The Life-Changing Benefits of Olive and Sesame Oil

These are the two fats you want to see on a label of anything you consume. It does have some BAD fat (saturated). About 1.9g, but it’s tiny compared to the amount found in another oil listed above, which I will talk about in a second.

Next, let’s talk about coconut oil. Why? Well, someone once told me that cooking with coconut oil was cancerous. So I decided to look into this myself and see what I could find. I’ve never used coconut oil, but it’s only because I love sesame and olive oil. Someone also asked me if coconut oil was better than the others.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has more saturated fat than the other two. It has around 13g of saturated fat. Although promoted as a very healthy oil with cardiovascular benefits, the American Heart Association suggested that it should not be regarded as a better form of saturated fat. What does this mean? Too much coconut oil is as hazardous as eating other items with the same amount of saturated fat.

A systematic review (which is a combination of studies pooled together to give the results of an education more power) on coconut oil and cardiovascular disease concluded that coconut oil raises both HDL (GOOD) and LDL (BAD), but not as much as butter. The study results were unable to support the claim that coconut oil is healthy and would have cardiovascular benefits. While the study acknowledges the need for further research, what are the key findings? It has more saturated fat (BAD) than the others, so consume it more sparingly as you would any other item high in saturated fat. Not enough is known yet; it’s a relatively new trend. I’ll keep looking for further info! Promise!

Lastly, the benefits of sesame oil.

I love this stuff! I put it in all my salads and use olive oil only when I’ve run out of sesame oil!

What’s the reason? I don’t know why. 

There’s a taste that I love, and I can’t put my finger on it. I also put a drizzle of it over my tofu or quinoa. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. So what’s in it? Like olive oil, it has monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (Shortened to MUFAs and PUFAs). I always laughed at this when I was in medical school. Somehow, I remembered they were the good guys. It has the same amount of saturated fat as olive oil too. 1.9g. Now, research has found that it has similar effects to olive oil, but with some differences. It has a more substantial impact on cholesterol, TAGs, and LDL than olive oil. It also lowered weight and BMI while increasing HDL. Note that it had a more substantial effect than olive oil on a few things.

Can you cook with sesame oil? 

Someone told me you don’t. That it’s just a seasoning, I have never used it to prepare, but not because I thought I couldn’t. Since someone said don’t, I decided to look into that! I’m curious, what can I say! One study found that cooking sesame oil increases sesamol, which is an antioxidant in sesame oil. We know the benefits of antioxidants as being anti-ageing, anti-cancer, and anti-plaque building in the arteries (anti-atherosclerosis). All good. Is that all?

Another study found that patients with high blood pressure who consumed sesame oil lowered their blood pressure to normal levels (both the top and the bottom number, aka systolic and diastolic). When the sesame oil was removed from their diets, their blood pressure rose again. In people who take blood pressure meds like diuretics and beta-blockers, sesame oil lowered blood pressure — just another reason I love sesame oil then.

There you have it.  I use olive oil and sesame oil. I use sesame oil more than olive oil. I’ve never used coconut oil, but there’s no reason for it. I’ve never bought it. I would love feedback on your favourite oils! I’m considering doing an individual post for each type of fuel to give more detailed info on them and their benefits. But only if I see that you guys want me to. Have a good oil day! Ha!