“Olive oil is the best oil” “Olive oil is a waste of money”? The answer is…

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“Olive oil is the best cooking oil” / “Buying olive oil is a waste of money”

Regarding olive oil, some people say it is "the best cooking oil", but others say it is "a waste of money".

Rumor Analysis

Neither statement is accurate.

In general, olive oil is a vegetable oil that is rich in oleic acid and low in saturated fatty acids. It is a relatively good cooking oil, but it does not have a significantly higher nutritional value than other vegetable oils. As for whether olive oil is an IQ tax, the key is to look at your own consumption level.

Olive oil is known as "liquid gold" and "Mediterranean nectar" in the West and is highly sought after by people. People who love it say it is the best cooking oil, but some people say it is too expensive and is just a waste of money. What is the nutritional value of olive oil? Should you buy olive oil?

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Is olive oil the best cooking oil?

As a kind of oil, the main function of olive oil is to provide us with triglycerides and fatty acids. The fatty acids in different oils will be different.

The fatty acid molecules in fat are mainly divided into three categories:

① Monounsaturated fatty acids: There is a double bond in the fatty acid molecule. The double bond is an "unsaturated" chemical bond, and two hydrogen atoms can be added to it to become a saturated fatty acid.

② Polyunsaturated fatty acids: There are two or more double bonds in the fatty acid molecule.

③ Saturated fatty acids: There are no unsaturated double bonds in the fatty acid molecules, all are saturated fatty acids.

So what is the fatty acid composition of olive oil?

About 70% to 85% of the fatty acids in olive oil are oleic acid, an n-9 monounsaturated fatty acid. Olive oil is very low in saturated fatty acids.

However, the current fatty acid intake of Chinese residents is not lacking in oleic acid, but in n-3 fatty acids. Therefore, olive oil is of little significance to our fatty acid balance.

In addition, olive oil also contains some vitamin E and other polyphenol compounds, which have antioxidant effects. If it is cold-pressed olive oil, the content of these ingredients will be higher; primary cold-pressed olive oil tastes more fragrant. But these have little effect on nutrition.

In general, olive oil is a vegetable oil rich in oleic acid and low in saturated fatty acids. It is a relatively good cooking oil, but it does not have a significantly higher nutritional value than other vegetable oils. It is indeed an exaggeration to say that it is the "best cooking oil".

The Mediterranean diet dominates the list, so olive oil is better? One of the important reasons why olive oil has a long-standing reputation and is often said to be the best cooking oil is the Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean diet is often called the "healthiest diet" and has even topped the list of a certain foreign rating website for seven consecutive years. The typical feature of the Mediterranean diet is eating olive oil.

In fact, there have been studies that have analyzed several common dietary patterns, including the Mediterranean diet, DASH diet, low-fat diet, low-carb diet, Paleolithic diet, etc., to analyze their effects on health. The results show that although the effects of different diets on human health are different, there is not much difference overall.

In fact, whether a diet is healthy or not mainly depends on people’s food combinations, and does not entirely depend on a certain eating method or certain specific foods.

Therefore, the Mediterranean diet is not healthier, and it is obviously untenable to say that the olive oil in this diet pattern is healthier.

Is buying olive oil a waste of money?

Since olive oil is usually sold at a high price, some people say it is a waste of money and people should not buy it. Is olive oil really a waste of money?

Whether it is a tax on intelligence or not depends on whether you can afford it. If it is obviously beyond your consumption level, then try not to buy it; if it is completely acceptable and within your consumption capacity, then you can buy it according to your personal situation.

However, I would like to remind you of a few points:

First, the main characteristic of olive oil is that it contains a lot of oleic acid, but our diet is not lacking in oleic acid, and there are many other oils rich in oleic acid, such as tea oil, rapeseed oil, etc., which can be eaten without having to buy olive oil.

Second, the counterfeiting and adulteration of olive oil is very common, so everyone should be extra careful when buying it.

As early as 2013, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released a "blacklist of the top ten foods that are easily counterfeited", and olive oil was truly at the top of the list. The European market, even in Italy, located in the Mediterranean, is flooded with counterfeit and adulterated olive oil.

The American CBS TV program "60 Minutes" once reported that 75% to 80% of the extra virgin olive oil on the US market is fake. In 2018, CCTV also revealed that some olive oil blends labeled "extra virgin olives" and "original olives" were actually soybean oil.

