Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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That's more like two questions in one.

Paleo followers generally suggest that animal oils should replace vegetable oils in the diet. As for the reasons, as I currently understand them:

- High temperatures are used to extract vegetable oils
- Vegetable oils get oxidised under high temperatures, so using them for cooking is bad.

Did I miss much here? What are other reasons to avoid vegetable oils?

Now, let's assume I have 'virgin olive oil' which is supposedly extracted via cold pressing. Would it be ok to use it in cold dishes like salads etc., avoiding the high temperatures?

edited Feb 23 2010 at 14:56

Jon Thoroddsen
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asked Feb 23 2010 at 12:46

Evgeny
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What everyone missed here is that we have not evolved to eat large amounts of veggie oils/fats. – Patrik♦ Sep 11 2010 at 21:49

Bread-Eating Beelzebub · Accepted Answer · 2010-02-23 14:18:04Z UTC

You missed that they are high in omega-6 fatty acids, which are blamed for many many inflammatory problems from heart disease to bone loss. You get enough of these from meat that you definitely don't need more in the form of vegetable oil.

http://huntgatherlove.com/content/omega-3-roundup

Glenn · Answer 2 · 2010-02-23 14:02:00Z UTC

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Virgin olive oil--unheated--on salads is fine. Dr. Kurt gives a good run-down on the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding fats and oils here:

http://www.paleonu.com/panu-weblog/2009/6/22/fats-and-oils.html

answered Feb 23 2010 at 14:02

Glenn
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Jon Thoroddsen · Answer 3 · 2010-02-23 15:31:00Z UTC

What about coconut oil? I saw tubs of coconut oil going really cheap the other day. I'm pretty sure it is refined, but not hydrogenated.

Is there an advantage to using coconut oil as opposed to ghee?
Is refined coconut oil bad for you, as opposed to virgin?

[EDIT] I created a new question out of this one. See Coconut Oil vs Butter

Vegetable vs Animal oils

3 Answers