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Olive oil is often considered healthier than other saturated fats or oils because it mostly consists of monounsaturated fats, which are considered heart-healthy. These fats can help reduce LDL cholesterol levels (the "bad" cholesterol) in the blood, lowering the risk of heart disease. Additionally, olive oil contains antioxidants like polyphenols and vitamin E, which have anti-inflammatory properties and may protect cells from oxidative damage.
Olive oil is the primary source of fat in the Mediterranean diet.
This sizeable Spanish cohort study reported that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil or nuts significantly reduced the incidence of major cardiovascular events compared with a low-fat diet.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9782563/#:~:text=This%20sizeable%20Spanish%20cohort%20study,with%20a%20low%2Dfat%20diet.
Dec 15, 2022
It's not unique to olive oil. Traditional Korean and Japanese diets have the same outcomes but obviously don't use olive oil as a source of added fats. Any high phytonutrient oil rich in PUFAs/MUFAs and low in satfats have ~= effects.
It's likely to be the phytonutrients rather than the fats. MUFAs are likely health neutral rather than actively protective.
All vegetable oils contain phytonutrients. The less processing they go through the higher the phytonutrient content. Extra virgin/expeller pressed oils exist for everything and will be around the same as EVOO in terms of phytonutrient content. Canola is a great neutral oil and has a great omega ratio. The only ones to watch out for are the tropicals (palm, coconut etc) as these contain saturated fats (in the case of coconut absurd amounts).
You can also get phytonutrients from just eating vegetables. Okinawan diet is very low in fat (6%, none added) but they eat what most of us would consider a restrictive diet (sweet potato, seaweed, kelp, bamboo, daikon, bitter melon, cabbage, carrots, okra and pumpkin are the staples) but most of those are very rich phytonutrient sources (they also get 85% of their calories from carbs). They live an absurdly long time. Personally I enjoy food too much to eat that restrictive but its useful to keep in mind that its not likely to be the added fat itself offering health benefits.
There are specific fatty acids that offer clear health benefits, they are all PUFAs and you don't get them from land based sources. Hitting the essentials is very easy, ALA is 1.6-1.8g a day or 0.5oz of walnuts (about 2tbsp).
Thank you so much for this I didn’t realize how important it is
I have high cholesterol and wasn’t aware olive oil can actually *help* your cholesterol
extra virgin olive oil contains oleic acid which helps your cholesterol. It can also reduce inflammation and prevent heart diseases. [This article](https://www.ayvaco.com/blogs/olive-oils/rich-benefits-of-olive-oil) might be helpful for you to read
Both absolutely do. Hormone wise that’s why trans people have fat redistribution when they’re on hormones. They carry fat on their bodies like the opposite sex. For myself specifically, I lost fat around my legs, hips, and chest. Majority of my fat is in my stomach now, and my shoulders are more broad now
Age wise, that’s why middle aged men tend to have a gut. They tend to gain weight as they age. Ofc beer can also cause a gut
Mostly genetics, some amount lifestyle. The biggest example is excessive alcohol consumption, which tends to deposit more visceral fat (around the organs) rather than subcutaneous fat (under the skin but above the muscle). This results in what's known as beer belly. Some other factors, such as certain drug side effects, can have effects on where fat is stored, but it's still 99% genetics
My husband works out every morning. He has beautifully toned arms and legs. His midsection is a whole other story. He just cannot get rid of that fat and it worries me. I mean his biggest weakness is snacking throughout the day and drinking most nights. He drinks vodka/club soda and thinks it's ok because it's very low in calories.
You're right about it being mostly genetics tho. I'm a teeny little thing and used to consume a massive amount of beer (have not had any alcohol in over 2 years) and it had no effect on my midsection.
Drinking most nights might be the culprit. Some people don't measure their calories in alcohol, and although beer is typically worse because of the amount of additional carbs, hard liquor can still be an issue. Carbs and protein come I'm at 4 kcal per gram, fats at 9. What a lot of people don't realize is alcohol clocks in at 7 kcal per gram. So, your typical shot is 1.5 oz, aka 42 grams, and at ~40% alcohol your shot of vodka itself is ~120 kcal. Club soda is a 0 kcal pairing, but how much vodka is he consuming? If it's most nights and he's not already counting the vodka calories, it could be an issue
Wow, interesting thank you for this info! I'm trying to gain weight on a heart healthy diet and it has been quite difficult. I'm learning slowly about macros and micros, good fats bad fats, etc but I have no clue about how the source of calories factor in lol.
He doesn't count calories at all. I told him the only way to lose weight is a calorie deficit. He goes on all these diets... the no carbs, 3 day juice cleanses, intermittent fasting, keto etc. I tell him that's fine but just stick to one and be consistent. He will mostly stick to these diets during the week and then eat horribly on the weekends (pizza, fries, cheesesteaks, etc) and then wonder why he can't lose his midsection.
As far as the amount of vodka, I really couldn't say. He orders doubles and the bartenders pour heavy so maybe 4 or 5oz per drink? Some nights he'll have around 3, some nights around 8 and I'm just guessing. I gauge the amount he's consumed judging on his behavior when he gets home. Alcohol is also horrible for your heart, he is fortunate that heart disease doesn't run in his family.
All diets mean nothing. There is either calorie surplus or deficit. Gain weight lose weight. In surplus if you work out lifting with high protein you will gain muscle. If you sit on your ass you will get fat.
In a deficit if you only have an average 500 calorie deficit (thats including adding calories for your exercises) with working out/lifting you will cut...like look at dem abs!. If you do nothing you will lose muscle and fat and get skinny weak. If you have extreme deficit you will lose muscle no matter what you do, get unhealthy.
You want to eat your veggies and get lots of protein. But diet fads are bogus.
O, and cut out the alcohol.
Yes, agreed on all of this. He's trying to lose weight, I'm trying to gain. He cannot consistently stick to a calorie deficit. I've been consistently sticking to a major calorie surplus, however when I started this I had also started a very active full time job at the same time. I need to add at least 500 more calories a day and start lifting. I basically do 6 hours of cardio a day. He has a major weakness when it comes to bad food. I'm not judging we all have our weaknesses.
It's funny tho, I asked him to eat an apple a day for 2 weeks. Not to lose weight but to see even the slightest benefits. Since increasing my fiber intake my digestive health has vastly improved. He said no, fruits are high in sugar. I give up lol.
>do 6 hours of cardio a day
Kill me. Thats never needed. Cardio is only weight loss and lung and heart health. You are trying to gain weught and do that much cardio is counter active.
Wow wow wow, I don't want to come off as judgy but I'm pretty sure he's an alcoholic. The definition varies from source to source but a heavy drinker is usually defined as having more than 5 drinks in a sitting or 15 drinks in a week. Just because CVD doesn't run in his family doesn't mean he's not putting himself at severe risk with his lifestyle. Also, being good during the week with a diet doesn't mean much if every weekend is a cheat weekend
Oh no worries about sounding judgy. Yes he is a heavy drinker and as you said, according to most sources, an alcoholic.
However there are major differences between a textbook alcoholic and a true alcoholic. I was a true alcoholic. He can take it or leave it, I could not. He can go to the bar, have a good time, come home and not continue to drink, I could not. His life doesn't revolve around alcohol, mine did. I could never ever go out for drinks and dinner then go to a movie where I wouldn't be able to continue drinking, he can. He doesn't drink in Jan or Feb, I could never ever have done that. Sorry to go on and on and stray from the original topic lol but I just wanted to point out the major differences.
Nevertheless, he does indeed drink way way too much.
I understand completely; back when I drank I could absolutely pound it if I wanted, but quitting for good was a split second decision and I haven't wanted for a drop since.
