The PoPos

So my family kind of knows me as the oil police.

Example: When I was living with my aunt and uncle in Los Angeles, my aunt was making a salad and I saw olive oil on the counter; in a not very calm voice I asked, “DID YOU PUT OIL IN THERE?!?!?”

My aunt, being the oil sheriff, did not put oil in our salad.

Phew. Everything was okay.

**Background: There are 3 types of fat, saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. They get their names from the carbon bonds. All plant oils are going to be a combination of all 3 fats. You want to limit your saturated fat. Your heart healthy fats are you mono and polyunsaturated fats. Your “essential fatty acids” are omega-3s and omega 6’s, which are types of polyunsaturated fats. The typical American diet is high in omega-6s and low in omega-3s**

A lot of people are usually caught off guard when I tell them I don’t use oil.

“But olive oil is sooooo good for you.” Yes, yes it has antioxidants and is a monounsaturated fat. I totally understand that. Other “healthy” oils are avocado, sesame, canola, peanut, and some vegetable oils.

So why don’t I like oil? Well, here’s the deal: 1 tablespoon of oil has about 120 calories. One tablespoon adds up quickly. Maybe you’re using oil in your hummus, as a dip for your bread, to sauté your veggies, to marinade your meat, to fry your egg, to make a salad dressing, or whatever else you may use oil for. By the end of the day, that adds up to a lot of calories! Besides the oil you’re adding to your food, you’re also getting fat from other sources: meats, beans, breads, and yes, even fruits and vegetables. If you’re eating any food that comes in a package, you’re definitely getting fat from that too. Fat is everywhere. You don’t need to get it from oil.

When I eat fat, I chose it wisely. I love nuts; walnuts, pecan, almonds, peanuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts…I love them all. And I eat some kind of nut almost every day. I also get fat from avocados, olives, and flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, or sesame seeds every once in a while too.

Nuts, seeds, avocados, and olives are not necessarily low calorie foods either. One ounce of nuts is around 200 calories, 2 ounces of avocado is about 100 calories, 10 black olives are 35 calories, 1 oz of sunflower seeds has 165 calories. Something you should also consider

So in a salad, you can have 1 oz of avocado, 2 tablespoons of slivered almonds, with a variety of your veggies, with balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, or lemon juice, with some salt and pepper. You’re still getting your calories from fat, but you’re getting them in its whole form; and in my humble opinion, you are enjoying those calories a lot more than you would from oil. I would rather taste my calories in nuts, seeds, olives, or avocado.

But can you get your essential fatty acids without eating oil? Of course you can. It’s recommended that you get 1-2 grams of omega-3’s per day. Seven walnut halves have about 100 calories and 1 gram of omega 3 fatty acids. One tablespoon of ground flaxseeds has about 35 calories and 1.5 grams of omega-3s. Tofu, soy beans, kale, other green leafy veggies, and even berries have some omega-3s!

While oil comes from a natural source, it still goes through processing, removing all the fiber that was once in that whole food. Oil still has great nutrients and antioxidants in it, but not nearly as much as what’s in the whole food. And I must also mention the thermogenic effect of food; this means the energy your body uses to break down and digest food. The energy it takes for your body to break down and digest whole foods and nuts, is higher than the amount of energy it takes to digest oil.

People usually better understand my point when I explain it like this:

We tell people to eat fruit instead of drinking juice. Juice is a concentrated sugar with no fiber. Oil is the same. It’s a concentrated fat with no fiber. Juice and oil are the same in my mind. Neither of them are going to kill you, they both have lots of nutrients, but they certainly aren’t optimal.

If you need to lose weight (and there’s a 2 out of 3 chance you do), I think oil is an easy way to eliminate calories. If you need to gain weight, then adding some healthy oils is an easy way to add calories, but I’d still prefer that you eat the whole nut, seed, olive, or avocado.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not trying to get anyone on a low fat diet. I love fat, but I prefer to get my fats from the whole food, naturally, with all its fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.