Even though olive oil is called healthy, it still has enough bad fat in it to break down when heated — more than butter or ghee.
Scientific Claim
Olive oil’s polyunsaturated fat content (11%) renders it more susceptible to thermal oxidation than animal fats with lower PUFA content (e.g., tallow, ghee <2%).
Original Statement
“Olive oil is approximately 73% monounsaturated fat, 11% polyunsaturated fat, and about 14% saturated fat. This polyunsaturated fat content makes it much more susceptible to oxidization than a primarily saturated fat like tallow or ghee.”
Context Details
Domain
food-chemistry
Population
in_vitro
Subject
olive oil
Action
is more susceptible to
Target
thermal oxidation than animal fats with lower PUFA content
Intervention Details
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (2)
This study found that olive oil breaks down faster when heated than other oils because it has more polyunsaturated fats, just like the claim says.
Technical explanation
This paper directly compares the oxidative stability of olive oil (11% PUFA) with other oils under thermal stress in an emulsion model, explicitly noting olive oil's high susceptibility to oxidation due to its PUFA content, which aligns with the assertion that lower PUFA animal fats like tallow are more stable.
When heated, olive oil made way more bad chemicals than animal fat, proving it breaks down easier because it has more polyunsaturated fats.
Technical explanation
This paper directly compares olive oil (11% PUFA) with lard (animal fat, <2% PUFA) under controlled heating and measures lipid oxidation products — results show olive oil produces significantly more oxidation markers than lard, directly supporting the assertion.
Contradicting (2)
When they added a natural antioxidant from olives to olive oil, it became super stable even at high heat — proving it’s not always easy to spoil just because it has polyunsaturated fats.
Technical explanation
This study directly tests EVOO under frying conditions and shows that adding natural antioxidants (hydroxytyrosol) reduces oxidation to levels comparable to or better than refined oils — directly contradicting the assertion by showing PUFA-rich olive oil can be made highly oxidation-resistant.
Even though olive oil usually spoils faster, when mixed with a special ingredient, it didn’t go bad any quicker than animal fat — so it’s not always less stable.
Technical explanation
This study shows that olive oil, despite its PUFA content, did not oxidize more than saturated fats in a pâté model when stabilized with β-glucan, suggesting that formulation can override inherent PUFA-driven instability — contradicting the assertion’s general claim.