Yellow spreads like butter and margarine aren’t really very healthy, so many people are opting to use straight oil on their bread. In fact, some restaurants now offer bread with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt. In our segment Dr Rosemary Stanton discussed whether dipping bread in olive oil is healthier than spreading it with butter or margarine.
Health benefits of olive oil
In countries where olive oil is the major fat used, most people live long and healthy lives with far less heart disease and cancer than in countries like Australia. We don’t really know whether that’s due to the oil itself, or whether it’s because people in Mediterranean countries basically eat a lot more vegetables and salads than we do. Also they don’t actually dip their bread into olive oil, they use bread to mop up olive oil and any juices on their plates.
What about my waistline?
Whether or not any food is fattening depends on how much of it you eat. If we measure how much olive oil gets absorbed into a slice of bread and compare that with the amount of butter you normally use, you probably get less overall fat from using the oil. However, you can still gain weight if you use a lot of olive oil, even though it’s good fat and it won’t damage your arteries. A strongly flavoured olive oil is the best choice, because your taste buds will be satisfied with less, and the stronger the flavour of the olive oil, the greater its level of protective antioxidants.
What to do
Rosemary says that it’s better to use olive oil than butter or margarine, but if you tend to gain weight it is very important not to use too much. Choose extra virgin olive oil. It is cold-pressed and has a strong flavour so you won’t need to use a lot of it on your food. Don’t dip your bread in salt, because salt can damage your arteries. Think about using avocado as an alternative spread.
Further reading
‘Good fats: bad fats’ by Rosemary Stanton. Published by Allen & Unwin, 1997, ISBN 1 86448 318 0. Explains fats, fatty acids, how much fat we should eat and potential problems of including too much of some fats and not enough of others.