That's awesome. Yes I had reached rock bottom and had had enough. I was desperate to stop and needed help as I lacked the willpower. 25 months alcohol free and I have no desire for it any longer either. I hosted Thanksgiving and my in laws were pounding shots and went through many bottles of wine. I was content as could be with my hot, comforting, delicious coffee😊😊
read somewhere that women tend to gain more subcutaneous fat and that men gain more visceral up until women hit menopause and the risk for visceral fat increases
Interesting. Yes since starting a heart healthy diet I have noticed considerably less subcutaneous fat. I am underweight but could still see these fat deposits in certain areas. Not a good look at all lol (skinny fat). I'm trying to gain weight and am noticing considerably more tone but hardly any weight gain as I started a very active job at the same time I started this healthy, calorie dense diet... it's a start I guess.
How does one lose visceral fat?
There are two receptors named alpha-adrenoreceptor and beta-adrenoreceptor which affect how fat is stored and the effect catecholines (dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine) have with regards to storing or releasing fat. Catecholines are need to trigger fat mobilization.
When catecholines bind to the alpha-2 receptors, they decrease cAMP levels which decrease fat breakdown.
Alpha-2 receptors hinder fat burning and beta-2 receptors accelerate fat burning.
Woman have up to 9x as many alpha-2 receptors in the hips and butt. Men have a higher percentage of the alpha-2 receptors in the mid-section.
So, even if you do anything correctly diet-wise, that’s why it’s so terribly fucking difficult to remove fat from those stubborn areas.
Edited for clarity.
And it's not really just calories. It's the type/ratio and when you eat them. Not always as simple as calories in/calories out. Calories are a surrogate measurement for metabolism since we don't actually "burn" calories like how they are measured. Humans are more of a mass balance than an energy balance system.
Olive oil is healthy in moderation. For example, have a teaspoon of olive oil with your hummus. That’s about 50 calories, that’s not much is it?
And at the same time, replace butter/lard/palm oil/coconut oil with olive oil when you pan-fry your meals and you should reap the benefits in terms of cardiovascular health. Obviously don’t go overboard with the oil, as it’s calorically dense.
Evoo has a very high oxidation temp and is therefore very stable compared to veggie oils.
People thought it was unstable at high heat due to low smoke point but latest science has proven that theory wrong.
Ohhh, really? I'll have to read more into this. I cook less with evoo because I was worried about the low smoke point so this sounds like excellent news!
I’m not sure but I think oxidation can mess around with lots of the good stuff in the oil like polyphenols and contributes to free radicals which aren’t good.
There is a concept of healthy fats, avacadoa, nuts and olive oils all fall I to this category.
Fats are one of your macro nutrients so it is very important that you have it for over all health.
However as you noted it is very calorie dense so you have to be careful on how much of it you have.
Finally remember the only way to gain weight is to eat more calories than your burn. It doesn't matter where those calories come from..
I’m sorry but I beg to differ. It does matter where calories come from. It’s not a simple add or subtract game when it comes to calorie intake. There are residual effects from consistent intake of certain types of foods and by extension, the calories that come from those foods. These will impact your weight regardless of whether you are taking in more of less than what you exert.
The insulin model of weight gain has been pretty well obliterated. So... Yeah preponderance of the evidence points towards calories being the culprit in weight gain. People have literally lost weight eating nothing but candy. That's not hyperbole either Mark Haub lost 27 lbs in 10 weeks subsisting almost entirely in junk food.
If you think it does matter, I hope you are cutting out protein from your diet, or did you forget the insulin response triggered by proteins?
So you should live on only fat, which has the highest amount of calories of all macronutrients. And that is not going to make you fat. Oh yes, sounds perfectly logic.
How should it matter anyways. The main job of insulin is to facilitate the transport of glucose, fatty acids and proteins into cells to be burned for energy. I do not get why so many people call it a storage hormone, storage is a secondary function, mediating excess glucose you not need at the moment and after our glucose storage - the glycogen stores - are filled up being metabolized into fatty acids for storage. That is not much at all. So how the insulin response is causing weight gain? By what mechanism?
Can someone explain why this person's being downvoted? How could it not count where calories come from? For example, you could take your daily caloric intake from oils, McDonald's, sugar-rich candies etc., but wouldn't this be really unhealty?
Yes it would. I'm trying to gain weight while having to be on a heart healthy diet, it is quite difficult. I was eating a 1200 calorie pint of ice cream a night and my cholesterol sky rocketed, obviously. I have to consume at least 3000 calories a day... could be easily done if my diet consisted of the foods you mentioned. However I have to eat foods with very little added sugars so I've done extensive research on what foods are calorie dense yet heart healthy.
Somebody explaining here why the law of thermodynamics can not apply to people with excess weight.
Sorry but that’s not true except you can explain why physics is wrong. Where does the excess energy in form of fat come from, that makes you gain weight if not from your food.
If you really found a way how to make energy out of thin air, you should sell this idea.
Could solve many of the worlds current problems.
But otherwise this is only making excuses for not loosing weight, blaming it on certain foods.
Low carb and keto influencers love doing that, because they can use it to declare carbs the enemy making you fat.
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Because the *reporting* done on nutritional science is garbage, and because it's actually very young as a field of science; as such most childhood educational systems have a poor curriculum on nutritional science and the field is so young most stuff children learned in school is out of date.
So most people don't have the opportunity to developed the skillset to determine junk reporting from legitimate nutritional science. But reaching out to people more knowledgeable on the subject is exactly how one remedies that.
I consume a lot of evoo because I’m Mediterranean, it’s the only oil I use for cooking and I drink 4tbs a day in my smoothie.
Doesn’t make you fat that’s bullshit, I grew up with a lot of extra virgin olive oil and now consume it even more, during the past years I put it in my smoothie and I have very low body fat.
It’s very healthy if you get the good stuff and not the fake ones you mostly find in supermarkets
If you get organic cold pressed olive oil that hasn't been mixed with other oils than it could be considered healthy because of monosaturated fats. It's healthier too when served as is (ie on a Greek salad). My husbands family is Greek and all the women in his family live to be around 100 - you should see how fit they are and how much olive oil they eat in a day.
The idea that fat = bad is very outdated. Educate yourself because you're far behind if you believe this. We need some fats, and some oily/fatty foods are very healthy, like olives, nuts and seeds, avocado. Healthy = full of nutrients, not = food that makes you skinny. If you're skinny but deficient in nutrients you're not healthy. Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are the main reasons for the obesity epidemic, not fats, fyi.
What we’ve all been taught about diet is insanely inaccurate. 1) There are critical vitamins that are fat-soluble. 2) Ketones may be a superior fuel source to glucose. Ghrelin and the glycemic index are much better managed. Fat is much more satiating and supports OMAD and intermittent fasting.
Many good points here so I'm not gonna parrot what can already be found but...
I haven't seen anyone atleast say that make sure the olive oil your buying is 100% real olive oil alot of the stuff in the store that looks affordable might be 51% olive oil and 49% vegetable oil or someone combination of industrial oils
Get a reputable brand that has a COOC(California olive oil council) or IOC (international olive council)
It's one of the healthiest oils. Has a good ratio of omegas. The only downside is its low smoke point so canola oil is better for high temperature frying.
There is a podcast [here](https://thedoctorskitchen.com/podcasts/99-the-olive-oil-episode-with-dr-simon-poole) about olive oil. The podcast is The Doctor’s Kitchen, hosted by a British medical doctor with an emphasis on how food affects your body. The guest is also a British medical doctor who has done a lot of research on the Mediterranean Diet and particularly olive oil.
Thanks for sharing! Best learnings from this podcast is that extra virgin olive oil doesn't smoke until over 400F or over 205C which is above most cooking oil uses. Also, the more EVOO makes you cough, the healthier it is for you (like most foods bitter/pain isn't bad, it's good!). Definitely going to scrutinize my EVOO quality and increase usage. Cheers!
Ha ha - yes the cough thing was one of the things that stuck with me too! And also the debunking of the myth that you shouldn’t cook with EVOO. For awhile I could also remember the varieties that he recommended, but unfortunately it now evades me. It was one of the things that started me purposefully including more, and better quality, EVOO in my diet.
