight
Five Fats You Must Have in Your Kitchen
When Omega-3 Fats Can be Dangerous to your Health
The Truth About Pumpkin Seed Oil
Selecting a Healthy Cooking Oil and Reusing it Safely
Caution When Using Chicken Fat for Cooking
Cooking with Olive Oil: Yea or Nay?
How Vegetable Oils Make Us Fat
Is Rice Bran Oil a Healthy Fat?
Red Palm Oil Benefits Rival Coconut Oil
Walnut Oil
The Many Shades of Palm Oil
I know Argan oil is a great ingredient, but this article made me even more knowledgeable about this wonderful component! Great post, by the way! Can’t wait to try it!
It’s interesting that you mentioned that argan oil can reduce joint and rheumatism pain. My uncle has rheumatism, and I know it can be very painful sometimes so I think argan oil would be great for him. Thanks for the information–I’ll be sure to look for some next time I go to the store.
these are really very valuable information, Argan oil is a natural treatment for various things it worked amazingly with my hair i wondered how i wasn’t using it before, it makes my hair softer, silkier and shinier. It is an ideal hair conditioner also it treat split ends and makes my hair healthier, use it once per week as a pre shampoo mask i leave it for about 3 hours on my hair
The internal use of Argan oil isn’t as widely discussed as the external use, thank you for educating us all about it
Hi good morning!
My husband is from Morocco and we bring back Argan Oil every trip, but I’ve just started adding it with a little olive oil and cooking my eggs in the morning. Is it okay when heated? (I should know this, being that his family is still there…).
Thanks in advance!
Argan oil really should not be cooked as it is high in omega-6 fats which when heated creates free radicals. Best for salad dressing or on skin/hair.
I’ve been using argan oil for a long period to treat my hair loss, And the results are more then expected.
I only know that Argan oil is best for hair and skin. Argan oil can use as you say really I dont know. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you for sharing this great information about Argan oil. I really enjoyed reading this. I’m using Argan oil for about two years now and it’s a great product.
Sarah, what do you think of the rebuttal of hand-pressed argan oil being unsanitary and thus making the argan oil laden with bacterial growth? The linked article points out that the oil is extracted in a non-sterile environment, that adding water to separate the oil breeds bacterial growth and changes the chemical make-up of the oil. Thank you.
arganavita.com/blogs/news/16288472-should-you-use-hand-pressed-argan-oil
Perhaps this is true for some sources of traditionally pressed argan oil. The one I linked to is tested for quality.
Thanks, Sarah. Good to know that ZAD is tested for quality.
Argan Oil is amazing, packed full of Vitamin E and other essential nutrients and it works do well on skin, hair and nails as a pure, natural skincare and hair care product. Very few other natural oils can match argan oil for its benefits.