Olive Oil vs. Vegetable Oil?

Olive oil is definitely healthier than vegetable oil, although I cannot remember exactly why. It has something to do with the types of fats that are in olive oil. It would be healthier to fry your tortillas in olive oil rather than vegetable (I've never tried frying anything in olive oil, so I'm not sure the logistics of that), but it'd be even better if you baked them, as that would avoid the oil altogether.

Also, I know that you cannot always substitute olive oil for vegetable oil. I had a coworker who accidentally used olive oil in a brownie mix and ended up with a black brick.

Hope that helps a bit!

I think the fats BrandNewLaura is referring to are MUFA's . . . at least that's what's healthy about flaxseed oil, or so the Wiki tells me :laugh: .

Yes. Olive oil is healthier, but it has a staggering amount of calories. But as "fats" go, it's a good guy.

People need fat and carbs for energy, in the right proportions, and some fats are better than others. Polyunsaturated fats, like olive oil, help raise your HDL cholesterol - "H" for "Healthy" and "high". This is the good cholesterol that helps keep your arteries clean, and you want it to be a high number. Olive oil does not have the high lenolenic acid content that raises LDL cholesterol - think "L" for "lousy" and "low", or the bad cholesterol that you need to keep low.
Also, olive oil has Omega 3 fatty acids, which helps improve endothelial function, retard the build-up of plaque in your arteries and helps reduce the risk of cardiac arrhythmias.

I use olive oil almost exclusively. Vegetable oil has Omega 6, and lowers LDL, but also lowers HDL, which you don't want. Omega 6 fats should constutute less than 10% of your diet if you use them.

(Credits - I'm not such a medical brainiac... I was just studying this yesterday and must give credit to the people who wrote the Monterey Mediteranean Diet handout for doctors to give patients when they are trying to naturally reduce cholesterol).

Happy frying!

Yes. Olive oil is healthier, but it has a staggering amount of calories. But as "fats" go, it's a good guy.

People need fat and carbs for energy, in the right proportions, and some fats are better than others. Polyunsaturated fats, like olive oil, help raise your HDL cholesterol - "H" for "Healthy" and "high". This is the good cholesterol that helps keep your arteries clean, and you want it to be a high number. Olive oil does not have the high lenolenic acid content that raises LDL cholesterol - think "L" for "lousy" and "low", or the bad cholesterol that you need to keep low.
Also, olive oil has Omega 3 fatty acids, which helps improve endothelial function, retard the build-up of plaque in your arteries and helps reduce the risk of cardiac arrhythmias.

I use olive oil almost exclusively. Vegetable oil has Omega 6, and lowers LDL, but also lowers HDL, which you don't want. Omega 6 fats should constutute less than 10% of your diet if you use them.

(Credits - I'm not such a medical brainiac... I was just studying this yesterday and must give credit to the people who wrote the Monterey Mediteranean Diet handout for doctors to give patients when they are trying to naturally reduce cholesterol).

Happy frying!

BEST explanation I have ever heard. My cholesterol has gone from 267 to 200 from diet and exercise. I knew what I had to do, but never understood WHY! Now i do. Thanks Wynnie:flowerforyou:

As most good cooks would tell you, olive oil does not do well under extremely high flash heat and therefore should not be used as an oil for frying. Canola oil is good for you and can withstand the high temps for that purpose.

Since we're talking about oil, I have a question about Enova oil. It looks like it has about the same calories as regular canola oil, but it says that less is stored in the body as fat. So what does that actually mean? Is Enova oil even better than olive oil?

Check out what About and Webmd had to say about Enova. They zero right in on your question.

http://lowfatcooking.about.com/od/healthandfitness/p/enovaoil.htm
http://blogs.webmd.com/healthy-recipe-doctor/2006/07/new-enova-oil-not-magic-bullet.html

"The bottom line is that Enova oil does seem to have a few benefits (it's very low in saturated fat and high in vitamin E, and contains a good amount of plant omega-3s). But from what I can tell, buying this oil is not a magic bullet, even if less of the oil is stored in the body as fat."

Yes. Olive oil is healthier, but it has a staggering amount of calories. But as "fats" go, it's a good guy.

People need fat and carbs for energy, in the right proportions, and some fats are better than others. Polyunsaturated fats, like olive oil, help raise your HDL cholesterol - "H" for "Healthy" and "high". This is the good cholesterol that helps keep your arteries clean, and you want it to be a high number. Olive oil does not have the high lenolenic acid content that raises LDL cholesterol - think "L" for "lousy" and "low", or the bad cholesterol that you need to keep low.
Also, olive oil has Omega 3 fatty acids, which helps improve endothelial function, retard the build-up of plaque in your arteries and helps reduce the risk of cardiac arrhythmias.

I use olive oil almost exclusively. Vegetable oil has Omega 6, and lowers LDL, but also lowers HDL, which you don't want. Omega 6 fats should constutute less than 10% of your diet if you use them.

(Credits - I'm not such a medical brainiac... I was just studying this yesterday and must give credit to the people who wrote the Monterey Mediteranean Diet handout for doctors to give patients when they are trying to naturally reduce cholesterol).

Happy frying!

bumping for a good cause:flowerforyou: