Should You Eliminate Oil From Your Diet?

Some popular diet trends recommend eliminating all forms of oil from your diet—including oils that are often promoted as healthful, such as olive oil. Is an oil-free diet healthier?

Nutrition Diva listener Joy asked about this in a Facebook discussion.

What do you think about the idea that oil is unhealthy and should be avoided? I've noticed that some plant-based recipe blogs I like highlight their oil-free recipes. And a doctor told me I should work on eliminating ALL oil (not fats, just oil) from my diet. If you haven't done a podcast on this topic, please think about covering it!

Your wish is my command, Joy. Let’s take a closer look at some of the arguments against oil.

Is oil unhealthy because it is processed?

The Argument:

Oils are generally extracted from whole foods. Olive oil is pressed from whole olives, corn oil is pressed from corn, and so on. In the process of extracting the fat, valuable nutrients (such as fiber) are left behind. Oil is also much more calorie dense than the whole foods it is pressed from.

This is similar to arguments I’ve made against fruit juice. When we squeeze an orange, we remove the fiber and end up with a more concentrated source of sugar and calories. We can also drink a glass of juice much more quickly than we can eat an orange, and this can lead to overconsumption.

The Counterargument:

One difference here is that no-one is going to drink a glass of olive oil instead of eating a few olives.

Olive oil is most commonly used to dress a salad or roast vegetables. Does adding oil to your salad add calories? You bet. Does it make those vegetables less nutritious? Not at all. In fact, adding oil to your salad helps you absorb more of the nutrients in those vegetables. And if it makes those vegetables more appealing and palatable, so that you eat more of them (and less of other things), it’s a win all the way around.

RELATED:What's the Most Nutritious Way to Eat Vegetables?

This seems to be the case for Cheryl, who posted:

Since I stopped limiting my olive oil years ago, I've eaten way more vegetables—because they taste great with oil and not as great without it.

As for valuable nutrients being left behind, many of the most beneficial nutrients...

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