Does olive oil taste bad? Is it safe at high heat?

Olive oil does not lose its health benefits when heated.

For thousands of years, olive oil has been used for cooking.The cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet is it.Some people think that olive oil shouldn't be used for cooking.There is a rumor that olive oil will lose its health benefits when heated.This rumor is not true.Here's why.

Olive oil's main health benefit is its fat composition.Monounistic fat is found in olive oil.Cooking with an oil won't change its fat composition.Even at high temperatures, the percentage of monounsaturated fat in olive oil remains the same.

Lowering bad cholesterol levels in your blood can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association.They help maintain and develop your body's cells.In 2004, the FDA approved a health claim for olive oil that it may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease when used in place of saturated fat.

All olive oils have the same amount of monounsaturated fat.

Trans fats may form when cooking oils are heated.Even with long heating, the concentration is less than 1%.

Most olive oil is not impacted by household cooking.The smoke point is not the most important factor when evaluating cooking oils.The main issue in comparing oils is the degree to which a cooking oil resists breaking down under heat, which may result in the formation of potentially harmful compounds.When it comes to the production of polar compounds, extra virgin olive oil is more stable than cooking oils with a higher smoke point.One reason for this is that olive oil protects it from breaking down when heated.

The composition of the oil's fatty acid is an important factor.Read more.

The extent to which the oil has already been subjected to high heat by refining is an important factor.They have been refined in the production process.

The 2004 study measured potentially harmful aldehydes when extra virgin olive oil was heated to 464F.Even though canola oil has a higher smoke point, extra virgin and regular olive oil performed better than it did.Read more.

The smoke point of olive oil is not likely to be exceeded when cooking.The food and oil don't reach that temperature on a stove top, even if you turn the burners to high.

It is not true that you should not cook with olive oil because the phenols will be destroyed by the heat.The phenols in olive oil are sensitive to heat.A 2015 study made a remarkable discovery.The phenols move into the food when cooking with extra virgin olive oil.The fried potatoes contained more phenols than the boiled potatoes.Read more.

The University of Barcelona found that extra virgin olive oil retains healthy compounds during cooking.Read more.