In general, olive oil does not add much value to our fatty acid balance, and other vegetable oils can be completely substituted. Moreover, the olive oil we buy at a high price is very likely to be fake.

How to choose oil in a healthy way?

When you eat oil, you can pay attention to the following points:

1. Give priority to vegetable oil

Animal oils, such as lard, tallow, and butter, are high in saturated fat. It is currently believed that excessive intake of saturated fatty acids increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Common vegetable oils, such as rapeseed oil, corn oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, etc., usually have a lower proportion of saturated fatty acids and a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids, and are relatively healthy. For ordinary consumers, it is enough to choose vegetable oils at ordinary times, and change the type of oil frequently and eat different oils.

It should be noted that some vegetable oils, such as palm oil and coconut oil, have a high content of saturated fat and should be eaten in moderation.

2. Choose refined oil, don’t buy local or self-pressed oil

Locally pressed oil and self-pressed oil contain more impurities and have a low smoke point, so they easily produce smoke when cooking. The fumes contain a large amount of harmful substances such as benzopyrene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The aflatoxin in locally pressed peanut oil is also more likely to exceed the standard.

It is recommended that you buy regular refined vegetable oils. As long as it is refined vegetable oil, it is usually more resistant to high temperatures and can meet the cooking needs of most daily households, whether it is stir-frying or frying.

3. Less oil is the healthiest

Finally, I would like to remind everyone of the most important point: no matter what kind of oil it is, even the popular olive oil, flaxseed oil, perilla oil, etc., they are still fat and should not be eaten too much.

my country's dietary guidelines recommend that the average person consume 25 to 30 grams of cooking oil per day, but the current cooking oil intake of Chinese residents is 43.2 grams per day, nearly double that. Therefore, the first thing we need to do now is to reduce oil intake.

From this perspective, olive oil also has an advantage - it is relatively expensive, and people usually don't want to eat too much of it, so it can help us reduce oil intake.

Looking in the mirror of rumors

Such rumors are characterized by extreme statements and one-sided information. They often deify or devalue a certain food, ignoring scientific evidence and practical uses. For example, "olive oil is the best" ignores the nutritional value of other oils, while "IQ tax" completely denies the health benefits of olive oil.

We don't need to overemphasize the nutritional value of a single food, because no single food can provide all the nutrients needed by the human body. The key is to maintain a balanced, diverse and moderate diet.

References

[1] Yu Le. Composition characteristics, antioxidant properties and identification evaluation of domestic olive oil[D]. Jiangnan University, 2021. DOI: 10.27169/d.cnki.gwqgu.2021.001894.

[2] Zhu Dazhou, Zhao Xuemei. How to correctly understand the nutritional value of edible oil [J]. Agricultural Products Market, 2022, (01): 35-37.

[3] Yu Shunbo, Chen Changyan, Zhang Pin, et al. Fatty acid composition and main nutrient content of 11 edible vegetable oils[J]. Guizhou Agricultural Sciences, 2022, 50(07): 113-120.

[4] Kong Lingqi, Song Jiaqi, Chen Linlin, et al. Research progress in edible oil adulteration identification technology and model establishment[J]. Journal of Food Safety and Quality, 2022, 13(19): 6132-6139. DOI: 10.19812/j.cnki.jfsq11-5956/ts.2022.19.031.

[5] Sun Yuping, Yang Ya, Huang Guodong, et al. Analysis and comparison of fatty acid composition and trace nutrients of olive oil and other vegetable oils [J/OL]. China Oils and Fats, 1-13 [2024-07-13]. https://doi.org/10.19902/j.cnki.zgyz.1003-7969.220803.

[6] Fang Congrong, Yang Jie, Pei Ziwei, et al. Analysis of dietary intake and composition of unsaturated fatty acids among Chinese residents[J]. Acta Nutrimenta Sinica, 2023, 45(04): 331-338. DOI: 10.13325/j.cnki.acta.nutr.sin.2023.04.005.

[7]DRAFT REPORT on the food crisis, fraud in the food chain and the control thereof (2013/2091(INI))

[8] China’s Chronic Disease Surveillance Report 2020

Planning and production

Author: Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Review丨Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert