Cold pressed virgin oils are hailed for their excellent health promoting qualities.
Olive oil has become the go to oil for the health conscious, but is it indeed the “healthiest” choice. Let’s see how olive oil stacks up against the up and comer, avocado oil.
Olive Oil
Nutrition Facts:
- Serving size: 1 Tablespoon (13.5g)
- Calories:120
- Saturated Fat: 1.9g
- Polyunsaturated: 1.4g (Linoleic Acid)
- Monounsaturated: 9.8g (Oleic Acid)
- Vitamin E: 1.94mg
- Vitamin K: 8.1mg
- Omega 3: Between 0g and .5g
- Omega 6: Between .5g and 2.7g
- Phytosterols: 30mg
Other Information:
Extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of 406 degrees F. (208 degrees C.) and is considered safe for cooking as long as the temperature is below the smoke point. Any oil heated beyond its smoke point can produce carcinogenic chemicals in the smoke.
Avocado Oil
Nutrition Facts:
- Serving size: 1 Tablespoon (13.5g)
- Calories:120
- Saturated Fat: 1.6g
- Polyunsaturated: 1.9g (Linoleic Acid)
- Monounsaturated: 10g (Oleic Acid)
- Vitamin E: 3mg
- Beta Sitosterol: 72mg
- Omega 3: .134g
- Omega 6: 1.8g
Other Information:
Extra Virgin Avocado Oil has a smoke point of 520 degrees F. (221 degrees C.) which is safer for very high temperature cooking. Avocado oil has a strong flavor so it may not be suitable for some recipes.
Conclusions
Looking at the above data, I think olive oil and avocado oil are pretty similar as far as their health promoting properties go. Avocado oil marketers have been pushing their oil as the healthier choice, but I think it’s really only slightly healthier.
I think both can be part of a healthy diet. Use avocado oil where it’s unique flavor will enhance the dish or where high temperature sauteing is required. Olive oil is much cheaper so it can be used more on a regular basis.
Sources:
http://caloriecount.about.com
http://oliveoilonly.org/eat_well/olive_oil_smoke_point.htm
Flavor of avocado seals it for me! I cannot stand avocado
I totally agree with you. Both avocado oil and olive oil have same nutritional effects and both are just as good as the others.
good post
@neil, did you read the above article or just comment? It was already mentioned that avocado oil has a higher smoke point and it’s actually 520F compared to 406F but this varies with the type of olive oil you are using. I also listed the plant sterol amounts. Avocado has 75mg/TB and Olive has 30mg/TB… so just a little more than half as much but you said they were absent which isn’t true. It’s are a just a different type of sterol.
extra virgin Avocado oil has a much higher smoke point than olive oil. (425 F compared to 375 F). Therefor its much better for sauteing, as well as general cooking applications. To my mind, it taste much better, as its also got the flavor of ripe avocado. The health benefits are much higher than olive oil (as an avocado is much healthier than an olive).
It also has a wealth of powerful plant sterols that are absent in olive oil.
I don’t actually care much for the flavor of olive oil, so I’d probably hate avocado oil’s flavor. I only use olive oil in salad dressings so I can mix it with vinegar. I have seen avocado oil in my grocery store and I do know it’s a LOT more expensive than the olive oil, so it’s good to know it’s only a little healthier for you.
Avocado oil, will fall almost under the same category as olive oil, frankly i do not think either of them should ever be used to cook (meaning heating the up) 200 0r 221 degrees of temperature is low enough to almost make it impossible to saute anything, if i ever consume olive oil is always in a raw state, due in fact to the high levels of PUFAs, which are known and well documented asmetabolic down regulators and creating a host of many other problems, Ray Peat PhD has done volumes of research of the dangers and over consumption of this types of fat.