Is Olive Oil Healthy? The Shocking Truth!

Most of the experts say you shouldn't go low fat because you need some fat in your diet to be able to absorb some of the vitamins that are fat soluble, like vitamins A, D, E and K. So the message these experts give is to replace bad unhealthy fats with good healthy fats. Most consider olive oil to be a healthy fat. Almost every nutritionist, doctor, health expert of any kind says olive oil is healthy. Just Google it.

So how did this oil get this overwhelming reputation as being healthy? Well, back in the 1950's it was noticed that the people living in the Mediterranean, especially on the island of Crete, were lean and almost free of heart disease. They consumed high amounts of olive oil, about 40% of calorie intake was from fats, mostly olive oil. Their rest of their diet consisted of mostly fruits, vegetables and beans, and they also ate a little fish. They also ate very little saturated fat.

Today, the same region of the Mediterranean has a population that is just as fat as Americans. More than half are overweight, both adults and children. Heart disease has jumped dramatically. They still eat a lot of olive oil but their consumption of veggies, fruits and beans is down and consumption of meat, cheeses and fish are up. Exercise is down also.

They also worked very hard. Most worked long days pushing a plow or some other kind of farm equipment. They got plenty of exercise. The experts didn't get the message that eating lots of fruits, vegetables and beans and also get loads of exercise was good, they just got the message that olive oil was healthy.

There is plenty of evidence to support the fact that consuming olive oil, which is a monounsaturated fat, is far healthier than consuming trans fat or saturated fat. However it is still a fat. It is still a very calorie dense food. One of the most calorie dense foods you can buy. A single tablespoon is 120 calories. You can quickly add several hundred calories to a meal with it. More calories than butter pound for pound. A pound of butter 3200 calories, a pound of olive oil 4020 calories.

Foods cooked or coated with oil soak up the calories and go from being healthy to being fattening. Most people eat very little salad vegetables, but when they do they usually cover them with oily dressings like olive oil. They can turn a 50 calorie salad into a 500 calorie salad without thinking. Might as well just forget the veggies and drink the dressing.

The fact is that fat will add to our already plump waistlines. Especially olive oil. It is still a fat and is 9 calories per gram. Eating more of it will help add on the pounds. Adding on the pounds heightens the risk of all sorts of disease, especially diabetes, stroke and heart disease. It is also 14% saturated fat, so you are increasing the artery clogging fat in your diet as you consume more olive oil.

If you are at your ideal weight and in good health and exercise a lot, you could probably eat it daily and it be no big deal, but for most Americans no oil at all is the best choice.