When new dieters go on the keto diet, which is a high fat, low carb diet, they may hear about olive oil and how it’s an excellent addition to the diet. Olive oil has a low smoke point and a healthy amount of monounsaturated fats. Furthermore, when it’s cold pressed it retains a lot more flavor and nutrients from the olives. Virgin oil is high in healthy fats (making it perfect for the keto diet), but it is also flavorful, adding taste to keto meals. For example, use olive oil in dressings, keto-friendly snacks, and with meats and veggies. We provide more ideas on how to incorporate olive oil into low carb meals in the Body Reboot book and keep reading below to learn why olive oil makes such a great keto staple.

So why are oils healthy on a keto diet? La Tourangelle explains:

When it comes to adapting to a diet based predominantly on fats, it is important to understand that not all fats are created equal. To reap the weight loss and overall body health benefits of the keto diet, it is recommended that you eat the right kinds of fats — not synthetic trans fats from processed foods, but a moderate amount of saturated fats and a primary intake of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. While meats, fish, nuts, natural dairy, and eggs are excellent sources of the kind of fats you need to incorporate, one of the best ways to supplement your daily unsaturated fat intake is by using cooking oils that are keto-friendly whenever you make a home-cooked meal.

The monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats of natural, healthy oils can help reduce your blood pressure, eliminate belly fat, combat inflammation, lower cholesterol levels and increase heart health in any diet. Combined with the nutritional effects of the other foods you eat on the keto diet, they will help contribute to the successful weight loss and better health you are hoping for.

About Olive Oil also reveals why you can use olive oil in your keto meal creations and why it’s essential to take care of your health and use olive oil as opposed to eating too many saturated fats.

Olive oil is allowed within a keto diet. It has no carbs and is 100% fat.

One of the most concerning things about the keto diet is amount of saturated and animal fats. Adherents to the keto diet often choose coconut oil, butter and lard as their primary fats. This is unnecessary. All fats contain the same number of calories and grams of fat. You can follow a keto diet just as well by avoiding faddish fats such as coconut oil and relying on healthy fats such as olive oil.

If you are going keto, take care of your health and use olive oil instead of saturated fats. The antioxidants in olive oil will help you absorb the nutrients in the small amount of vegetables that you are allowed to consume. As a liquid fat, olive oil is easy to drizzle onto keto meals. Olive oil can improve the flavor of just about any meal and can be consumed by the spoonful by itself between meals.

On a different article About Olive Oil explains why olive oil is so good for you and how it can help you achieve your weight loss goals:

To appreciate olive oil as a Power Food, banish from your mind the notion that it’s the “least bad” fat. It is a heart-healthy food that is good for you. You need dietary fat to lose weight, but you need the right kind. Olive oil is one of the best. Choose extra-virgin olive oil and you’ll also enhance the flavor of your meals.

Olive Oil Times adds to About Olive Oil’s thoughts and the other sources we mentioned above. They discuss a study where researchers found that having a diet high in fat and specifically polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats help a person have a balanced consumption of much-needed fats

One study had individuals consuming a diet that was 20 percent saturated fat, and 80 percent polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, essentially allowing a balanced consumption of healthy and essential fats to maximize the functional ability of ketosis within the body.

With mounting evidence of fat consumption being beneficial, focusing on fat sources that allow individuals to take advantage of these benefits is a crucial step.

One of these sources is olive oil, offering both saturated and monounsaturated fat, as well as the essential fats, Omega-6 and Omega-3. Other healthy fat options include avocados, flax oil, and nuts and seeds.

While the ketogenic diet has shown increasing promise for helping individuals with certain health conditions in fighting diabetes and in reducing cholesterol, converting the body to ketosis and having it stay there is challenging and requires strict adherence to macronutrient values.

Whether or not you adopt a ketogenic diet, it is important to include a regular intake of healthy fats including olive oil.

Even though olive oil is excellent on the keto diet, Diet Doctor warns dieters to stay away from other oils and explains why below:

What about vegetable, nut and seed oils? This is a bit more complicated. Natural oils that have been around for thousands of years are generally safe and embraced on a keto diet. Feel free to use pure olive oil, ghee, avocado oil, almond oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, fish oil — anything for which it is easy to extract the oil with simple pressing, grinding, churning or low heat separating.

Industrial seed or vegetable oils created within the past 60 years — such as corn oil, soy oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil – should be avoided or consumed with caution. That’s because these oils are created by chemical extraction and high heat industrial processes, that can damage their (extremely high levels of) fragile omega-6 fats. Evidence is mounting that these oils may be inflammatory and even disrupt cell membrane structures.

Ketologic abbreviates extra virgin olive oil as EVOO, and they discuss how much the oil can benefit you on a low carb diet.

Packed with antioxidants and robust flavor, extra-virgin olive oil is unrefined and minimally processed. Due to its low smoke point, use extra-virgin olive oil for low-heat cooking, dips, and dressings. EVOO pairs well with meat, vegetables, and even eggs!

For a recipe utilizing EVOO, try this Pancetta and Goat Cheese Stuffed Flank Steak. High in fat, low in carbs, and packed with flavor, it’s as delicious as it sounds. Another fan favorite is the Pulled Pork with Cabbage Slaw. It’s packed with flavor and easy to make, which makes it an excellent mid-week recipe amidst hectic schedules. If you want to upgrade your salads, give our Kale Salad recipe a go. The vinaigrette combines EVOO with apple cider vinegar and a host of spices for a zesty salad experience.

Everyday Health reveals that olive oil keeps cholesterol levels lower and is perfect to use in dressings and other keto-friendly meals.

“We know that when we have fats in our diet like MUFAs, they not only fill us up but keep cholesterol levels lower,” says Keatley. Olive oil is great for light sauteing, using in dressings, or drizzling over cooked meats or vegetables as a finishing oil. One tablespoon (tbsp) offers 119 calories and 13.5 g of fat, only 2 g of which are saturated fat, according to the USDA.

Wondering what some of the ways are you can use olive oil in your recipes? Step Away From The Carbs has a great list of different meals you can use olive oil during your keto journey.

If you’re under the impression that you need high-carb crusty bread for enjoying fine olive oil – think again! Try these awesome low carb breadsticks from The Great Low Carb Bread Co – they’re SO good!

Beef carpaccio is a fantastic low carb Italian dish – and it is made even better with a glug of olive oil over the top!

Combine it with herbs to make a wonderfully flavored rub for roasted meat.

If you love burrata cheese (and it is seriously my favorite!!), make a fantastic appetizer by cracking some black pepper over the burrata with some of your olive oil, then serving it with prosciutto and marinated artichoke hearts.

Whatever your choice of low carb spaghetti, you could do worse than serve it with grated cheese, olive oil, and fresh basil leaves!

Drizzle it over steamed low carb vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, or zucchini.

The jury’s out on whether you should make dressings with your best olive oil. Some say it’s a waste, others say it just improves the final vinaigrette. I vote for going somewhere between the two: make a simple salad from arugula leaves, sprinkle some fresh lemon juice over, together with some shavings of Parmesan from a block, then finish it with wonderful extra virgin olive oil.

If you’re just getting started on the keto diet and happen to love olive oil, then you’re in luck. You can use olive oil in a lot of keto-friendly recipes which we provide in the Body Reboot book. If you want a free book help us cover shipping and visit this page to get your free copy today!

Sources: Olive Oil Times, Diet Doctor, Step Away From the Carbs, About Olive Oil, About Olive Oil, Everyday Health, Ketologic, La Tourangelle