We know that the Mediterranean diet especially considers oil as a healthy source of nutrients. However, olive oil is not a “health” food. Neither is coconut, grapeseed, flaxseed, or any other oil you may have heard of.
All vegetable oils, which follow much the same model as refined sugar, come from plants. All nutrients, including protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fiber and water, have been removed.
The oil, like any component that is separated from the fruit it belongs to, loses nutritional value in relation to the food from which it came. For this reason, olives, sunflower seeds, soybeans, corn, are rich foods when eaten whole, but olive oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, etc. is not. When we consume whole and as little processed foods as possible, we receive the necessary components for our body, as well as the fat naturally contained in each food, in a balanced way and without burdening our health.
Of course, what our diet contains always plays a role. If our diet consists of vegetables sauteed in butter, then sauteing them in olive oil is an improvement. But if our diet consists of vegetables sautéed in water then adding oil does not improve our diet; quite the opposite: it increases the calories we get from each dish we eat and decreases the nutrients we get from a given amount of calories.
Dr. Robert Vogel at the University of Maryland reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that olive oil was found to reduce arterial blood flow by 31% after consumption. This is important in relation to blood clots and heart attacks, as well as angina.
Oil is nothing but fat. Oil has more calories per gram than any other food. One tablespoon contains about 14 grams of fat. Processed vegetable oils, dairy products, and animal meats (beef, pork, chicken, fish, etc.) injure the lining of our blood vessels known as endothelial cells.
Benefits of cooking without oil
- Weight loss.
- Reducing oil promotes a healthy weight and therefore leads to weight loss
- Heart health is taken care of.
- It increases our energy and endurance.
- Due to the above factors overall health is taken care of.
A rule of thumb is that highly concentrated fat is unhealthy, whether it comes from a plant or other source. All oils have a negative impact on blood vessels and promote heart disease. In addition, they can also lead to increased bleeding through blood thinning, negative effects on lung function and oxygen exchange, suppression of certain immune system functions, and increased risk of cancer. Not to mention that excess calories from fat are stored as fat, regardless of the type of fat calories consumed.