Is olive oil good for you?

BHF Senior Dietitian Victoria Taylor says:

Olive oil is a healthy source of fat. When used as part of a healthy and balanced diet, olive oil can be good for you.

Olive oil is often linked with good heart health due to its role in the Mediterranean diet and can contain substances that have been linked to health benefits.

Instead of taking olive oil as a supplement think about adding it to meals, for example as a salad dressing. About 70g (2½ oz) of fat a day is the maximum recommended for an adult. That includes the fats in foods (cakes, biscuits, crisps and pastry as well as nuts, seeds, oily fish and dairy products) and also the fats we add as spreads, butter and oil.

Switching from saturated to unsaturated fats

The concern often associated with eating too much fat is that it is high in calories, so too much can mean we gain weight. But national surveys of our diets tell us that on average, the amount of fat in our diet is about right. The issue is where the fat is coming from. Many of us are eating too much saturated fat – such as butter, ghee, coconut and palm oil, as well as the fat in meat, chocolate and biscuits. This can lead to high cholesterol levels, which can increase your risk of heart and circulatory disease.

• Find out more about different types of fats

Most of the fat we eat should be unsaturated – that includes olive oil and other unsaturated oils, like sunflower and rapeseed, as well as nuts, seeds and oily fish. Switching from saturated to unsaturated fats is the main thing to focus on in terms of fat and heart health.

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