Lipid-based functional components present in foods undergo chemical changes during cooking. Useful n-3 and n-6 fatty acids, phytosterols, tocopherols, and carotenoids are degraded by thermal cooking such as frying, resulting in loss of their physiological functions. However, conjugated linoleic acid and diacylglycerols can be formed during heating, which would be beneficial to the health. Degree of degradation and formation of the functional components depends on the cooking method, cooking temperature and time, lipid matrix containing the components, and the presence of other materials. Although it is clear that the content of each functional component varies during long-heating in a model system consisting of small numbers of components, the real foods cooked in a small scale for a limited cooking time do not show highly significant differences in the functional components contents from raw food materials.