Olive Oil’s Secret Weapon: How Oleic Acid Protects Your Heart and Enhances Cooking
What Is Oleic Acid?
Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid since its chemical structure has a single carbon/carbon double bond. It is a member of the omega-9 fatty acid family, so named because the ninth carbon atom has a single carbon/carbon double bond when contrasted to the chain’s final carbon atom, known as the omega carbon. Oleic acid is abundant in olive oil, the most nutritionally dense dietary item. Rapeseed oil also contains a significant amount of oleic acid.
What Exactly Is Oleic Acid Used For?
Oleic acid is well known for its cardiovascular benefits: it appears to have antioxidant properties and can maintain normal blood cholesterol levels (particularly levels of so-called “bad” cholesterol) while also lowering blood pressure.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has approved the use of oleic acid-based products to maintain normal cholesterol levels; the European Authority specifies that “the replacement of saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats such as oleic acid contributes to maintaining normal cholesterol levels in the blood.”
Olive oil provides antihypertensive and antioxidant properties, as well as overall cardiovascular health benefits. Although it is now known that a diet rich in olive oil helps prevent cardiovascular disease, it is best not to overdo it: olive oil is a high-calorie food—just one spoonful contains nearly 100 calories—and can easily contribute to weight gain (an element that alone represents an important cardiovascular risk factor).
Oils high in oleic acid (and thus olive oil in particular) are more resistant to high temperatures and, during cooking, are more stable: that is, they produce fewer compounds harmful to human health than more unstable oils; as a result, olive oil is best suited for frying.
Warnings and Possible Contraindications
To present, there are no recognized contraindications to consuming oleic acid, nor are there any specific interactions with other medications or chemicals.
