Is Olive Oil Healthy?

[Samuel Garcia]

In the video, he mentions olive oil shouldn't be heated since it oxides. Been having lots of vegetable soup recently and the requires heating the soup. Any health experts to back this up?

[Michael569]

You wouldn't be able to boil the soup higher than 100 degrees Celsius. The smoke point (when it starts turning rancid) for olive oil is between 160 and 200 degrees Celsius https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_point. The thing with unsaturated oils however is that over the time they oxidise when in contact with the air as well unless stored with dark green glass bottles in the fridge. 

But the radical damage would be very small when cooked in water comparing to when fried on a pan, that's when it gets tricky.  

[Pelin]

There are lots of controversial opinions about this. Some experts say it's safe, they say you can even use it for frying; while some others only advocate consuming it raw. I personally cook vegetables and omelette in olive oil. It's certainly better than other oils imo.

But if you're unsure, the solution might be adding the olive oil raw after cooking the soup with just water. This is how most Mediterranean people cook dishes using olive oil. Here is another version: They cook with as little oil as possible, then add raw oil later. 

p.s. Extra virgin olive oil tastes best when consumed raw.

[Siim Land]

Your best bet is to heat fats and oils as little as possible.  Using olive oil for frying or, god forbid deep frying, is the worst thing you could do with it. Boiling isn't that bad because you won't really go above 100 degrees. 

Aside from that, extra virgin olive oil is very healthy and good for you, if it's not rancid. One recent study done this summer on mice showed that reduces brain inflammation and activates a process known as autophagy that protects against Alzheimer's and promotes longevity (Link to study). I'd imagine these benefits would be lost if you used oxidized olive oil. 

[Ricky Walt]

From what I understand about the olive oil situation is that when you use it in a pan for like stir frying purposes then at some point the pan will heat the oil up and it will start smoking. It's at this point that the carcinogenic properties of the oil increases rapidly. Carcinoma (which I don't know much about) increases your cancer risk, so the common advice is not to fry food in olive oil because of this. Other oils like sunflower oil have a higher smoke point so it is more suitable for pan frying purposes. But if you are interested in eating healthy you would probably be staying away from frying altogether in anycase.

However if you add it to a soup or brothy kind of food the likelyhood of it reaching the smoke point is not high so there's nothing there to be worried about. I agree with the other statements in this thread that the oil consumed raw is healthy.

[caelanb]

I heard that avocado oil was even healthier than olive oil, is this true? My parents friend told my parents about them about that. Though I'm pretty sure olive oil is very healthy, most like better than canola oil. 

 

[Natasha]

I don't cook in olive oil, only use it for dressing in salads. For cooking I use avocado and coconut oils because they tolerate higher temperatures without becoming toxic.

[Voyager]

I eat it raw only. Only cook with saturated fats. 

[phoenix666]

from what I've researched, I don't think oil is healthy at all. neither cooked nor raw. It doesn't have any nutritional values that you couldn't get from healthier sources (seeds, nuts, avocados..)

I usually try to cook without oils. of course it's not possible to avoid it completely (when I go out for lunch/dinner). but when I can, I prefer to avoid it

Edited October 2, 2017 by phoenix666

[KenDo]

On 10/2/2017 at 7:59 AM, phoenix666 said:

from what I've researched, I don't think oil is healthy at all. neither cooked nor raw. It doesn't have any nutritional values that you couldn't get from healthier sources (seeds, nuts, avocados..)

I usually try to cook without oils. of course it's not possible to avoid it completely (when I go out for lunch/dinner). but when I can, I prefer to avoid it

tru

[Hardkill]

Get the olive oil that USDA certified. That stuff has been tested properly and objectively by third party people who are highly qualified to test out which products are safe and high quality.

[pluto]

I know its always better to have the whole food instead of the oil because our bodies struggle to handle the oil in its concentrated form without the fiber and the whole food itself as in olives being much better than olive oil and coconut flesh being better than the oil but would it really hurt having a teaspoon of oil to massage a big bowel of potatoes and bake them?

It helps bring out flavors, spices stick and cook more efficiently. I don't see the harm in this although if you were to have spoonfuls just like that then i could definitely see a problem. I tried to supplement hemp seed oil a while back and felt like shit afterwards instead i just add hemp seeds to my daily diet and never felt better.

Edited April 2, 2018 by pluto

[tomlatham]

Thanks for the video here. I will stay away from this kind of supplements. lol