Is Olive Oil Good For You? | The Skinny on Oil

Is Olive Oil good for you? Does it harm artery function, i.e. is olive oil bad for you? An objective look at the evidence on health effects of olive oil. Good or bad? Healthy or harmful? Let's find out.

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Animations: Even Topland @toplandmedia

Is olive oil good for you? Olive oil has a heart-healthy reputation, but studies suggest a negative effect on our arteries after eating olive oil. So is olive oil is bad for you? Tricky to label things good or bad based on individual tests.
Olive oil can lower inflammatory molecules.
We decide if something is good for us or bad for us from all the evidence. Olive oil improves FMD long-term: "FMD was increased in individuals subjected to olive oil”
Olive oil and heart disease? People who eat more olive oil have lower risk. Is olive oil good for you then? Maybe people who eat more olive oil also eat more salad and that makes them healthier not the oil per se.
What we need is to split people randomly and ask half to eat more olive oil.
PREDIMED looked at Mediterranean diets supplemented with nuts or olive oil. Other studies indicate that olive oil can improve glucose levels and prevent oxidative stress.
We can be skeptical that olive oil is good for us. But hard to make a case that olive oil causes heart disease or olive oil is bad for us. I’m not pro or against olive oil.
Olive oil is high in calories, right? Olive oil is not fattening per se. Some people eat a lot of olive oil and lose weight. Olive oil adds calories, but that doesn’t mean the oil is bad for you. Eliminating oils can cut calories for some, others can maintain a healthy weight while eating oil.
But isn’t olive oil really high in saturated fat? Doesn’t that mean olive oil is bad for us? If we’re excluding olive oil because of saturated fat we have to exclude some nuts too.
This idea of olive oil is bad for you goes back to shrinking of plaque on low-fat diets. If u have established heart disease and you want to play safe, no olive oil, ok.
But does that mean we have to tell the whole world that olive oil is poison?
In this paper the authors put olive oil in the beneficial group. They suggest olive oil is good for you. The evidence does not say olive oil is bad for us, period. It depends on a lot of factors
What about Blood lipids? In some trials adding olive oil had no effect, others show nuts lowering cholesterol and triglycerides more than olive oil. If you have olive oil and great blood lipids, ok. But if you have cholesterol issues, olive oil is something you may want to try playing with
Smoke point: oil starts to burn. Heating olive oil increases AGEs. Cooking olive oil 5mins increased AGEs. One option: add olive oil after cooking.
If you have olive oil, go with Extra virgin. More benefits with polyphenol-rich oil as opposed to the refined versions like light olive oil.
For most people, more olive oil would be an upgrade…
Vicious nutrition wars over olive oil. Nobody needs olive oil. Is olive oil good for you or bad for you? It's less about the oil and more about the you.

References:
Olive oil and FMD
exercise / sleep and FMD:
other effects of olive oil:
sex and blood pressure:
olive oil and heart disease/mortality:

Disclaimer: The contents of this video are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor to replace medical care. The information presented herein is accurate and conforms to the available scientific evidence to the best of the author's knowledge as of the time of posting. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions regarding any medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of information contained in Nutrition Made Simple!.

#NutritionMadeSimple #GilCarvalho

[missinglink_eth]

"Who said science is boring" :)

[thomascurry]

I am so happy that I found this channel. This is the first plant based channel that is obviously not trying to distill a complex issue into a 2-3 minute over simplified video in favor of an ideology. Thanks Dr. Gil!

[mindscapetv]

Your take on the post parandial FMD scores on olive oil is excellent. Every other plant based focused channels including the famous nutrition facts have vilified olive oil citing the reduction in FMD. No one ever looked at the longer term effects. Thanks for keeping your content unbiased and based on facts! I am definitely watching more of your videos.

[JW-ndnv]

One of the few unbiased nutrition channels, which I absolutely respect, especially in an era of nutritional zealotry.

[santopino]

Wow, I'm an Italian living in Milan Italy, I only use Extra vergine olive oil in the last 43 years. If someone tries to convince me that it's not essential but a choice, than so is living :P.

[erikkindbom]

THANK YOU! It's soo refreshing to hear someone being so un-biased. Seeing from both sides, not identifying with with either, just out after the truth. While also seeing the bigger picture. My new favourite nutrition channel, keep it up!

[Keep_It_Real_Ministry]

I thank God for you, taking the confusion out of something so simple, yet made complicated. Thank you for the Clarity!

[jaybird]

the way you conducted yourself with logic, a non biased approach and a down to earth humour makes me glad I found your channel! I only want to listen to people who keep it real. subscribed!

[carolamendoladanca]

I've followed the olive oil controversy for years now and did my own research. It's pretty hard to argue that olive oil is bad for you when the longest living people on earth are regularly consuming it. Not to complicate things but there is a difference in the nutritional value in olive oil based on a variety if factors.

[mgfatso]

Wowh, I love this channel. So objective. Such science.

[michelem]

I tried an oil-free diet, all whole plant foods, and I found it difficult to get enough calories. I also was bloated a lot. Allowing a small amount of oil back in my diet made me feel a lot better, and I didn't notice much of a difference in my bloodwork. I'm naturally slender, btw, so it may have something to do with that.

[scottyg]

Your videos are always educational and to the point. Thank you for the great content!

[myggggeneration]

While I am typically an oil avoider, I certainly see your point. Very refreshing and nuanced -- keeping it real. :-)

[deanhooks]

Thoughtful treatment of a complex topic! It seems that whether to use olive oil or how much to use is the equivalent of a first world problem for healthy eaters. As you noted, if you are worried about olive oil, you are probably doing a lot of things right that have a bigger impact. Thanks for yet another great video!

[hrdemerson]

Thank you so much for taking the time to create such a balanced, objective and well-informed video on a (surprisingly) controversial topic. And your overall objectivity, without being yoked to a particular ideology - I believe makes your videos much more credible. I very much appreciate that you discuss the need to put bits of data - regarding the short-term impact of a particular food - within a much broader context of our overall diet and personal health. I am learning so much from your videos - I hope you continue them for a long time to come!

[jakeedwards]

I’m new to the Chanel and love your content. Youre awesome! Thanks for simplifying everything 😎

[Magnulus]

I really like your channel, as it takes a balanced and holistic perspective.

I have been trying to do whole food, plant based diet and I just feel like I'm starving sometimes because the calorie density is so low, and it's a big transition from my previous processed food, omnivore diet (now that the worst of COVID is over, I'm doing more walking and I am less sedentary. I also am starting to do light weight training). I am not used to eating so much bulk in food, and restricting calories too much lead my metabolism to crash (but at least my BMI is normal now) I appreciate the ability to control food density more vs. eating highly processed foods and oily cooking methods, but perhaps a little use of oil would help pad out the calories I am consuming.

[neiljohnson]

Dr. Carvalho, you've become my favorite youtube health educator. I love your analogies. Keep up the good work!

[nanduce]

Thank you! As an instructor with PCRM, I’ve advocated no oils for quite a while after reading and listening to Dr Esselstyn. Your recommendations are balanced and sound science. I now “drizzle” EVO at times. My salad dressings are still 10:40 oil free! Glad I found you!!!

[Pyriphlegeton]

Thank you for the nuance and dedication to evidence-based advice.