I was looking at the ingredients of Pure Virgin Olive oil and noticed the 100ml has over 800 calories in it. That's an awful lot of calories. I usually pour about 30ml over a piece of toast for breakfast. so that's 200 calories plus the bread so I am not off to a good start! I also noticed there is no other nutritious ingredient to the oil.

So what is the value of olive oil?
Thanks.

Omega 3 fatty acids which are supposed to be heart healthy.

Thanks, thats true and more research has shown me that there are other useful ingredients but is it good to use so many calories to carry them into the body? Perhaps there is alternative food with the same benefits without the calories?

Lots of them, actually. Flax seeds. Fish like salmon and mackrel. Egg yolks. Hemp seeds. Walnuts. Ah heck, here's a list:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?d...tname=nutrient

You could take a capsule of oil. The one I take is 19 calories for 1400mg of fish oil containing a broad spectrum of omega acids.

Olive oil on toast? That's a new one on me.

Well, if OL is good for you I find this an acceptable way of consuming it. Try it like I do on spelt bread (home made) lightly toasted! Let me know if you like it.

I saw a recent report showing that corn oil is just as healthy as Olive oil. I also read that the mafia is making a lot of money by diluting real olive oil with cheaper oils & passing it off as olive oil. So I'd be careful of how much you pay for olive oil, paying a lot does not mean you are getting the real thing.

Italians use olive oil instead of butter on their bread, so I agree it can be tasty.

Rapseed oil is said to be more healthy

There quite a few links on the subject here: https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourc...vice+olive+oil

I'm coming to a conclusion I've always had before I started getting a little paranoid about diet (Dr. Said I need to cut chol level). That is eat a selection of

All cooking oils are very calorific. They're basically pure fat.

For me if I am going to consume an oil "uncooked" then extra virgin olive oil has the best flavour. As for health benefits, yes some oils are marginally more 'healthy' than others but consuming large quantities of any of them isn't good.

I love it on bread, just never tried it on toast. I suppose it works.

My last post refused to let me edit for some reason and should read: "..of veg. fruit, a bit of brown bread, some nuts, seeds and dried fruit, cake twice a week, puddings rarely, and keep the quantities down. Otherwise I find it hard to keep to a strict regime.".

We've used rapeseed oil for cooking for the last few years. It has a much higher smoke point than olive oil and so it's better for things like stir fries, which we have quite often.

Avoid rapeseed oil at all costs It is full of unhealthy omega 6 oils. Yes olive oil will smoke so use lard, coconut oil or other with a high saturated fat content for healthy stir fries.

What are the health benefits of Rapeseed Oil?

Contains the lowest saturated fat content of any oil – less than half that of Olive Oil.
Has 10 times more Omega 3 than Olive Oil.
It is a good source of Vitamin E.
High in monounsaturated fats.
Contains no artificial preservatives and is trans-fat and GM free.
It is suitable for a variety of diets – vegetarian, gluten-free, Kosher and Halal.
It is safe to cook at high temperatures with a burning point of 230c much higher than Olive Oil.

So, given that its got some good stuff, what about the omega 6!?

Hemp oil on Ryvita is the way to go.

http://omega6.wellwise.org/omega-6-benefits

However you forgot to mention there are also health benefits to Omega 6.

Like anything else Omega 6 is needed by the body and the tiny amount of oil used in the likes of an occasional stir fry is not going to cause major health problems.

So no, I will not "avoid rapeseed oil at all costs".

Many people also don't realise that a certain amount of cholesterol is also required for healthy brain function.

Quite! My Dr. suggests I try and keep it down at round 4.6 where it has been up to 6.1. Interestingly I was told the risk level of an attack is only(!) reduced by a couple of % points over this range e.g. 19% risk to about 17% risk.

Which is why I struggle with things like a sugar tax, for example. It is too simplistic and doesn't tackle the real issues of poor, unbalanced, diets.