Is Olive Oil good for you?
Those following the Paddison Program might notice a lack of oils used within the recipe book.
So why is there no cooking oil or others used in the recipes? Furthermore, is olive oil good for you?
Why Olive Oil Is Not Good For You If You Have Rheumatoid Arthritis
Oils are not ‘natural’ foods. All oils are basically liquid fat. They’re empty of phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and fibre. They contain only fat and calories. Oil is the definition of empty calories; food without nutrition.
Oils are highly processed to end up the in bottle on the shelf at the supermarket. And they don’t occur in the natural form as consumed. It takes a lot of olives to produce a tablespoon of oil. So there is a very wide gap between olive oil and the way it is contained in olives in nature.
This concept is similar to sugar, which comes from sugar cane or beets. It takes a lot of sugar cane and a lot of processing to get just one tablespoon of sugar. Even though sugar comes from a natural source, it doesn’t mean it is good for us when it is isolated from the plant. There is a loss of fibre and it is the fibre in fruit that slows the absorption rate of sugar as passes through the body.
In terms of fatty acid composition, olive oil is an unsupportive 14:1 omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to omega 3 ratio. Human beings evolved with a dietary ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 of approximately 1.
Excessive amounts of omega-6 and a very high omega-6/omega-3 ratio, as is found in today’s Western diets, and such is represented in olive oil, promote the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. By contrast, a low omega-6/omega-3 ratio exerts suppressive effects. [1]
Optimal Cardiovascular Health
There is some support behind olive oil being good for heart disease. However, the world’s foremost authority on natural heart disease reversal, Dr Caldwell Essylsten, says no oils offer optimal cardiovascular health.
According to Caldwell Essylsten, all oils, including olive oil, cause damage to the endothelial cells within blood vessels. These cells are responsible for contracting and expanding blood vessels as well as keeping blood running smoothly.
The idea is to eat whole foods plant-based diet. And oil does not fit this criteria. Oil can damage the epithelial cell wall in human veins which keeps things running smooth and allows blood vessels to expand and contract properly. T. Colin Campbell explains this in his lecture on ‘how to be heart attack proof’.
Opportunities For No Oil In Your Diet
There are plenty of no-oil salad dressings to try. Here is a no oil salad dressing recipe that those looking for a healthier option can try.
Unfortunately, restaurant and cafe cooking uses a lot of oils. Oils in restaurants can have a very detrimental affect for RA patients, due to the free radical load of the multi-heated seed oils in deep friers. It is possible to avoid these oils when being mindful to choose restaurants carefully.
Additionally, Ana found a good way to avoid these by preparing salads to take out when socialising with friends.
[1] Simopoulos AP. The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids. Biomed Pharmacother. 2002 Oct;56(8):365-79. doi: 10.1016/s0753-3322(02)00253-6. PMID: 12442909.