Is eating oil healthy or not?  This is a controversial topic and the information out there can be conflicting and confusing. As I continue to do research on this life style (articles, books, video, webinars, films), I see more and more information about why people should be eating a diet of whole plant-based foods.  And why people should not be eating oil as part of their diets.

OIL CONSUMPTION AND HEART DISEASE
Some of the research on this subject I find most interesting comes from Drs. Caldwell Esselstyn, cardiologist; John McDougall, physician and nutrition expert; and Michael Klaper, a leading educator in applied plant-based nutrition and integrative medicine.  All three doctors treat their patients with Nutrition Based Medicine.

Their research (and the research of many others) shows that those who eat a Western Diet or a SAD Diet (Standard American Diet) have more heart disease than those who eat a Plant-Based Diet. One of the reasons is that the Western/SAD diet has high amounts of fat which come from meat, dairy, processed foods, processed baked goods and oil.

Sometimes the Mediterranean Diet and olive oil have often been credited with weight loss and good health. Some aspects of the Mediterranean Diet are very healthy, but the olive oil part, not so much. Dr. Michael Klaper describes all refined oils as “liquid fat in a bottle” and says, “Pouring olive oil on foods does not suddenly make them heart-healthy!” [1]

When oil is consumed, it causes the walls of arteries and blood vessels to stiffen. When they stiffen, circulation is reduced and can lead to chest pain, high blood pressure, impaired brain function, fatigue and compromised lung function. Olive oil increases blood clotting activity (by increasing clotting factor VII) as much as animal fats do.[2] Oil makes the blood murky and decreases the blood flow to tissues.  It doesn’t matter what type of fat you consume – all types of animal fat and vegetable oils have a negative effect on your heart.

HEALTHY PLANT-BASED FATS
The human body does need some fat to function. But, we don’t need much – only about 5% of our daily calories need to come from fat. That’s about 75 calories’ worth on a 1500 calorie a day diet, or less than 9 grams of fat.[3] A plant-based, oil-free diet also includes fat, but the sources are whole foods such as avocado, nuts and seeds.  Olives are also a plant-based fat, but are soaked in brine which makes them very salty, therefore they should be consumed in moderation.

OIL IS FATTENING
Only one little tablespoon of oil has 120 calories and 13.6 grams of fat and remember, we only need less than 9 grams of fat per day. So, imagine how many calories you are consuming when you are dipping lots of bread in oil at the Italian restaurant down the street!  Plus, oil has no nutritional value, it is just 100% fat and when it is processed, all the nutritional benefits are removed. When you cut oil, you cut fat and you lose weight.

CALORIE DENSITY
What is Calorie Density? In a nutshell, it is the number of calories per weight of the food.  When you choose foods that have a low-calorie density you are eating a lower number of calories.  Foods that are low in calorie density (legumes, whole grains, starchy vegetables, fruits and leafy vegetables) are also more filling, satisfying and have more nutrients. Those types of foods have more water and fiber and less fat, so you feel full longer after you eat them. Food that is high in calorie density provides a lot of calories in a small amount of food.  Because you’re not eating very much volume when consuming high calorie density foods, it’s very easy to overeat in order to feel like you’ve had enough.

Oil is not filling when you eat it and as you can see in the illustration below, you can eat a lot of the whole foods for the same 400 calories in oil.

MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE
I truly enjoy and eat a plant-based diet 99% of the time and it’s very easy for me to avoid oil in my own cooking (I don’t even buy oil anymore).  But, I’m not perfect and do consume oil from time to time.  Especially, when eating at someone else’s home or my big challenge – restaurant eating!  I love going out to restaurants and eating delicious plant-based foods.  Or on those days I’m feeling really lazy or overwhelmed with too much to do, having my husband pick up some plant-based dinner on the way home from work.  While we both enjoy eating restaurant food, it’s full of salt, sugar and oil.  Lots of oil!  As Dr. Michael Klaper says, “Restaurant food is ethnic-flavored salt, sugar and fat”.

MY GOAL AND A CHALLENGE FOR YOU
My goal is to keep restaurant visits to no more than once a week and hopefully work towards even less.  Then maybe I will finally be able to drop this pesky 10 lbs. I put back on in the past couple of years. 😊

I challenge you to do start trying to cook without using oil – even if you start with only a meal or two a week.  Let me know how it’s going!

COOKING WITHOUT OIL
Sauté or brown vegetables using vegetable broth, water or even wine in place of the oil.
For baking, you can use apple sauce in place of the oil is recipes (½ cup apple sauce replaces ½ cup oil)
Use non-stick frying pans and skillets
Bake or roast using parchment paper or silicone mats
Use an Air Fryer to “fry” your foods (more on this in my upcoming blogs on gadgets)
Check out some of my oil-free RECIPES

IN CONCLUSION
It is suggested that people should not consume oil in their diet if they want to help prevent heart disease and maintain a healthy weight. That means no corn oil,  canola oil, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, palm kernel oils, any type of vegetable oil.  There is no reason to consume those oils because you can get the healthy fats you need from whole plant-based foods (nuts, seeds, avocado, olives).  It’s easy to stop cooking with oil, you just need to experiment and you’ll find you don’t even miss it.

[1] From Dr. Michael Klaper’s talk at the 2012 Healthy Lifestyle Expo, “Salt, Sugar and Oil: What’s The Problem?”

[2] The Starch Solution, by John A. McDougall, MD

[3] “Do You Need to Eat Fat?“ by Susan Bowerman, M.S., RD, CSSD, CSOWM, FAND – Senior Director, Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn
Scary Effect Olive Oil Has On Arteries-Dr Caldwell Esselstyn
Making Heart Attacks History: Caldwell Esselstyn at TEDxCambridge 2011

Dr. John McDougall
When Friends Ask:  Why Do You Avoid Adding Vegetable Oils?
Webinar: 03/17/16, NO OIL! Really, NO oil!

Dr. Michael Klaper
Olive Oil is Not Healthy
Mediterranean diet: healthy despite olive oil

Thank you for sharing! 💚