"Healthy" Oils

All cooking oils, whether labeled "healthy" or not, are nothing more than liquid fat and fat contains a whopping 9 calories per gram.

Let's take a look at some healthy oils, such as olive, canola and grapeseed oil. Each of these oils contains 14 grams of fat or 126 calories per tablespoon. I want you to think about this for a moment. 126 calories in one tablespoon. 252 calories in 2 tablespoons. 378 calories in 3 tablespoons. It adds up quick!

I mention this because thanks to how oil is now marketed as a health food, I've seen more and more people begin to consume massive amounts of olive, grapeseed, flaxseed, and canola oil. They then come to me and ask why they can't seem to lose weight even though they're exercising and eating right.

Consider this, it only takes 4 tablespoons of oil before you have consumed 56 grams of fat (504 calories), the recommended daily allowance of fat if you're on a 1,700 calorie diet. So if you spread 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil margerine on your toast in the morning and 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil vinagrette on your salad at lunch, you've already consumed all of your fat for the day.

What's worse is this number doesn't include the fat in the other foods you've eaten and will eat throughout the day. For example, there's the fat in your bread, dairy and soy products. The fat in your tofu, meat and vegetables, etc. Fat is everywhere.

Another Way to Look at "Healthy" Oil
In my opinion oil by itself is almost worthless. It is a processed food. It's not filling because it doesn't contain fiber, protein or carbohydrates and it offers few vitamins and minerals when compared to solid foods.

If you're trying to lose weight, it would be better to replace some of your "healthy" oil with real food rich in vitamins and nutrients such as Omega-3 fatty acids. Try eating raw almonds, walnuts, fatty fish like salmon and even venison. Again, just watch your serving sizes because too much of a good thing is really a bad thing. Just ask the scale or your neighborhood cardiologist.

But I Like My Oil...
You don't have to give up oil completely, you should just learn how to moderate your useage a little better. Try measuring out a serving as opposed to pourring straight from the bottle, better known as eyeballing it. Try not to add oil to a dish just for the sake of adding oil. Your body will thank you for it. The scale will, too.

A Final Word About Cooking With Olive Oil
Don't cook with olive oil. Heat destroys its nutrients rendering it almost completely useless to your body. Cook with grapeseed oil instead. Grapeseed oil withstands higher temperatures much better than olive oil and the heat does not destroy its nutrients.

Have a great day! Be sure to go outside and do something active.

Copyright 2009 Amy Giaquinto