The Problem with "Healthy" Oil

Olive oil is good for you, right? Canola oil OK? Hemp seed oil MUST be healthy...it's hemp.

And all three of those oils are better than hydrogenated oils, vegetable oil or safflower oil...right?

I'd argue 'no'. Oil is oil and oil is not good as a consistent part of any diet.

Is hemp oil "healthier" than peanut oil? Sure. But a diet coke is also "healthier" than a regular coke. In the grand scheme of things, all coke is unhealthy. Just because something is "diet" or "low-fat" does NOT mean it can be eaten as much as desired.

One of my general rules is (thanks to Michael Pollan) if it can make a health claim, it's probably not something you want to be eating on a regular basis. Why? Because foods that are in packages can make health claims. An apple doesn't come in a box that you can print a misleading message on.

Anyway, back to oil.

Oil is 100% fat. There is really nothing else that comes along with it. It is super high in calories and takes up virtually no space in your stomach. In other words, it doesn't satiate one tiny bit, but one tablespoon is the equivalent of eating 2 eggs, 2 bananas, or about a pound of raw spinach (which is an eternity of raw spinach).

Half of an avocado is about 160 calories (14 g fat) but it's a whole food and comes along with some protein, calcium, potassium, and other plant-nutrients that the body craves and needs. It's also more volume than a tablespoon of liquid.

Compare that with a tablespoon of olive oil (the "healthy" oil): 120 calories, 0 protein, 0 carbs, 14 g fat. So it has the same amount of fat with nothing else. There are no plant-chemicals, no potassium, calcium, etc...It's just 100%, pure fat.

Now, I'm not saying a little oil here and there is a bad thing. But the common belief that putting olive oil (or any other kind of oil) on any and everything you eat will make you lose weight needs to be blown up and thrown away.

Check ingredients on the stuff you buy, eat and feed your families...if there is oil in it (especially hydrogenated oil which is basically manufactured poison that makes food last longer and saves the industry lots of money) consider an alternative or make it a special treat.

Go through your pantry and see how much oil is hidden in there...probably more than you think.

I make my own hummus without oil and also make my own salad dressing sans oil...both are very good and much healthier than anything with added oil.

The reason I thought of this was due to the veggie muffaletta I ate at Jason's on Friday night...tons of oil on it, greasy, all over my hands...made me think that there was very little nutritional value in all that mess. Just a bunch of calories with little else...