why is extra virgin olive oil better than butter for cooking?
Cooking: with oil or butter? You have probably wondered at some point which is the healthier option, cooking with extra virgin olive oil or with butter. Depending on the geographical area, one or the other is traditionally used as the fat for preparing our meals.
Why is extra virgin olive oil better than butter for cooking?
Cooking: with oil or butter? You have probably wondered at some point which is the healthier option, cooking with extra virgin olive oil or with butter. Depending on the geographical area, one or the other is traditionally used as the fat for preparing our meals.
Both extra virgin olive oil and butter are rich sources of fat and provide plenty of calories. On the one hand, butter is an animal fat, and among its nutrients saturated fatty acids stand out, making up more than 70% of its content, which leads to high cholesterol levels and is very harmful to our health. If we consume this product over a long period and very regularly, it can lead in the long term to cardiovascular disease.
On the other hand, extra virgin olive oil stands out as a fat of plant origin (extracted from the olive), and among its nutrients omega 9, omega 6 and omega 3 are prominent. It also contains a low percentage of saturated fat, only 15% of its content, which is a much smaller amount than in butter.
All of this brings many benefits for our bodies, raising HDL (good cholesterol) levels and lowering LDL (bad cholesterol).
OTHER BENEFITS OF EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
- It is a fat that the stomach tolerates well.
- It helps blood circulation, preventing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- It strengthens the immune system, helping to reduce many infections that can lead to serious health problems.
- It lowers the risk of developing diabetes by reducing sugar levels and promoting insulin production.
- It boosts the liver's detoxifying properties.
- It eases pain in the joints and muscles.
- It protects your brain against cognitive decline, helping to prevent (or delay) diseases such as Alzheimer's.
- If you are on a diet, it is a food that helps you lose weight, as long as you eat it in moderation, since it is a rich source of calories.
- It increases pancreatic secretion.
- It has an antioxidant effect on cells.
- It helps prevent cancer of the colon, breast, prostate, endometrium and ovary.
When cooking, it is important to consider the type of fat you are using, as it will be exposed to very high temperatures. The temperature for frying food is 180ºC, and olive oil can reach up to 210ºC, compared with 110ºC for butter. It is also much easier and quicker to digest.
In short, as we have seen, extra virgin olive oil is a far healthier choice, considered the best food (it is no coincidence that it is called liquid gold) for cooking and also for eating raw (in salads, on toast…). A flagship product of our land, which we should make the most of in order to lead a healthier life, replacing other foods that may harm our health in the future.
