Olive Oil vs. Vegetable Oil: Which Is Healthier?

Olive oil

• According to the North American Olive Oil Association, the natural crushing of olives yields olive oil.
• Extra virgin olive oil is created from cold-pressed, unrefined olives that have not been processed with chemicals or heat.
• Most of the olive oil in containers marked “light” or just “olive oil” is refined.
• Virgin (or unrefined) olive oil is always used for flavor and color and has micronutrients, such as polyphenols and antioxidants.

Vegetable oil

• Vegetable oil is any oil derived from plant sources.
• Most vegetable oils on the market are a mixture of canola, corn, soybean, safflower, palm, and sunflower oils. This varies depending on the brand.
• All these plants go through a refining and solvent extraction process, so there are no labels on the bottle that say “virgin” or “unrefined,” unlike olive oil.
• According to research, vegetable oils lose some of their antioxidant properties after this much processing and have milder or no flavor.

Olive oil

• Olive oil is distinguished by its unique peppery or grassy flavor. Indeed, the flavor of olive oil is a big part of its attraction, and chefs frequently utilize it instead of adding neutral oil to dishes to boost flavor.
• Although highly refined forms of olive oil are available that do not have as strong of a flavor and aroma, most people prefer fresh green olive oil because it has that distinctive flavor that makes olive oil stand out.

Vegetable oil

• Most vegetable oils go through a lot of processing, including heat, chemicals, and other techniques.
• The finished oil has a faint color and little to no flavor or fragrance. Because of this, it is frequently used in frying or to add moisture to baking dishes without altering the dish's overall flavor profile.

Most of the information on the nutrition facts labels of olive and vegetable oils will be the same.

A tablespoon (15 mL) of canola-soybean oil or extra-virgin olive oil contains:

In terms of the types of fat in each, a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil has two grams of saturated fat and 12 grams of unsaturated fat. Vegetable oil contains 13 grams of unsaturated fat and one gram of saturated fat per tablespoon.

A nutrition information label cannot inform you of a food's degree of processing. Polyphenols and tocopherols, which are naturally occurring anti-inflammatory chemicals, are frequently removed during the processing of vegetable oils. Extra-virgin olive oils with fewer processing steps and typically have higher levels of micronutrients, such as vitamins K and E.

• When cooking at high temperatures, vegetable oil is preferable to olive oil because it has a greater smoke point. Olive oil has a lower smoke point, making it ideal for uses involving medium to high heat.
• Due to its higher smoke point, vegetable oil is typically used to cook fried dishes.
• Vegetable oil can withstand a high temperature without smoking or disintegrating. Olive oil has a smoke point of about 410 °F and vegetable oil's smoke point of about 460 °F.
• According to a study by Acta Scientific Nutritional Health, examining 10 of the most often used oils, extra virgin olive oil is the most stable cooking oil.

Compared to vegetable oils, olive oil is more nutritious because of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and minimum processing. Even though it is usually ideal to use olive oil more frequently than vegetable oils, there is absolutely no reason why you cannot use both.

If you fill your pantry with a selection of healthy vegetable oils, such as canola, grapeseed, or sesame, you may cook with a wide range of flavors and temperatures without losing out on nutrition.