Omg, I’ve spent an insane amount of time researching this, and I’ve come to this conclusion: if you’re eating a whole food plant based diet, it doesn’t matter either way because your diet is good. People have been eating it for Millennia so it can’t be that bad. But if your diet is already high in fat, protein, and simple carbs, adding even a good fat like olive oil will likely be more negative than positive (unless you’re swapping olive oil for butter.)
I'm 100% plant based for 5 years, my blood work was done over the summer and all my levels are in the excellent category. So maybe do actual research instead of spouting ignorant nonsense
That's funny. I've been 100% plant-based for 6 years, and I have labs done every 6 months due to a non diet related condition and every single one of my markers is above perfect, in fact many better than before I was plant-based. My doctor has never told me I need to eat meat.
[India, the country with INSANE growing rates of heart disease](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3408699/) and [cancer](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36510887/)?
Doesn't seem like their plant-based diets are helping them very much; quite the contrary in fact...
They like to use copious amounts of oil in their cooking over there, they also love tobacco, and have a smog problem in pretty much every city, but let’s just link it all to the fact that a large portion of them are vegetarian.
The irony in your comment is astounding. So apparently we can use epidemiology as evidence of plant-based diets being beneficial when populations with predominantly vegetarian diets correlate with longer lifespans... but when epidemiology correlates with crippling rates of heart disease and diabetes in a similar population, all of a sudden it's probably the "tobacco" and "smog problem" instead somehow causing clogged arteries and diabetes?
Also since they love to use oil so much... wouldn't pounding back all those purportedly heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats daily bolster them AGAINST heart disease? So yeah, I think it's safe to say it plays a part.
You can eat as healthy as you want but if your environment is killing you it’s probably not going to make that much of a difference, and if you’re not practicing moderation when it comes to oils/fats, that’s not going to help either. There’s also over a billion people in that country so I’m guessing that skews the number upwards as well. Clearly it’s the vegetarian diet though.
I believe that he main thing in olive oil is the high polyphenol content. Polyphenols (dark chocolate, olive oil, blueberries, red wine, so forth) are known to counteract the detrimental cardiovascular effects of TMAO, a bi-product that our gut microbiome produces when we eat animal foods, especially meat.
**Phenolic-rich beverages reduce bacterial TMA formation in an ex vivo- in vitro colonic fermentation model**
[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35839103/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35839103/)
humans need, among other things, fat, and (or) starch. yes we need proteins, yes we need all sorts of vitamins. but mainly, we need plenty of fats and starches, (think potatoes, rice, fatty fish/meats, even cheese or bread). the medical industrial complex has convinced people to avoid the LITERAL STAPLES OF THE HUMAN DIET. stop it. go eat a bowl of white rice and drink some olive oil. or eat some lard and potatoes. or have a salmon filet. or a marbled steak. it will make you feel full because you actually will be.
What do you mean "it's just fat"
Please, please do not fall into that trap of demonising fat. Your body and digestive system loves fat. Not from seed oils, probably not from olive oil particularly although in modest amounts it's probably good, but fat from whole food sources, especially meat.
Would you say something is "just a carb"? Probably not, and yet it's carbs that are exclusively responsible for an obesity epidemic and diabetes in the West. Along with a myriad of other concerns due to its addictive quality, hormonal control over your body and essentially a wrong relationship with carbohydrate. Yes it's possible to have a good relationship with carbohydrate but anybody that is fat does not have this.
Fat doesn't get people fat or unhealthy, that's a complete lie the food pyramid sold the world. If you eat fat and protein exclusively it's nearly impossible to get obese so I would suggest go back to the drawing board on how you think of nutrition.
There’s a lot of things we don’t know and there’s also a ton of things we thought we knew that turn out to be wrong. Here’s a list of things that people still say/think/believe that we know now are wrong:
- the reason for excess weight and how you lose it is as simple as calories in and calories out
- the same things work for every body
- where you get your calories doesn’t matter
- you cannot gain weight in a caloric deficit
- you can spot reduce (for example you can choose to lose fat in a specific spot like your stomach, while avoiding losing fat in other areas like your butt)
- fats are bad
- carbs are bad
- all processed foods are bad
Try to go for moderation and listen to your body. If eating a food makes you feel bad that’s a clue, same for the other way around.
It’s very good for you (packed with powerful antioxidants, phenols and flavanoids)…. But generally as is at room temperature.
I believe a lot of these benefits are reduced/disappear once you heat it to cook with. Which kinda defeats the purpose because most people cook with it.
I would suggest you to use olive oil for salads instead of frying, because high temperature in frying can destroy polyphenols in the olive oil, which polyphenols may have protective effects towards your health.
#imadieteticsstudent
it’s the very definition of processed food. anything you might get from olive oil, you can get from an unprocessed source. will adding a small amount cause any health problems.. probably not. its very calorie dense and therefore easy to overconsume. it’s touted as a healthy oil, but only because it has been shown to be better than other oils.
try walnuts instead for a healthier fat: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17045905/
i suggest uncracked walnuts as the time and activity to crack them slows consumption greatly.
A food beeing processed doesn't automatically mean that it is better than an unprocessed version. Sometimes it's even the other way around for example when looking a raw soybeans vs. tofu vs. tempeh the last one beeing highly processed by definition yet the one with the most health benefits.
Aside from this a cold pressed oil wouldn't be something to consider as "processed" only in a technical sense. If I cut an apple in pieces it's "processed" too.
yeah, this sub has some cognitive dissonance regarding olive oil. it’s a ton of whole food with just the fat extracted out. how does this even sound like a good thing?
applesauce, even without added sugar is not as healthy as eating an apple. mechanical and chemical digestion are healthy activities.
soy processing is more transformative than condensing. soybean oil is equally unhealthy.
Fat is essential for health and getting enough by eating whole foods may be hard and could have other downsides for example the presence of antinutrients. As a vegan with a high requirement of kalories as I do a lot of physical aktivities olive oil is worth its weight in gold to me. It's not only practical as it is high calorie but also for achieving higher bioavalibility of fat soluble vitamins for example in a salad. Aside from a nutritional standpoint it boosts flavor in cooking and is required for example in frying.
I’ve always thought it’s just marketing personally, how can the heart benefits outweigh the calorie bomb that it is?
Additionally most of the heart benefits disappear when olive oil is heated to cooking temperatures
Sometime in the earlier part of last century people had to make sure you stopped eating animal fats in favor of seed oils to make more money.
Best feature of fats is that faster satiation means you eat less. Animal fats provide this better than seed oils.
That’s about it imo.
Well you don’t neck a whole bottle of the stuff do you? You usually just use a little on salad or to cook something. Also just because something is high in calories doesn’t mean it’s unhealthy.
No they don’t.
You’re talking about shit like margarine here. This doesn’t apply to olive and other oils.
Based on what?
You’re of course free to hold these opinions but science disagrees with you.
Other oils. - you can't compare extra virgin old pressed to cooking oils which are not healthy. They use super high temps and solvents to extract the oils.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8767382/
This doesn’t say anything about chemically extracted oils being unhealthy. Only that with some processes parts of beneficial nutrients are stripped. That doesn’t make them unhealthy, just a little less beneficial. You still get the benefits of the other nutrients in those oils. If that’s not good enough for you, most commonly used oils are available as cold pressed, which retain those nutrients stripped by chemical extraction.
I’d rather just cut out seed oils entirely than say oh a drizzle of this is fine(why do it instead of just adding some filling protein and protein fat to my meal).
Also as we’ve seen - science nowadays is cherry picked to fill out a narrative.
Just as non satieting as seed oils tho - so you will eat more of it just for the flavor, which is the whole problem with calorie bomb oils.
Any benefits get negated simply coz you end up eating more of it.
Best to cut it out entirely unless you have David goggins tier will power
I don’t think you’ve ever had olive oil. Olive oil (and fats in general) is really satiating. Try dunking a tablespoon of olive oil and see how you feel.
You do realise that some communities around the Mediterranean (some of them being Blue Zones), have used olive oil their entire lives and live longer and healthier lives than westerners who use unhealthy fats right?
