I am just starting into this whole paleo diet thing and I am finding a lot of mixed messages about oils in general. Some say no olive oil, others say yes for marinades and dressings, others say it's OK for cooking (medium heat at most). Then for coconut the same, some say yes because it's heat stable and natural others no because of it's lack of omega-3s. I am taking all of this with a grain of salt (so to speak ;) ) My motto is everything in moderation especially getting fanatical about any diet plan.

I think the right answer is somewhere in between, but the more natural you can go the better. I think alot of what ailes us is down to all of the processing that our comercial food gets. Including most of the meat in the grocery store.

Eating the foods the way nature made them is sure to be better for us in the long run.

Considering that the Ithaca, Greece bluezone (area where population is demonstrated to live to 100 frequently with little disease) distinctively use a lot of it, I can't really see an honest objection. Marks Daily Apple did a large posting on olive oil as well, and in it he mentioned that it is very heat stable.

Nothing wrong with Olive Oil, for cooking, it's a good oil, it's not as unstable as other people are suggesting, like you say, there was MDA article on this. I like the flavor, but it's not a neutral oil, so some people prefer to combine it (spoonful of extra virgin olive oil) with other oils (ghee) for things like mayonaise. I don't know how the omega 3:6 ratio compares to other oils, but it's reasonably priced for a healthier option of oil. Other oils that are reasonable in price and OK are butter and lard here, so those are my main oils.

Olive oil isn't heat stable- it loses nutritional value. From what I understand anyway.

I use lots of olive oil with salads, it is a great choice of oil. It has been a staple of some excellent diets, specially for people in Greece and other Mediterranean countries. I do not cook or fry with olive oil though, because its reaction to heat (oxidation) is not the best.

Olive oil also tends to have a somewhat high o6 to o3 ratio in comparison with other oils. See if you can find LouAna brand coconut oil in your local store, it doesn't taste like coconut at all.

The main thing I don't like about olive oil is the somewhat high n-6. it's fine in moderation, but I don't make it a significant source of calories. I would advise you to find another cooking oil, but still use olive for the taste after cooking is done. Ghee/butter and tallow are great options to cook in.

A kind of a belated answer! I am Greek(specifically from Crete) so I know olive oil! Cold-pressed,extra virgin olive oil can be used for cooking but it is not ideal because it has a very low smoking point.Practically,it gets burnt quickly and burnt is bad.It is best enjoyed raw as a dressing or used when baking meat or fish.

Olive oil when heated becomes very toxic. Great for salads though.

I am just hopeing that it is good, because i fry my food with it everyday. I hear it's okay. I still am a little spetical

I would like to respond to a couple of points mentioned in this discussion, just to clarify some facts about oils in our diet. Olive oil is known to be high in monounsaturated(omega) fats, and to have a low smoke point. These (monounsaturated fats) are known to 'flush' cholesterol from the blood stream and thus reduce the incidence of heart attack and stroke. Other oils that do this are those found in fish, nuts, seeds, and many vegetable oils.

A chart displaying the healthiest oils, with the percentage of monounsaturated, unsaturated, and saturated fats found in each oil, can be found at healthcastle.com, a public health/nutrition website.

Trans fats are NOT found in vegetable oils, that are at liquid at room temperature, their natural state, BUT in vegetable oils that are solid at room temperature, like shortening, or vegetable oil shortening, traditionally used in making pie crust and at one time in homemade cookies. Vegetable oil shortening is often found as an ingredient factory made cookies and packaged snack deserts eg. half-moons, turnovers etc....

That said, having been counselled by a registered dietician for a period of time, I was advised that consuming only one handful of nuts per day would give maximum benefit to heart health, anymore would contribute to obesity.

I also once read an article recently, that listed the top 5 places with the largest population of seniors in the world(to indicate health and longevity), 2 of the places I remember were Greece and Eastern Canada(Nova Scotia)....all five places were regions near the ocean, providing an abundance of fish, Greece furthermore had extra benefits, having a diet of many vegetables, in particular olives and tomatos, and until recently not a lot of animal meat.

I cannot add to an answer to the original question, I actually came here to find answers to that question!

Thank you.