by Jeff Novick, MS, RD
(continued from Part 1)....Now, remember, this analogy is with olive oil, which is supposed to
be one of the healthier oils. Imagine the negative impact a little
coconut oil, which is over 90% saturated fat (with about 30% of the
calories being the worst saturated fats), would have in the same
scenario.
But, I know, some of you say you REALLY eat lots of vegetables.
So, let's look at the impact of even a little oil
on a large amount of salad and/or vegetables. Let's use a pound of
steamed greens, which, for the record, would be about 3.5 cups of
steamed kale.
A pound of steamed kale is 125 calories and is 1.4% saturated fat.
Adding 1 tsp. of oil would raise the total calories
from 125 to 165 and 25% of the calories would now be coming from the
oil. In addition, in regard to saturated fat, by adding in the olive
oil, the side dish is now 5% saturated fat.
Adding 2 tsp. of oil would raise the total calories from 125 to 205
and 40% of the calories would now be coming from the oil. In addition,
by adding in the olive oil, the side dish is now almost 7% saturated
fat.
Adding 3 tsp. (1 TB) of oil would raise the total calories from 125
to 245 and almost 50% of the calories would now be coming from oil. By
just adding 3 tsp. of oil to a pound of veggies, almost half the
calories now come from the oil. In addition, by adding in the olive
oil, the side dish is now almost 8% saturated fat.
In my personal and professional opinion as both a
RD, a former chef and a frequent visitor of restaurants, a TB of oil, if
not more, is what many people are using (or getting) per typical
serving of food/vegetables, which as we can see, can have a huge impact.
But, you actually may be getting much more.
So, let's do one more example with 2 TB of oil.
Adding 6 tsp. (or 2 TB) of oil would raise the total calories from
125 to 365 and 65% of the calories would now be coming from oil. In
addition, by adding in the olive oil, the side dish is now 10%
saturated fat.
And
this is playing out in homes and restaurants every day under the
mistaken guise that oils, like olive oil are healthy for you.
For example, I was in an Italian restaurant a few
weeks ago that is supposed to be known for its "healthy" food. One of
the members of the party I was with was trying to order a "heart
healthy" meal. She ordered pasta primavera with a plain tomato sauce
and specifically requested it be cooked with "as little oil as
possible."
When the dish came out, there was so much oil in the plate,
she asked for a second plate so she could lift out the pasta and
veggies from all the oil and put them in a new bowl. After she did
this, we looked at the remaining oil in the original plate and there
had to be over 1/2 cup if not more, of oil left in the original bowl.
A 1/2 cup of oil is the equivalent of 8 tbsp. Imagine the impact
this would have had on someone trying to eat "Heart Healthy." Even
though she removed the pasta she was going to eat from all this oil, we
still have no idea how much oil was still left in the pasta, veggies
and sauce.
Instead of using oil, try sprinkling some balsamic
vinegar and/or some lemon juice on your veggies along with some fresh
herbs/seasonings. Balsamic vinegar has only about 5 calories per tbsp.
and has no saturated fat. It will also add lots of flavor without
adding any of the extra calories, fat and saturated fat that is in
olive oil.
This is a real win/win/win.
It is time to clean up America's dietary oil spill.
In Health,
Jeff
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Lani Muelrath, M.A, is devoted to empowering women with the tools they need to realize and live the healthy, energetic body ideal of their dreams.