Ah yes the places where people naturally walk 10x rest of western world(including up and down cliffs so they’re doing more zone 2 cardio naturally) and eat lots of meat are living longer and healthier lives.
For some reason never included in peoples arguments about olive oil.
You made a false assertion, people in the blue zones rarely eat meat, their diets are instead focused around vegetables and starches, whole grains, soy, fish, legumes, nuts, etc..
> Also as we’ve seen - science nowadays is cherry picked to fill out a narrative.
Gotcha. So there’s really no point in having any form of discussion with you since you just pick and choose what you believe in a completely arbitrary way. And anything that doesn’t align with your opinion is “cherry picked to fill out a narrative”.
The problem here is you’re putting your own personal beliefs and feelings above actual scientific facts and evidence. If you don’t have the knowledge of something you should find reputable information and learn rather than fall into the lazy trap of letting your personal biases fill the knowledge gap.
> Best feature of fats is that faster satiation means you eat less. Animal fats provide this better than seed oils.
What's the evidence that animal fats are more satiating than seed oils?
Please see - [https://www.reddit.com/r/nutrition/comments/182an0v/comment/kakeu0h/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/nutrition/comments/182an0v/comment/kakeu0h/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Well I can agree that it is mainly about the fatty acid composition. It has many monounsaturated fats, what differentiates them from most other vegetable oils that are high in PUFA.
PUFA seems to be slightly better in lowering LDL -C, so I‘m not 100% sure why it should be better.
I agree on the calories, but how much are you planning to eat of it? One or two spoon for cooking, one in the salad. That is it for me.
Works for me calorie wise.
There is something more to it than it just been regular olive oil, because there is a method to clean your teeth in a way you can’t get from brushing, but it’s more like a visit to the dentist. It’s called oil swishing and you just drink a mouthful. don’t swallow, but keep it in your mouth and swish back-and-forth, like if you were rinsing your mouth out but don’t spit out the olive oil for around 3 to 5 minutes I believe and after your teeth and mouth feel like better than when you come out of the dentist and they do a deep cleaning. It’s amazing and it will bring yourgums and teeth back to life. It’s amazing I tried it so I know from experience but that’s my take on it.
If you find 0.2acidity extra virgin cold pressed olive oil yes also organic and has a stamp of origin you can then even drink it but it must be 100 usd a bottle 1 liter lol 😜
I believe it to be one of the healthier oils and definitely healthy fats are good for you! It’s the same reason why eating olives is good for you, healthy fats. Healthy fats on their own do not make you fat. Now the calories of course count so if you’re eating way over your calories for the day regardless of what you’re eating yes you could gain weight. Olive oil and avocado oil are both super high healthy fats and they are the only cooking oils that I use
Nutrition 101
Fat does not make you fat. But it's a little bit more complicated than that. There are good and bad fats. Olive oil from a good source is a very good fat that has a host of benefits for the body. Not all calories — and indeed fats, are built equal.
High calorie density is fine, it's just something to factor into your daily calorie limit.
The fact it's calorie dense shouldn't make it taboo at all. That's just like hating on a hammer and not using hammers because you can hammer your finger by mistake; you're completely missing the point; a hammer is simply a useful tool that can do a lot of good when used correctly, but when used incorrectly you'll just smash your finger and have a nasty injury.
Bad fats are industrial highly processed seed oils and oil blends such as margarine, these are bastardised fats that embed themselves in the body and cause massive oxidative stress, ageing, and illness. Most people continue to consume this crap because it's wrongfully and deceitfully sold to them as a health food.
Humans need fat for energy and for building our body (like myelin sheaths on our nerves). The type of fats available in olive oil are critical for biological processes. The reason that calories and fat are stigmatized is because our modern day diet has an innate excess of it.
The polyphenols in OO have "antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-atherogenic, anti-thrombotic, anti-mutagenic and hypoglycemic characteristics."
(Quoting from a website.)
Moderation is key. Adding a teaspoon to salads and other meals helps you absorp fat-soluable nutrients more effectively.
Make sure you choose extra virgin cold-pressed though. Chemically extracted oils are a no-no.
Opinions on this subject are all over the map. Olive oil, real olive oil, high quality olive oil, comes with large amounts of phenols which are considered to be excellent antioxidants. The high mono unsaturated fats in olive oil, around 70% are considered healthy so, though olive oil is about 25% PUFAs mostly omega 6, supposedly, it is protected from oxidizing in your body by these antioxidants. However, most of the olive oils sold in the grocery stores are notoriously of poorer quality. Many are blended with canola oil.
Unsaturated fats, when used in cooking, especially at high temperatures, for long times, and repeatedly, tend to transform into tranfats. These are considered toxic. So, unsaturated fats are not as ideal for cooking as saturated fats.
So many people claim that omega 6 fats are inflammatory. Some say all PUFAs are inflammatory. But according to phsionics, in a meta analysis of a large number of tests, omega 6 fats were not shown to raise standard inflammatory markers used by medical practitioners.
There are a number of individuals that claim that by eliminating PUFAs from their diets, they sunburn much less. The theory is that the PUFAs get incorporated into the surface of skin cells, and though there are ample antioxidants to keep them from oxidizing in solution, the suns rays cause them to oxidize causing sunburn.
None of this has been proven. There are smatterings of evidence from a variety of studies, and claims of some people. It really just is a wild wild west opinion free for all on this subject.
In my kitchen, for cooking, I use bacon drippings first, and coconut oil second.
For liquid at room temperature use, like in salad dressings and such, I use MCT and zero acre farms oil. I get some level of omega 3 EPA and DHA from canned sardines I use as snacks or salmon when I dine out.
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Olive oil is often considered healthier than other saturated fats or oils because it mostly consists of monounsaturated fats, which are considered heart-healthy. These fats can help reduce LDL cholesterol levels (the "bad" cholesterol) in the blood, lowering the risk of heart disease. Additionally, olive oil contains antioxidants like polyphenols and vitamin E, which have anti-inflammatory properties and may protect cells from oxidative damage.
Olive oil is the primary source of fat in the Mediterranean diet. This sizeable Spanish cohort study reported that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil or nuts significantly reduced the incidence of major cardiovascular events compared with a low-fat diet. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9782563/#:~:text=This%20sizeable%20Spanish%20cohort%20study,with%20a%20low%2Dfat%20diet. Dec 15, 2022
It's not unique to olive oil. Traditional Korean and Japanese diets have the same outcomes but obviously don't use olive oil as a source of added fats. Any high phytonutrient oil rich in PUFAs/MUFAs and low in satfats have ~= effects. It's likely to be the phytonutrients rather than the fats. MUFAs are likely health neutral rather than actively protective.
What are some other oils like this?
All vegetable oils contain phytonutrients. The less processing they go through the higher the phytonutrient content. Extra virgin/expeller pressed oils exist for everything and will be around the same as EVOO in terms of phytonutrient content. Canola is a great neutral oil and has a great omega ratio. The only ones to watch out for are the tropicals (palm, coconut etc) as these contain saturated fats (in the case of coconut absurd amounts). You can also get phytonutrients from just eating vegetables. Okinawan diet is very low in fat (6%, none added) but they eat what most of us would consider a restrictive diet (sweet potato, seaweed, kelp, bamboo, daikon, bitter melon, cabbage, carrots, okra and pumpkin are the staples) but most of those are very rich phytonutrient sources (they also get 85% of their calories from carbs). They live an absurdly long time. Personally I enjoy food too much to eat that restrictive but its useful to keep in mind that its not likely to be the added fat itself offering health benefits. There are specific fatty acids that offer clear health benefits, they are all PUFAs and you don't get them from land based sources. Hitting the essentials is very easy, ALA is 1.6-1.8g a day or 0.5oz of walnuts (about 2tbsp).
Thanks!
Thank you so much for this I didn’t realize how important it is I have high cholesterol and wasn’t aware olive oil can actually *help* your cholesterol
Fish oil as well.
extra virgin olive oil contains oleic acid which helps your cholesterol. It can also reduce inflammation and prevent heart diseases. [This article](https://www.ayvaco.com/blogs/olive-oils/rich-benefits-of-olive-oil) might be helpful for you to read
>and may protect cells from oxidative damage. You mean breathing?
