Cooking sprays can cause an adverse effect on cooking

Spraying cooking spray can be used to keep food from sticking to the pan or griddle. Spraying oil evenly produces a uniform coating that makes it less oil than when you just poured it on. What's the result? You will save some calories. It is possible to save lots of calories.

Grace Clark-Hibbs RDN, says that cooking sprays provide greater control over the amount of oil you use. Cooking sprays are easier to work with than liquid oils. And, it uses less oil per unit. These cooking sprays can be used to make healthy dishes or to track your intake of fat.

However, dietitians can provide one specific information about these products. While they are often listed as having little calories or fats on the nutrition labels, it is due to the sheer size of the product.

Lisa Young, RDN, PhD, author of Finally Full and Finally Slim and a number of other books, says that many people fall for these "no calorie" sprays. The problem is that the spray can last only a fractional second, and you are unable to determine how much.

Let's face facts, it is hard to spray your pan in such a short time. (And who has the reflexes to do that? RDs advise that these sprays can assist in controlling portion size, however, you should be careful about the amount of time you spray. Sprays that run less than a third of a second typically 2.5 calories. Coating a pan will take about 3 to 4 seconds. That's about 22.5 or 30 calories. Although it's not a optimal solution to all requirements in calories, it's considerably less than 119 calories found in one tablespoon of olive oil.

The bottom line is that a cooking spray can reduce oil consumption if you use it for less than 5 seconds. However there are many cooking sprays that are created equal. American Heart Association (AHA), recommends avocado oil, grapeseed oil and canola oil as the most effective cooking oils. AHA suggests oils contain less than 4 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, and no trans fats.