Olive oil confusion

[bud_2005]

I've heard a lot of people say that olive oil is very good for you so I bought a bottle of extra virgin and it is completely loaded with fat and calories. Won't I get fat using the stuff?

 

[Quiksilver]

Virgin/Extra Virgin olive oil is good for you, make no mistake.

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Concerning the "loaded with calories" thing, yes it is. Oils = fats = 9 calories per gram.

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If you have 2 tablespoons of EV oil in one form or another throughout the day, in a 2500 cal diet that matters little.

As long as you aren't drinking olive oil like a bottle of coke, then you'll be fine

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And I shouldn't have to explain myself anymore when I say that dietary fats will NOT make you fat per se.

 

[eldafar]

Keep in mind though that too much omega-6, which can be found in olive oil, can increase inflammation.

 

[ThreeStorms]

completely loaded with fat and calories

Quoted because I nearly laughed my ass off when reading this. Yeah, it's OIL ffs!

 

[Quagmire911]

Keep in mind though that too much omega-6, which can be found in olive oil, can increase inflammation.

You got any links to that?

 

[bud_2005]

So it is loaded with fat and calories and may cause inflammation. Now why do we use it?

 

[Throttle]

Olive oil, like all oils, is 100% fatty acids. It is used, like all fats and oils, for flavor, calories, texture, and to balance out the other fats in your diet.

Ideally you'd like to get a pretty even balance of the various types of fatty acids, contrary to the (weakening) conventional wisdom that saturated fat is bad and other fats are good. Extra virgin olive oil & butter are two of the best sources of fat for cooking, and should be balanced by either significant fish consumption or fish/flax seed oil.

Personally I wouldn't go around sipping the stuff unless you need the calories and otherwise haven't been able to get them.

 

[eldafar]

You got any links to that?

I don't know how legitimate you want to get with the sources for what I said, but, Rippetoe mentions it in Practical Programming. "Omega-6 fatty acids may actually to inflammatory processes if they are present in the wrong proportions" (Practical Programming, P.53, Paragraph 2, last sentence)

Most of the time Rippetoe's words are enough to convince me, but googling "omega 6 and inflammation" brings me to this page:
http://inflammation911.com/2007/07/omega-6-starts-inflammation-omega-3-stops-it/

Do some research and decided whether to believe it or not

As Throttle mentions above, balance is key.

 

[Quiksilver]

I haven't read about that, but I believe I know why he says that.

Omega 6 is linoleic acid. On the pH scale, omega 6 would be less alkaline and much more acidic. Acidic substances in your diet tend to cause inflammation.. Foods like beef, etc. with high fat concentrations can cause inflammations and on a nitty-gritty level, lots of BBers tend to eat good quantities of foods containing zinc and calcium; two elements that are far more alkaline. An example would be spinach. A general rule of thumb when you really get hardcore into healthy eating, is to balance all your foods on the pH scale, so as an example, for every acidic portion of food you eat(beef), balance it with an alkaline food(spinach).

Meal to meal it doesn't matter very much, but over months and years, you'll likely notice strength/size benefits if you balance the acidity of your body.

edit: that may have been a little confusing, but I'm sure some of the more experienced guys here will know what I'm talking about.

 

[PrinceBeavis]

It tastes good. I don't use it for too much frying, it doesn't really perform to my liking.

 

[kickureface]

im low on polyunsaturated at the moment, 50mono/50sat/20 poly coming lots of fish oil, and i pH test my saliva, usually 7, 7.2, somtimes 7.4 or even 8 o.o
lols. my veggie consumption isnt the highest but usually is a couple cups of raw spinach.

btw what exactly is inflammation? acne? soreness?

 

[mrRuckus]

As long as you aren't drinking olive oil like a bottle of coke, then you'll be fine

My face is still scrunched up in disgust of that thought after i finished shuddering.

no exaggeration