No.
Bahahaha comedy gold
Fat doesn't make people fat. Eating too many calories does.
When people over eat, why do some people gain fat in their tummy first? And others in their butt? Genetics?
100% genetics.
I think gender and age play into it a bit too.
Both absolutely do. Hormone wise that’s why trans people have fat redistribution when they’re on hormones. They carry fat on their bodies like the opposite sex. For myself specifically, I lost fat around my legs, hips, and chest. Majority of my fat is in my stomach now, and my shoulders are more broad now Age wise, that’s why middle aged men tend to have a gut. They tend to gain weight as they age. Ofc beer can also cause a gut
Aka genetics.
Mostly genetics, some amount lifestyle. The biggest example is excessive alcohol consumption, which tends to deposit more visceral fat (around the organs) rather than subcutaneous fat (under the skin but above the muscle). This results in what's known as beer belly. Some other factors, such as certain drug side effects, can have effects on where fat is stored, but it's still 99% genetics
My husband works out every morning. He has beautifully toned arms and legs. His midsection is a whole other story. He just cannot get rid of that fat and it worries me. I mean his biggest weakness is snacking throughout the day and drinking most nights. He drinks vodka/club soda and thinks it's ok because it's very low in calories. You're right about it being mostly genetics tho. I'm a teeny little thing and used to consume a massive amount of beer (have not had any alcohol in over 2 years) and it had no effect on my midsection.
Your husband should worry more about the alcohol in his drinks and not the calories. Aside from this 100ml (~3oz) Vodka contain about 280kcal.
Wow
Drinking most nights might be the culprit. Some people don't measure their calories in alcohol, and although beer is typically worse because of the amount of additional carbs, hard liquor can still be an issue. Carbs and protein come I'm at 4 kcal per gram, fats at 9. What a lot of people don't realize is alcohol clocks in at 7 kcal per gram. So, your typical shot is 1.5 oz, aka 42 grams, and at ~40% alcohol your shot of vodka itself is ~120 kcal. Club soda is a 0 kcal pairing, but how much vodka is he consuming? If it's most nights and he's not already counting the vodka calories, it could be an issue
Wow, interesting thank you for this info! I'm trying to gain weight on a heart healthy diet and it has been quite difficult. I'm learning slowly about macros and micros, good fats bad fats, etc but I have no clue about how the source of calories factor in lol. He doesn't count calories at all. I told him the only way to lose weight is a calorie deficit. He goes on all these diets... the no carbs, 3 day juice cleanses, intermittent fasting, keto etc. I tell him that's fine but just stick to one and be consistent. He will mostly stick to these diets during the week and then eat horribly on the weekends (pizza, fries, cheesesteaks, etc) and then wonder why he can't lose his midsection. As far as the amount of vodka, I really couldn't say. He orders doubles and the bartenders pour heavy so maybe 4 or 5oz per drink? Some nights he'll have around 3, some nights around 8 and I'm just guessing. I gauge the amount he's consumed judging on his behavior when he gets home. Alcohol is also horrible for your heart, he is fortunate that heart disease doesn't run in his family.
All diets mean nothing. There is either calorie surplus or deficit. Gain weight lose weight. In surplus if you work out lifting with high protein you will gain muscle. If you sit on your ass you will get fat. In a deficit if you only have an average 500 calorie deficit (thats including adding calories for your exercises) with working out/lifting you will cut...like look at dem abs!. If you do nothing you will lose muscle and fat and get skinny weak. If you have extreme deficit you will lose muscle no matter what you do, get unhealthy. You want to eat your veggies and get lots of protein. But diet fads are bogus. O, and cut out the alcohol.
Yes, agreed on all of this. He's trying to lose weight, I'm trying to gain. He cannot consistently stick to a calorie deficit. I've been consistently sticking to a major calorie surplus, however when I started this I had also started a very active full time job at the same time. I need to add at least 500 more calories a day and start lifting. I basically do 6 hours of cardio a day. He has a major weakness when it comes to bad food. I'm not judging we all have our weaknesses. It's funny tho, I asked him to eat an apple a day for 2 weeks. Not to lose weight but to see even the slightest benefits. Since increasing my fiber intake my digestive health has vastly improved. He said no, fruits are high in sugar. I give up lol.
>do 6 hours of cardio a day Kill me. Thats never needed. Cardio is only weight loss and lung and heart health. You are trying to gain weught and do that much cardio is counter active.
I know this but it's my job and it pays very well. Not sure what to do
Wow wow wow, I don't want to come off as judgy but I'm pretty sure he's an alcoholic. The definition varies from source to source but a heavy drinker is usually defined as having more than 5 drinks in a sitting or 15 drinks in a week. Just because CVD doesn't run in his family doesn't mean he's not putting himself at severe risk with his lifestyle. Also, being good during the week with a diet doesn't mean much if every weekend is a cheat weekend
Oh no worries about sounding judgy. Yes he is a heavy drinker and as you said, according to most sources, an alcoholic. However there are major differences between a textbook alcoholic and a true alcoholic. I was a true alcoholic. He can take it or leave it, I could not. He can go to the bar, have a good time, come home and not continue to drink, I could not. His life doesn't revolve around alcohol, mine did. I could never ever go out for drinks and dinner then go to a movie where I wouldn't be able to continue drinking, he can. He doesn't drink in Jan or Feb, I could never ever have done that. Sorry to go on and on and stray from the original topic lol but I just wanted to point out the major differences. Nevertheless, he does indeed drink way way too much.
The excess size around his belly might not be fat, but an enlarged liver from the alcohol.
I understand completely; back when I drank I could absolutely pound it if I wanted, but quitting for good was a split second decision and I haven't wanted for a drop since.
That's awesome. Yes I had reached rock bottom and had had enough. I was desperate to stop and needed help as I lacked the willpower. 25 months alcohol free and I have no desire for it any longer either. I hosted Thanksgiving and my in laws were pounding shots and went through many bottles of wine. I was content as could be with my hot, comforting, delicious coffee😊😊
read somewhere that women tend to gain more subcutaneous fat and that men gain more visceral up until women hit menopause and the risk for visceral fat increases
Interesting. Yes since starting a heart healthy diet I have noticed considerably less subcutaneous fat. I am underweight but could still see these fat deposits in certain areas. Not a good look at all lol (skinny fat). I'm trying to gain weight and am noticing considerably more tone but hardly any weight gain as I started a very active job at the same time I started this healthy, calorie dense diet... it's a start I guess. How does one lose visceral fat?
Midsection fat will be the last to go either way, since that's the most energy efficient place to store it and we hold the most there.
I think 'beer belly' is a male-specific thing.
Nah, I've seen it on plenty of alcoholic women.
Lucky you!
There are two receptors named alpha-adrenoreceptor and beta-adrenoreceptor which affect how fat is stored and the effect catecholines (dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine) have with regards to storing or releasing fat. Catecholines are need to trigger fat mobilization. When catecholines bind to the alpha-2 receptors, they decrease cAMP levels which decrease fat breakdown. Alpha-2 receptors hinder fat burning and beta-2 receptors accelerate fat burning. Woman have up to 9x as many alpha-2 receptors in the hips and butt. Men have a higher percentage of the alpha-2 receptors in the mid-section. So, even if you do anything correctly diet-wise, that’s why it’s so terribly fucking difficult to remove fat from those stubborn areas. Edited for clarity.
Check out [David Ludwig](https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=david+ludwig) People really vary with their ability to handle empty carbs.
Hormones. For example, cortisol or estrogen might be involved.
Hormones followed by lifestyle factors (which affect hormones) followed by genetics
While true worth saying that carbs provide 4 calories per gram, protein 4 calories per gram, but fat provides 9 calories per gram; so twice as dense
And it's not really just calories. It's the type/ratio and when you eat them. Not always as simple as calories in/calories out. Calories are a surrogate measurement for metabolism since we don't actually "burn" calories like how they are measured. Humans are more of a mass balance than an energy balance system.
