When you fry with olive oil at very high heat, the healthy unsaturated fats break down faster than the saturated ones — especially in oils that started with lots of unsaturated fats.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

6

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6

Effect of Heating Temperature of High-Quality Arbequina, Picual, Manzanilla and Cornicabra Olive Oils on Changes in Nutritional Indices of Lipid, Tocopherol Content and Triacylglycerol Polymerization Process

Cross-Sectional Study

In Vitro

2023 May 22

The study heated olive oils at two temperatures and found that hotter heat (200°C) broke down healthy fats more than cooler heat (170°C), especially in oils like Arbequina and Armonia that start with lots of those healthy fats — which matches the claim.

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Source Study

Effect of Heating Temperature of High-Quality Arbequina, Picual, Manzanilla and Cornicabra Olive Oils on Changes in Nutritional Indices of Lipid, Tocopherol Content and Triacylglycerol Polymerization Process

Score: 6

DOI: 10.3390/molecules28104247

Similar Assertions

When you cook olive oil at very high heat, the good unsaturated fats break down faster than the saturated ones — especially in oils that started with more unsaturated fats, making them less healthy for cooking.

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When you heat olive oil really hot, the healthy unsaturated fats break down much faster than the saturated ones—oils with more unsaturated fats lose them the most, making the oil less healthy.

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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%).

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