• Why you should never eat vegetable oil again
• The best oil for your heart and brain
• Add this for even greater health results

Back during the saturated fat scare, there was a big push for people to start using more vegetable oil. It was touted as heart-friendly and good for your health.

Well, these days we know better. It turns out that vegetable, canola, safflower and other oils all promote inflammation.

First off, the processes involved in making them oxidize the fats in the oil. This means they’re inflammatory right from the start…right from the start.

Second, the majority of vegetable oil contains pesticide/herbicide residue and come from genetically modified sources. All of this adds to the inflammatory properties.

Third, they’re loaded with omega-6 fatty acids, which are also inflammatory. These omega-6s compete with anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids for space in your body. So when you ingest them, you’re actually undoing the benefits you get from eating omega-3 rich foods.

And guess what? It’s showing. Today the average American has an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of somewhere around 20:1. (Your ideal ratio should be just 2:1.)

This imbalance places you at a greatly increased risk for many of today’s most devastating health issues – from heart disease and cancer to arthritis and osteoporosis.

But put the balance back in order and these health risks shrink considerably.

The Best Oil for Your Heart, Brain and Health

One thing I always suggest to my patients is to not only to rethink the type of oil they use in their kitchen, but also rethink the way they use it.

In my house, extra virgin olive oil is a mainstay. But it’s not for frying at high heat. The smoke point is too low. However, I don’t recommend frying foods anyway. (Cooking foods in hot oil destroys their nutritional value. Plus, the hotter it becomes, the more oxidation and degradation occurs. The reason french fries are considered potentially carcinogenic is that high temperature frying in vegetable oil produces a known carcinogen, acrylamide. If you feel you must fry something, I suggest using coconut oil. It’s high in saturated fat which makes it much less vulnerable to heat damage.)

That being said, use your EVOO for dressings, dips and drizzles. I like blending it with garlic and herbs… then I dribble it over my fish, meats and vegetables at almost every meal. My go to salad dressing in a restaurant is EVOO and a squeezed lemon.

Not only does it taste great. It’s also loaded with natural antioxidants called polyphenols. These compounds repress pro-inflammatory genes, which gives olive oil a powerful role in the fight against aging.

Polyphenols can also change the expression of genes that influence your risk of heart disease and plaque build-up in the arteries. So unlike other oils found in so many kitchens today, it’s an extremely heart-healthy oil.

But that’s not all.

There’s another compound in EVOO called oleocanthal. This incredible antioxidant boosts production of proteins and enzymes that are critical in removing beta amyloid – a key factor in Alzheimer’s – from the brain.

This alone is plenty of reason to get more olive oil in your diet. Avoid the cheap versions that sound like great deals. Instead, go for quality. Select a cold-pressed, unfiltered extra virgin olive oil that comes in a dark glass bottle and is certified organic.

Then, mix it together with the right foods to get even more benefit.

The Perfect Combination for Long-Term Health

It’s no secret that I’m fond of the Mediterranean way of eating. And, of course, EVOO is a staple in this diet. These folks also enjoy plenty of antioxidant-rich fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

They also eat much larger quantities of fish than we do here in the U.S. So they’re getting plenty of omega-3 fatty acids, and very few inflammatory omega-6s.

This combination of foods may explain why people who switch to the Mediterranean style of eating ultimately end up with very favorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratios.

It may also explain all of the health benefits that come with consuming a Mediterranean diet with plenty of EVOO. This combination works in synergy to slash inflammation and…

• Offset other risk factors for stroke and heart attack.
• Improve circulation, lower blood pressure and improve your lipid profile.
• Counter obesity (especially belly fat) and slash diabetes to shreds.
• Reduce DNA oxidation and shut down the flames of inflammation.
• Counter dementia and Alzheimer’s.
• Help suppress tumors.

So don’t wait. Go ahead and give yourself an oil change. You heart, brain and entire body will thank you for it.

SOURCES:

Simopoulos AP. The importance of the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2008 Jun;233(6):674-88.

V. Konstantinidou, et al. “In vivo nutrigenomic effects of virgin olive oil polyphenols within the frame of the Mediterranean diet: a randomized controlled trial.” The FASEB Journal, 2010.

Antonio Camargo, et al. “Gene expression changes in mononuclear cells from patients with metabolic syndrome after acute intake of phenol-rich virgin olive oil.” BMC Genomics, 2010.

Ramón Estruch, et al. “Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet.” New England Journal of Medicine, 2013.

Nancy Babio, et al. “Mediterranean diets and metabolic syndrome status in the PREDIMED randomized trial.” CMAJ, October 2014.

E. H. Martinez-Lapiscina, et al. “Mediterranean diet improves cognition: the PREDIMED-NAVARRA randomised trial.”Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 2013