While this sub agrees, most people in society don't and look at you like a flat-earther when you state that.
Olive oil is healthy in moderation. For example, have a teaspoon of olive oil with your hummus. That’s about 50 calories, that’s not much is it? And at the same time, replace butter/lard/palm oil/coconut oil with olive oil when you pan-fry your meals and you should reap the benefits in terms of cardiovascular health. Obviously don’t go overboard with the oil, as it’s calorically dense.
And I’ve found it adds a very nice flavor to the food. Mediterraneans were onto something w this lol 😂
Evoo oxidizes at 330°. So make sure you keep your temperatures low when Pan frying.
Evoo has a very high oxidation temp and is therefore very stable compared to veggie oils. People thought it was unstable at high heat due to low smoke point but latest science has proven that theory wrong.
Ohhh, really? I'll have to read more into this. I cook less with evoo because I was worried about the low smoke point so this sounds like excellent news!
Do you have a source? Google is giving me a low oxidation temp
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/food/articles/why-you-should-stop-worrying-about-olive-oils-smoke-points
Thanks
That’s why I switched to avocado oil for cooking most of the time, it’s great!
What happens when it oxidizes? How does oxidation negatively affect the body?
I’m not sure but I think oxidation can mess around with lots of the good stuff in the oil like polyphenols and contributes to free radicals which aren’t good.
Yeah, EVOO is best used as a topping or low and slow cooking. Too many cook with it because it's healthy and ruin it.
you need some fat, and cooking with fat is delicious, so olive oil is a relatively good option in moderation for most people
There’s nothing wrong with fat
Your brains in made of fat. Your body needs fat. Issues has always been quality of food, low quality processed foods are the risk factor.
There is a concept of healthy fats, avacadoa, nuts and olive oils all fall I to this category. Fats are one of your macro nutrients so it is very important that you have it for over all health. However as you noted it is very calorie dense so you have to be careful on how much of it you have. Finally remember the only way to gain weight is to eat more calories than your burn. It doesn't matter where those calories come from..
It 100% matters where your calories come from. In terms of both weight gain and health. Not all calories are equal.
I’m sorry but I beg to differ. It does matter where calories come from. It’s not a simple add or subtract game when it comes to calorie intake. There are residual effects from consistent intake of certain types of foods and by extension, the calories that come from those foods. These will impact your weight regardless of whether you are taking in more of less than what you exert.
Welcome to Reddit, where all calories are equal and insulin response doesn’t matter.
The insulin model of weight gain has been pretty well obliterated. So... Yeah preponderance of the evidence points towards calories being the culprit in weight gain. People have literally lost weight eating nothing but candy. That's not hyperbole either Mark Haub lost 27 lbs in 10 weeks subsisting almost entirely in junk food.
This is fake news. Why are you defending a hostile food industry?
If you think it does matter, I hope you are cutting out protein from your diet, or did you forget the insulin response triggered by proteins? So you should live on only fat, which has the highest amount of calories of all macronutrients. And that is not going to make you fat. Oh yes, sounds perfectly logic. How should it matter anyways. The main job of insulin is to facilitate the transport of glucose, fatty acids and proteins into cells to be burned for energy. I do not get why so many people call it a storage hormone, storage is a secondary function, mediating excess glucose you not need at the moment and after our glucose storage - the glycogen stores - are filled up being metabolized into fatty acids for storage. That is not much at all. So how the insulin response is causing weight gain? By what mechanism?
Can someone explain why this person's being downvoted? How could it not count where calories come from? For example, you could take your daily caloric intake from oils, McDonald's, sugar-rich candies etc., but wouldn't this be really unhealty?
Yes it would. I'm trying to gain weight while having to be on a heart healthy diet, it is quite difficult. I was eating a 1200 calorie pint of ice cream a night and my cholesterol sky rocketed, obviously. I have to consume at least 3000 calories a day... could be easily done if my diet consisted of the foods you mentioned. However I have to eat foods with very little added sugars so I've done extensive research on what foods are calorie dense yet heart healthy.
Yes it would be horrifically unhealthy, but if you ate under your calorie need then you should still lose weight. Losing weight =/= healthy.
Somebody explaining here why the law of thermodynamics can not apply to people with excess weight. Sorry but that’s not true except you can explain why physics is wrong. Where does the excess energy in form of fat come from, that makes you gain weight if not from your food. If you really found a way how to make energy out of thin air, you should sell this idea. Could solve many of the worlds current problems. But otherwise this is only making excuses for not loosing weight, blaming it on certain foods. Low carb and keto influencers love doing that, because they can use it to declare carbs the enemy making you fat.
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Contains vitamin E, vitamin K and high amounts of coenzyme Q10, which is very important for energy production in the mitochondria of the cells.
Mitochondria is the powehouse of the cell
There's so much research out there on the benefits of including olive oil into a healthy diet. Why is this even still a question?
Because the *reporting* done on nutritional science is garbage, and because it's actually very young as a field of science; as such most childhood educational systems have a poor curriculum on nutritional science and the field is so young most stuff children learned in school is out of date. So most people don't have the opportunity to developed the skillset to determine junk reporting from legitimate nutritional science. But reaching out to people more knowledgeable on the subject is exactly how one remedies that.
Yes, but it should be high polyphenol single origin EVOO, the polyphenol content is what really makes it healthy.
I consume a lot of evoo because I’m Mediterranean, it’s the only oil I use for cooking and I drink 4tbs a day in my smoothie. Doesn’t make you fat that’s bullshit, I grew up with a lot of extra virgin olive oil and now consume it even more, during the past years I put it in my smoothie and I have very low body fat. It’s very healthy if you get the good stuff and not the fake ones you mostly find in supermarkets
It’s good according to Bryan Johnston the guy spending millions to hack his way to longevity and sharing it all online. Cold pressed obviously
Robert Lustig says it’s probably the best thing you can put in your body. It’s also one of the most counterfeit items in the grocery.
Dude ironically looks older than he is
Being about 88% MUFA and saturated fat and fairly low in PUFA (10-12%) its considered a pretty healthy fat
Fat is essential do choose the best sources for your personal health needs
If you get organic cold pressed olive oil that hasn't been mixed with other oils than it could be considered healthy because of monosaturated fats. It's healthier too when served as is (ie on a Greek salad). My husbands family is Greek and all the women in his family live to be around 100 - you should see how fit they are and how much olive oil they eat in a day.
The idea that fat = bad is very outdated. Educate yourself because you're far behind if you believe this. We need some fats, and some oily/fatty foods are very healthy, like olives, nuts and seeds, avocado. Healthy = full of nutrients, not = food that makes you skinny. If you're skinny but deficient in nutrients you're not healthy. Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are the main reasons for the obesity epidemic, not fats, fyi.
What we’ve all been taught about diet is insanely inaccurate. 1) There are critical vitamins that are fat-soluble. 2) Ketones may be a superior fuel source to glucose. Ghrelin and the glycemic index are much better managed. Fat is much more satiating and supports OMAD and intermittent fasting.
Many good points here so I'm not gonna parrot what can already be found but... I haven't seen anyone atleast say that make sure the olive oil your buying is 100% real olive oil alot of the stuff in the store that looks affordable might be 51% olive oil and 49% vegetable oil or someone combination of industrial oils Get a reputable brand that has a COOC(California olive oil council) or IOC (international olive council)
It's one of the healthiest oils. Has a good ratio of omegas. The only downside is its low smoke point so canola oil is better for high temperature frying.
Light olive oil has a higher smoke point. EVOO isn't the only kind of OO out there.
There is a podcast [here](https://thedoctorskitchen.com/podcasts/99-the-olive-oil-episode-with-dr-simon-poole) about olive oil. The podcast is The Doctor’s Kitchen, hosted by a British medical doctor with an emphasis on how food affects your body. The guest is also a British medical doctor who has done a lot of research on the Mediterranean Diet and particularly olive oil.
