Calories in Sesame Oil

Archaeological excavations have proven that earliest usage of sesame oil was made more than 3,000 years ago in countries like Persia and India. During that era, sesame oil was used for culinary and medicinal purposes, with a combination of numerous other essential extracts. They also used it for making various exotic perfumes. As we know, sesame oil is incurred from sesame seeds and it is a nutrition rich, odorless oil. Sesame oil is also known as gingelly oil and is most popularly used as cooking oil. Apart from its rich nutritional value, sesame oil also has a high smoking point which makes it burn quickly. These properties of sesame oil are a result of presence of high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids in it. It is the reason why, sesame oil is popularly used for stir frying and seasoning many food recipes and especially in East Asian and oriental cuisine. However, one thing that might worry you about sesame oil is the amount of calories in sesame oil. In the following section of the article, we will find out more about nutrition facts, calorie count and popular uses of sesame oil.

As I mentioned above, sesame oil is incurred from sesame seeds that are either used in raw, toasted or roasted form. It is the reason why there are several types of sesame oil, namely, light sesame oil which is made by cold pressing raw sesame seeds and dark sesame oil, which is made using roasted sesame seeds. Virgin sesame oil is also very popular and rich sort of sesame oil. Interestingly, sesame oil has enhanced shelf life as compared to various other types of oils, extracts and essential oils.

Sesame Oil Nutrition Facts
As you know now, there are three popular types of sesame oil, dark, light and virgin sesame oil. All these types of sesame oil are rich with various fatty acids like leonetic acid. However, it is totally free from cholesterol and protein. One tablespoon of sesame oil contains around 14g of fats and 2g of saturated fats. It also contains vitamins and minerals like vitamin D, vitamin K and vitamin E. However, it is important to understand that sesame oil is free from cholesterol, sodium, protein and carbohydrates. As a result, it is a healthy type of oil with plenty of health benefits.

Sesame Oil Calories
As far as the calories in sesame oil is concerned, let me tell you that one tablespoon of sesame oil contains around 120 calories. To make it more clear, understand that 1 teaspoon of sesame oil contains around 40 calories, 100g of sesame oil contains around 884 calories and 1 cup of sesame oil contains around 1,928 calories. This fact may disturb you, but given the fact that sesame oil does not contain cholesterol, sodium and saturated fats, it is a healthy source of fats which you can include in your daily diet.

Sesame Oil Benefits
Owing to the nutrition facts, which tells about richness of vitamins and fatty acids in it and absence of cholesterol and sodium; there are plenty of uses of sesame oil. Sesame oil is one of the best natural source of antioxidants and hence, it is ideal for healthy body and healthy skin. Sesame oil is used in aromatherapy for massage as well as during therapy of Oil Pulling or Oil Swishing which is a part of Ayurvedic medication. It is an excellent solution for dry skin, eczema, and other such skin diseases. Sesame oil is also said to be useful for reducing blood glucose levels, prevention from gingivitis, strengthening the hair and prevention from many other health conditions like cancer, migraine, hepatitis, etc.

Apart from numerous health benefits of sesame oil, it has numerous culinary uses. In fact, it is an irreplaceable part of many oriental dishes. It is commonly used for frying, stir frying and seasoning numerous food recipes. Although the calories are a worrisome issue, you can easily control it by using the oil in moderate amounts!