Oil
2.5 - Why No Oil?
Video Transcript: 2
One of the most frequent questions people ask about a WFPB diet is why they should avoid cooking with oil. Many people insist that oil is healthy. An article in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology from 2022 claims that “Higher olive oil intake was associated with lower risk of total and cause-specific mortality. Replacing margarine, butter, mayonnaise, and dairy fat with olive oil was associated with lower risk of mortality.” The problem with this study, and many others like it, is that the researchers compared consuming one type of fat with other types of fat. They did not look at consuming very little fat, as recommended by a WFPB diet.
There are several reasons to avoid oil:
Even the highest quality oils (e.g., extra-virgin olive oil) are 100 percent fat, meaning they are incredibly high in calories. Because of its calorie density and lack of fiber, oil promotes overeating and weight gain. You will learn more about the importance of calorie density in the next lesson.
Oil is not a whole food. It is an isolated and concentrated part of a plant. The fiber and almost all of the other nutrients from the whole plant have been thrown away. Without fiber to slow its release into the blood, oil is easily stored as fat in the body.
Oil injures the endothelium, the innermost lining of the artery, and that injury is the gateway to vascular disease. It is also very easy for our bodies to store this fat, and it can stay in the blood vessels adding to plaque.
Video Transcript: 2
One of the most frequent questions people ask about a WFPB diet is why they should avoid cooking with oil. Many people insist that oil is healthy. An article in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology from 2022 claims that “Higher olive oil intake was associated with lower risk of total and cause-specific mortality. Replacing margarine, butter, mayonnaise, and dairy fat with olive oil was associated with lower risk of mortality.” The problem with this study, and many others like it, is that the researchers compared consuming one type of fat with other types of fat. They did not look at consuming very little fat, as recommended by a WFPB diet.
There are several reasons to avoid oil:
Even the highest quality oils (e.g., extra-virgin olive oil) are 100 percent fat, meaning they are incredibly high in calories. Because of its calorie density and lack of fiber, oil promotes overeating and weight gain. You will learn more about the importance of calorie density in the next lesson.
Oil is not a whole food. It is an isolated and concentrated part of a plant. The fiber and almost all of the other nutrients from the whole plant have been thrown away. Without fiber to slow its release into the blood, oil is easily stored as fat in the body.
Oil injures the endothelium, the innermost lining of the artery, and that injury is the gateway to vascular disease. It is also very easy for our bodies to store this fat, and it can stay in the blood vessels adding to plaque.