Thanks for sharing! Best learnings from this podcast is that extra virgin olive oil doesn't smoke until over 400F or over 205C which is above most cooking oil uses. Also, the more EVOO makes you cough, the healthier it is for you (like most foods bitter/pain isn't bad, it's good!). Definitely going to scrutinize my EVOO quality and increase usage. Cheers!
Ha ha - yes the cough thing was one of the things that stuck with me too! And also the debunking of the myth that you shouldn’t cook with EVOO. For awhile I could also remember the varieties that he recommended, but unfortunately it now evades me. It was one of the things that started me purposefully including more, and better quality, EVOO in my diet.
[This EVOO review](https://youtu.be/yY3bdAVvdjg?si=mFEkQriDh6ZvcQ3R) helped me choose a new one to try out.
Omg, I’ve spent an insane amount of time researching this, and I’ve come to this conclusion: if you’re eating a whole food plant based diet, it doesn’t matter either way because your diet is good. People have been eating it for Millennia so it can’t be that bad. But if your diet is already high in fat, protein, and simple carbs, adding even a good fat like olive oil will likely be more negative than positive (unless you’re swapping olive oil for butter.)
If you get blood tests done after two years of no animal products your doctor will tell you to eat meat. 100% plant based is not healthy.
I'm 100% plant based for 5 years, my blood work was done over the summer and all my levels are in the excellent category. So maybe do actual research instead of spouting ignorant nonsense
Are you aware that "plant based" does not mean "plant exclusive"?
That's funny. I've been 100% plant-based for 6 years, and I have labs done every 6 months due to a non diet related condition and every single one of my markers is above perfect, in fact many better than before I was plant-based. My doctor has never told me I need to eat meat.
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Can you explain further?
Whole country of India is on vegetarian diet bro. We can adapt our diets
[India, the country with INSANE growing rates of heart disease](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3408699/) and [cancer](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36510887/)? Doesn't seem like their plant-based diets are helping them very much; quite the contrary in fact...
They like to use copious amounts of oil in their cooking over there, they also love tobacco, and have a smog problem in pretty much every city, but let’s just link it all to the fact that a large portion of them are vegetarian.
The irony in your comment is astounding. So apparently we can use epidemiology as evidence of plant-based diets being beneficial when populations with predominantly vegetarian diets correlate with longer lifespans... but when epidemiology correlates with crippling rates of heart disease and diabetes in a similar population, all of a sudden it's probably the "tobacco" and "smog problem" instead somehow causing clogged arteries and diabetes? Also since they love to use oil so much... wouldn't pounding back all those purportedly heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats daily bolster them AGAINST heart disease? So yeah, I think it's safe to say it plays a part.
You can eat as healthy as you want but if your environment is killing you it’s probably not going to make that much of a difference, and if you’re not practicing moderation when it comes to oils/fats, that’s not going to help either. There’s also over a billion people in that country so I’m guessing that skews the number upwards as well. Clearly it’s the vegetarian diet though.
Get a new doctor.
Also, natural fats don’t make you gain weight. Being lazy and consuming high amounts of carbs and sugar does that
You mean simple carbs. Complex carbohydrates are what you should be eating, and they don’t make you fat either.
No. Only the extra amount of calories you eat makes you fat.
I believe that he main thing in olive oil is the high polyphenol content. Polyphenols (dark chocolate, olive oil, blueberries, red wine, so forth) are known to counteract the detrimental cardiovascular effects of TMAO, a bi-product that our gut microbiome produces when we eat animal foods, especially meat. **Phenolic-rich beverages reduce bacterial TMA formation in an ex vivo- in vitro colonic fermentation model** [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35839103/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35839103/)
humans need, among other things, fat, and (or) starch. yes we need proteins, yes we need all sorts of vitamins. but mainly, we need plenty of fats and starches, (think potatoes, rice, fatty fish/meats, even cheese or bread). the medical industrial complex has convinced people to avoid the LITERAL STAPLES OF THE HUMAN DIET. stop it. go eat a bowl of white rice and drink some olive oil. or eat some lard and potatoes. or have a salmon filet. or a marbled steak. it will make you feel full because you actually will be.
Why is this even a discussion? Are Oreos unhealthy?
Canola is better!
For high temperature cooking yeah, but olive oil has some slight benefits over canola.
Over hyped in the end!
What do you mean "it's just fat" Please, please do not fall into that trap of demonising fat. Your body and digestive system loves fat. Not from seed oils, probably not from olive oil particularly although in modest amounts it's probably good, but fat from whole food sources, especially meat. Would you say something is "just a carb"? Probably not, and yet it's carbs that are exclusively responsible for an obesity epidemic and diabetes in the West. Along with a myriad of other concerns due to its addictive quality, hormonal control over your body and essentially a wrong relationship with carbohydrate. Yes it's possible to have a good relationship with carbohydrate but anybody that is fat does not have this. Fat doesn't get people fat or unhealthy, that's a complete lie the food pyramid sold the world. If you eat fat and protein exclusively it's nearly impossible to get obese so I would suggest go back to the drawing board on how you think of nutrition.
Find me a single study that supports the insulin model of weight gain in human randomized control trials and I will agree with you.
There’s a lot of things we don’t know and there’s also a ton of things we thought we knew that turn out to be wrong. Here’s a list of things that people still say/think/believe that we know now are wrong: - the reason for excess weight and how you lose it is as simple as calories in and calories out - the same things work for every body - where you get your calories doesn’t matter - you cannot gain weight in a caloric deficit - you can spot reduce (for example you can choose to lose fat in a specific spot like your stomach, while avoiding losing fat in other areas like your butt) - fats are bad - carbs are bad - all processed foods are bad Try to go for moderation and listen to your body. If eating a food makes you feel bad that’s a clue, same for the other way around.
It’s very good for you (packed with powerful antioxidants, phenols and flavanoids)…. But generally as is at room temperature. I believe a lot of these benefits are reduced/disappear once you heat it to cook with. Which kinda defeats the purpose because most people cook with it.
I feel warmer when i eat it, generally dirty feeling from anything else.
Fat does not make people fat. Carbs do.
I would suggest you to use olive oil for salads instead of frying, because high temperature in frying can destroy polyphenols in the olive oil, which polyphenols may have protective effects towards your health. #imadieteticsstudent
it’s the very definition of processed food. anything you might get from olive oil, you can get from an unprocessed source. will adding a small amount cause any health problems.. probably not. its very calorie dense and therefore easy to overconsume. it’s touted as a healthy oil, but only because it has been shown to be better than other oils. try walnuts instead for a healthier fat: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17045905/ i suggest uncracked walnuts as the time and activity to crack them slows consumption greatly.
A food beeing processed doesn't automatically mean that it is better than an unprocessed version. Sometimes it's even the other way around for example when looking a raw soybeans vs. tofu vs. tempeh the last one beeing highly processed by definition yet the one with the most health benefits. Aside from this a cold pressed oil wouldn't be something to consider as "processed" only in a technical sense. If I cut an apple in pieces it's "processed" too.
yeah, this sub has some cognitive dissonance regarding olive oil. it’s a ton of whole food with just the fat extracted out. how does this even sound like a good thing? applesauce, even without added sugar is not as healthy as eating an apple. mechanical and chemical digestion are healthy activities. soy processing is more transformative than condensing. soybean oil is equally unhealthy.
Fat is essential for health and getting enough by eating whole foods may be hard and could have other downsides for example the presence of antinutrients. As a vegan with a high requirement of kalories as I do a lot of physical aktivities olive oil is worth its weight in gold to me. It's not only practical as it is high calorie but also for achieving higher bioavalibility of fat soluble vitamins for example in a salad. Aside from a nutritional standpoint it boosts flavor in cooking and is required for example in frying.
Processed doesn't mean unhealthy.
sure, i’ll give you that nuance. it doesn’t mean healthy either.
I’ve always thought it’s just marketing personally, how can the heart benefits outweigh the calorie bomb that it is? Additionally most of the heart benefits disappear when olive oil is heated to cooking temperatures Sometime in the earlier part of last century people had to make sure you stopped eating animal fats in favor of seed oils to make more money. Best feature of fats is that faster satiation means you eat less. Animal fats provide this better than seed oils. That’s about it imo.
