# Olive oil vs Snake oil **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742 "2010-06-19T02:34:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scamartistry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@scamartistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scamartistry)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742/1 "2010-06-19T02:34:46Z")
In the country in Europe im living in currently olive oil is regarded as a healthy thing . Are there any studies showing that olive oil would be healthy? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742/2 "2010-06-19T02:38:51Z")
Food is, by definition, healthy. It’s when you have no food that you fall ill and die. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742/3 "2010-06-19T02:46:39Z")
Olive oil is low in cholesterol, which many people think makes it healthy, for reasons that seem to defy logic. It may be healthier than some other oils, but it’s popularity might have more to do with it’s fabulous flavor. It has also been known to be healthier to purchase large quantities of olive oil from certain sellers when asked to do so. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742/4 "2010-06-19T03:14:04Z")
Moved GD --\> GQ. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742/5 "2010-06-19T15:19:46Z")
Well, this isn’t just an UL, if that’s what you mean. [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_oil) cites [this study](http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/124/6/903?view=long&pmid=3776973) as an example of the accumulated evidence of the health benefits of olive oil … ‘Healthy’ is a relative term, of course–olive oil, like any oil, is virtually pure fat, and most health authorities recommend limiting fat in your diet. The idea is to substitute healthier olive oil for other oils that you commonly consume which are higher in cholesterol and saturated fats. Adding more olive oil to your diet without making other changes is not likely to have positive effects. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742/6 "2010-06-19T15:29:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Olive oil is low in cholesterol, which many people think makes it healthy, for reasons that seem to defy logic. All vegetable oils have zero cholesterol. Cholesterol only comes from animal products. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742/7 "2010-06-19T15:32:24Z")
Drizzling some olive oil on your salad = healthy Olive oil based mayonnaise slathered 1/4" thick on a 12oz hamburger = unhealthy Context matters. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742/8 "2010-06-19T15:54:29Z")
Olive oil has no saturated fats, which increase the risk of heart disease more than unsaturated fats do. It also has a mix of various healthy(er) polyunsaturated, omega-3 and other essential fats. The same is true of many other sorts of vegetable oils. Basically this makes it a healthier alternative to butter, shortening, and animal fats. That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to consume huge amounts of olive oil in addition to your regular diet. That’ll just help you gain weight – more is most assuredly not better. If you’re really worried about your health, you should replace the saturated fats in your diet with a smaller amount of unsaturated fats like olive oil. Moderation is key, as with all things. Margarine was supposed to be a good alternative to butter, but it turns out it replaced saturated fats with artificial trans fats, which are even worse. Newer vegetable-oil based spreads mostly avoid this trap. The [American Heart Association](http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/FatsAndOils/Fats-Oils_UCM_001084_SubHomePage.jsp) has a lot more information on how different fats affect health (though with a rather… kitschy… sort of presentation). ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742/9 "2010-06-19T15:56:06Z")
A lot of the “evidence” behind olive oil being healthy is that people from Mediterranean cultures tend to eat higher amounts of fat than Americans would consider healthy, yet still have lower rates of heart disease and longer life spans. Olive oil is obviously one example of a significant difference - whereas Americans tend to get our extra fat from butter, they’re likely to get it from olive oil. But there are other differences too - less red meat, more fish, etc. and there are obviously cultural and genetic differences that might explain some or all of the difference. This is the same logic that leads people to conclude green tea is good for you - if Asians live longer and have lower rates of heart disease, it must be the tea. As SCSimmons points out, there is some good research that points to health benefits of olive oil so I wouldn’t say it’s all quackery and food-industry sales pitches. But, I’d say using it as a substitute for butter or other fats is a better idea than simply adding olive oil to your existing diet. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742/10 "2010-06-19T17:35:33Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > All vegetable oils have zero cholesterol. Cholesterol only comes from animal products. :smack: Doh! I was already ranting to myself about the cholesterol related health nonsense and not paying attention to the more obvious nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olive-oil-vs-snake-oil/543742/11 "2010-06-19T23:08:22Z")
Nice coincidence. This thread was posted on a day that five bottles of olive oil from William Sonoma arrived at my house. Two Blue Cheese flavor, one Spanish chili, and two Parmesean. _They are so good_! The Pesto is nice too.