Olive oil is a mainstay of the Mediterranean diet.
It has long been praised for its beneficial effects on health.
It is packed with good fats that can lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease.
Olive oil is one of the healthiest fats available.
Olive oil is heavy in calories and can make you gain weight because it is exclusively made up of fat.
Read on to find out more.
Olive Oil for Losing Weight
Perhaps you already maintain a healthy weight but are concerned that consuming more olive oil would increase your weight. Or perhaps you are concerned about your weight and wonder if you should stop using olive oil. The fact is that olive oil won’t make you obese on its own. There isn’t a hidden ingredient in olive oil that promotes fat storage. Olive oil’s calories are the real problem.
Each food contains calories, albeit some have more than others. You require calories for energy, to sustain bodily processes, mental processes, and the mending and upkeep of all your body components. But consuming more calories than your body requires leads to weight increase, and more specifically, fat gain.
Calories from fruit or olive oil that your body cannot use are stored as fat for a future time when there may be a lack of energy. The more extra calories it accumulates over time, the more fat you put on.
Oil of Olives Calories
Pure fat exists in olive oil. According to the Cleveland Clinic, fat has the highest calorie content of the three macronutrients with 9 calories per gramme compared to 4 for carbohydrates and 4 for protein. 119 calories are contained in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database. One tablespoon of olive oil is one serving, but if you don’t measure, it’s simple to use more.
While one dish won’t break the bank in terms of calories, eating two or three at once can really add up. Read more: 18 Foods High in Fat That Are Healthy
Calorie Deficit to Lose Weight
You must consistently consume fewer calories than your body requires if you want to shed body fat. In order to start burning fat, this prevents the body from accumulating fat. (Though scientifically speaking, weight reduction is more complicated than that, this is the basic idea.)Your diet is the first way to generate this shortfall. You can more easily achieve the calorie deficit required to burn fat by eating fewer high-calorie, nutrient-poor meals, like sweets, and more nutrient-rich, lower-calorie foods.
Additionally, you’ll increase your health and vitality, which will offer you more energy to work out, which is how you can reduce calories in the second approach. Despite having a lot of calories, olive oil has a wide range of nutritional advantages. So long as you control your daily caloric intake, it may and should be a component of your diet plan.
Olive Oil Has Good Fats
Olive oil’s fat content makes up for the extra calories it adds to your diet. One tablespoon contains 13.5 grams of fat, of which 10 grams are monounsaturated fats. When substituted for saturated and trans fats, these fats have a positive impact on your health, according to the American Heart Association.
Due to their role in lowering levels of low-density lipoprotein, harmful cholesterol that can accumulate in the arteries and cause heart disease and stroke, monounsaturated fats have been linked to improved heart health.
The antioxidant vitamin E, which the AHA recommends many Americans consume more of, is also abundant in monounsaturated fats.
Adults should consume 20 to 35 percent of their total calories as fat, according to the National Academy of Medicine. The Cleveland Clinic recommends that 15 to 20 percent of those should be monounsaturated fats.
Another good type of fat is polyunsaturated fat, which should make up 5 to 10% of your daily intake. Adults are advised to consume no more than 10% of their calories from saturated fat and to completely avoid trans fats.
The Glycemic Response to Olive Oil
Carbohydrates are the only type of the three macronutrients—protein, carbohydrate, and fat—that have an impact on blood sugar. During digestion, carbohydrates are converted to sugar or glucose. Simple carbohydrates, such as white bread and sweets, are processed relatively fast after consumption, causing a spike in blood sugar levels. The term for this is the glycemic response.
The effects of these blood sugar swings on weight loss may be negative.
According to Dr. Mark Hyman, you can experience exhaustion, irritability, and food cravings as your blood sugar levels drop once more, making it difficult to limit your calorie consumption. Eating too many foods that are high in simple carbohydrates over time can cause metabolic syndrome, weight gain, and other negative effects.
Any diet for weight loss should aim to exclude simple carbohydrates, but consuming them with fat, like olive oil, can lessen the glycemic reaction.
According to a 2016 study published in Diabetes Care, olive oil was superior to butter at balancing diabetics’ postprandial blood glucose response to a high-glycemic meal. Therefore, if you’re going to eat that French bread, skip the butter and opt for olive oil.
Tip
According to the Mayo Clinic, the glycemic index is a technique used to gauge how carbohydrates affect blood sugar levels. Blood sugar is most affected by high-glycemic foods, which cause a fast rise and subsequent drop.
A Diet High in Olive Oil
The Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes consuming mostly plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes, includes olive oil prominently. It suggests substituting butter for olive oil and making other beneficial dietary changes, such as:
- cutting back on red meat
- greater fresh seafood consumption
- consuming dairy in moderation
- replacing dessert with fruit as opposed to sweets
- consuming a lot of water
It should come as no surprise that this diet is effective for many people because it contains significant amounts of fiber and protein, both of which, according to a 2018 Nutrition study, can promote weight loss even without calorie restriction. To maintain a stable blood sugar level, sugar, and refined carbs are limited.
The best part is that it’s a long-term, sustainable diet rather than a fad that suggests severely restricting or eliminating entire food groups.