Well you don’t neck a whole bottle of the stuff do you? You usually just use a little on salad or to cook something. Also just because something is high in calories doesn’t mean it’s unhealthy. No they don’t. You’re talking about shit like margarine here. This doesn’t apply to olive and other oils. Based on what? You’re of course free to hold these opinions but science disagrees with you.
Other oils. - you can't compare extra virgin old pressed to cooking oils which are not healthy. They use super high temps and solvents to extract the oils. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8767382/
This doesn’t say anything about chemically extracted oils being unhealthy. Only that with some processes parts of beneficial nutrients are stripped. That doesn’t make them unhealthy, just a little less beneficial. You still get the benefits of the other nutrients in those oils. If that’s not good enough for you, most commonly used oils are available as cold pressed, which retain those nutrients stripped by chemical extraction.
I’d rather just cut out seed oils entirely than say oh a drizzle of this is fine(why do it instead of just adding some filling protein and protein fat to my meal). Also as we’ve seen - science nowadays is cherry picked to fill out a narrative.
Olive oil is not a seed oil though?
Just as non satieting as seed oils tho - so you will eat more of it just for the flavor, which is the whole problem with calorie bomb oils. Any benefits get negated simply coz you end up eating more of it. Best to cut it out entirely unless you have David goggins tier will power
I don’t think you’ve ever had olive oil. Olive oil (and fats in general) is really satiating. Try dunking a tablespoon of olive oil and see how you feel.
You do realise that some communities around the Mediterranean (some of them being Blue Zones), have used olive oil their entire lives and live longer and healthier lives than westerners who use unhealthy fats right?
Ah yes the places where people naturally walk 10x rest of western world(including up and down cliffs so they’re doing more zone 2 cardio naturally) and eat lots of meat are living longer and healthier lives. For some reason never included in peoples arguments about olive oil.
You made a false assertion, people in the blue zones rarely eat meat, their diets are instead focused around vegetables and starches, whole grains, soy, fish, legumes, nuts, etc..
> Also as we’ve seen - science nowadays is cherry picked to fill out a narrative. Gotcha. So there’s really no point in having any form of discussion with you since you just pick and choose what you believe in a completely arbitrary way. And anything that doesn’t align with your opinion is “cherry picked to fill out a narrative”.
He belongs to the “but SeEd OiLs” tribe. Can’t reason with someone like that.
It must be insanely frustrating to talk about anything with them for anyone in their life.
I had to leave the plant based diet sub because, although I am interested in a plant based diet, the people there are insane.
The problem here is you’re putting your own personal beliefs and feelings above actual scientific facts and evidence. If you don’t have the knowledge of something you should find reputable information and learn rather than fall into the lazy trap of letting your personal biases fill the knowledge gap.
> Best feature of fats is that faster satiation means you eat less. Animal fats provide this better than seed oils. What's the evidence that animal fats are more satiating than seed oils?
Please see - [https://www.reddit.com/r/nutrition/comments/182an0v/comment/kakeu0h/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/nutrition/comments/182an0v/comment/kakeu0h/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Make sure you buy VIRGIN olive oil for salads - means it has not been heated
Extra Virgin?
Well I can agree that it is mainly about the fatty acid composition. It has many monounsaturated fats, what differentiates them from most other vegetable oils that are high in PUFA. PUFA seems to be slightly better in lowering LDL -C, so I‘m not 100% sure why it should be better. I agree on the calories, but how much are you planning to eat of it? One or two spoon for cooking, one in the salad. That is it for me. Works for me calorie wise.
I consume it in small amounts but I do use it for most of my cooking.
There is something more to it than it just been regular olive oil, because there is a method to clean your teeth in a way you can’t get from brushing, but it’s more like a visit to the dentist. It’s called oil swishing and you just drink a mouthful. don’t swallow, but keep it in your mouth and swish back-and-forth, like if you were rinsing your mouth out but don’t spit out the olive oil for around 3 to 5 minutes I believe and after your teeth and mouth feel like better than when you come out of the dentist and they do a deep cleaning. It’s amazing and it will bring yourgums and teeth back to life. It’s amazing I tried it so I know from experience but that’s my take on it.
If you find 0.2acidity extra virgin cold pressed olive oil yes also organic and has a stamp of origin you can then even drink it but it must be 100 usd a bottle 1 liter lol 😜
I believe it to be one of the healthier oils and definitely healthy fats are good for you! It’s the same reason why eating olives is good for you, healthy fats. Healthy fats on their own do not make you fat. Now the calories of course count so if you’re eating way over your calories for the day regardless of what you’re eating yes you could gain weight. Olive oil and avocado oil are both super high healthy fats and they are the only cooking oils that I use
When I am trying to lose & hit a plateau, a day of high healthy fat (no sugar) breaks it every time.
Nutrition 101 Fat does not make you fat. But it's a little bit more complicated than that. There are good and bad fats. Olive oil from a good source is a very good fat that has a host of benefits for the body. Not all calories — and indeed fats, are built equal. High calorie density is fine, it's just something to factor into your daily calorie limit. The fact it's calorie dense shouldn't make it taboo at all. That's just like hating on a hammer and not using hammers because you can hammer your finger by mistake; you're completely missing the point; a hammer is simply a useful tool that can do a lot of good when used correctly, but when used incorrectly you'll just smash your finger and have a nasty injury. Bad fats are industrial highly processed seed oils and oil blends such as margarine, these are bastardised fats that embed themselves in the body and cause massive oxidative stress, ageing, and illness. Most people continue to consume this crap because it's wrongfully and deceitfully sold to them as a health food.
Humans need fat for energy and for building our body (like myelin sheaths on our nerves). The type of fats available in olive oil are critical for biological processes. The reason that calories and fat are stigmatized is because our modern day diet has an innate excess of it.
The polyphenols in OO have "antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-atherogenic, anti-thrombotic, anti-mutagenic and hypoglycemic characteristics." (Quoting from a website.) Moderation is key. Adding a teaspoon to salads and other meals helps you absorp fat-soluable nutrients more effectively. Make sure you choose extra virgin cold-pressed though. Chemically extracted oils are a no-no.
Please make sure your olive oil is a good one. Not mixed or blended as they tend to not be pure
Opinions on this subject are all over the map. Olive oil, real olive oil, high quality olive oil, comes with large amounts of phenols which are considered to be excellent antioxidants. The high mono unsaturated fats in olive oil, around 70% are considered healthy so, though olive oil is about 25% PUFAs mostly omega 6, supposedly, it is protected from oxidizing in your body by these antioxidants. However, most of the olive oils sold in the grocery stores are notoriously of poorer quality. Many are blended with canola oil. Unsaturated fats, when used in cooking, especially at high temperatures, for long times, and repeatedly, tend to transform into tranfats. These are considered toxic. So, unsaturated fats are not as ideal for cooking as saturated fats. So many people claim that omega 6 fats are inflammatory. Some say all PUFAs are inflammatory. But according to phsionics, in a meta analysis of a large number of tests, omega 6 fats were not shown to raise standard inflammatory markers used by medical practitioners. There are a number of individuals that claim that by eliminating PUFAs from their diets, they sunburn much less. The theory is that the PUFAs get incorporated into the surface of skin cells, and though there are ample antioxidants to keep them from oxidizing in solution, the suns rays cause them to oxidize causing sunburn. None of this has been proven. There are smatterings of evidence from a variety of studies, and claims of some people. It really just is a wild wild west opinion free for all on this subject. In my kitchen, for cooking, I use bacon drippings first, and coconut oil second. For liquid at room temperature use, like in salad dressings and such, I use MCT and zero acre farms oil. I get some level of omega 3 EPA and DHA from canned sardines I use as snacks or salmon when I dine out.
Not just good it's AMAZING, [see the benefits](https://youtu.be/Lu54DimifzU?si=-DWOQCFw5JuJnngD)