Unhealthy ingredients, processing, plus growing and sourcing practices. Stuff that wasn’t of any concern to our grandparents or even our parents. But it’s all part of our world today. Countless labels to keep track of—organic, non-GMO, certified humane, fair trade, etc. etc.—the list goes on. Each designation meant to warn and protect us against potential health harms in our food supply.

Take the world of high-quality cooking oils, for instance. Confusing! Labels like “cold-pressed,” “expeller pressed,” “refined,” “unrefined,” and more, make it challenging to choose. And it’s also not obvious which labels mean the oil is good or bad.

There’s hope though. I found some very helpful information from Rob Herring, founder and executive director of Earth Conscious Life (www.earthconsciouslife.org). He and his team did the research to help us make sense of cooking oil labels. Here’s what’s what:

COLD PRESSED: This is generally a good sign. Coconut and olive oil are made this way. All parts of the nut, seed, and fruit are ground up and then pressed at low temperatures to preserve health benefits, flavor, and aroma.

The downside: these aren’t the best for high heat cooking. Heat is detrimental to flavor and the nutrition profile of healthy fats, so these are best for light frying or drizzling on uncooked meals (such as salads). Using these oils to make homemade salad dressings is a safe way to capture their flavor and health benefits.

EXPELLER-PRESSED: Compared to cold-pressed, expeller-pressed means the oil was mechanically pressed from the ingredients and heated during this process. This method was created to increase shelf-life of the oil. But this also means a loss of healthy nutrients. The cooking process also turns some good fats into bad (trans) fats. Thus it’s best to avoid this product.

REFINED: Refined oils are HIGHLY processed, filtered, and sometimes even “bleached” or chemically treated to remove impurities and pathogens. Also, the “refined” label usually indicates heat was used to extract these oils.

This sounds like a good thing, right? In some ways, it is: refined means they have much higher smoke points for heavy cooking, frying, and baking (over 400˚F). But it also means harmful-to-health additives, less flavor, and fewer nutrients! Not the best choice for everyday consumption.

UNREFINED: This label indicates the above refining processes are skipped (though they can still be either expeller-pressed or cold-pressed). This is why if you see an oil labeled “unrefined,” you should only buy it if the label “cold-pressed” is also included. This ensures a very healthy, safe oil to cook with and consume.

So to sum up, research shows naturally cold-pressed and unrefined extra virgin olive oil is the best and healthiest oil. But if you can’t find this at your local grocery store, hold out for extra virgin or virgin.

However, you might still want an oil for high-heat cooking. If so, the researchers at Earth Conscious Life recommend naturally refined avocado oil for this purpose. Studies show it’s packed with health benefits and can be used in all types of high-heat preparations, due to its incredible high smoke point.

In general, AVOID canola, corn, cottonseed, sunflower and safflower oils. These oils are highly processed, typically rancid, and contain large amounts of polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) which create a huge load of free radicals in the body that do serious cell damage. And be cautious. Today there are seed oils in almost all processed foods.

Bottom line: Remember to read the labels.