Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Olive Oil Contains Saturated Fat

- 2 tablespoons of olive oil have 28 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, and 238 calories.*
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil have the same amount of saturated fat as is in 2 eggs or a cubic inch of cheddar cheese.
- The saturated fat in olive oil consists mostly of palmitic acid, the same saturated fatty acid found in meat, cheese, butter, and other dairy products.

If, for example, I was following the advice of the American Heart Association and keeping my saturated fat intake to below 7% of the day's calories, I would be eating less than 14 grams of saturated fat (for an 1800 calorie intake).

If I was eating:
  • 1 ounce cheddar cheese (6g)
  • 1 ounce potato chips (2g) (hydrogentated soybean oil)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (4g)
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter (3g)
I would be eating more saturated fat than the AHA recommends.

* Source: NutritionData: Olive Oil

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3 comments:

  1. Olive oil is junk food.
    http://wheredogorillasgettheirprotein.blogspot.com/2011/08/olive-oil-is-junk-food.html

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  2. And that raises the question - "Should we even give any credence to the AHA dietary recommendations?" How many years have their recommendations been promoted and still we see heart disease as the number one killer. And saturated fat is a healthy fat!

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