Which is better Butter or Olive Oil???

[goin2befit]

I'm just curious. I know fat is good and both butter and extra virgin olive oil is good as well, but is one better over the other?

Does the saturated fat make you feel satisfied and full longer?

Thanks,
Amanda

[forbey]

Re: Which is better Butter or Olive Oil???

I'm just curious. I know fat is good and both butter and extra virgin olive oil is good as well, but is one better over the other?

Does the saturated fat make you feel satisfied and full longer?

Thanks,
Amanda

Amanda,

That is one loaded question, I think they are both excellent sources of fat. I think as an animal fat butter might have some different compounds that serve different purposes for cellular growth in the human body that olive oil does not have. While olive oil has its own benefits.

Personally, if I was going for a crab legs, I would prefer the butter. Same for frying mushrooms and onion. But if I was using spaghetti squash, depending on the dish either one could be very right or very wrong.

Going back to a thread in the 14-Day Induction forum, I do enjoy good pat of butter every now and then. Although I do consume olive oil straight to supplement my fat content, it just doesn't compare to butter.

But that is personal preference.

All nonsense aside, I think the use, recipe and desired result would dictate which one would be "better".

forbey

[Peytonn]

Re: Which is better Butter or Olive Oil???

since I'm trying to lower seriously high cholesterol.. and raise HDL... for me.. I guess olive oil would work better... but like forbey said.. there's some things that just don't taste right.. with olive oil... I dont' like scrambled eggs in olive oil.. butter rules....

(on page 127 of the book, it says "Olive oil is particularly valuable"... and then goes on to mention the vegetable oils that are best...

it just says 'butter is allowed'....

it's the oils that seem to be most beneficial as far as health and nutrition go.. according to what I'm readin on 127.. the Fats and Oils section

[goin2befit]

Re: Which is better Butter or Olive Oil???

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I cook with evoo, I eat it on salads, I fry my eggs in it... and I know my cholestrol is GREAT!!! However, I do stay hungry a lot and have alot of cravings... so I may try butter for some time just to see.

[Georgiana]

Re: Which is better Butter or Olive Oil???

There've been a few studies that looked at the effect of different fatty acids (generally, saturated and monounsaturated) on satiety... and what most larger studies have found is that the are no significant differences in satiety.

Choose whichever source of fat you prefer. For better nutrition and a good omega 6:3 ratio, it's generally a good idea to use a combination of fats (and fats don't come only from butter and oil, but also from cheese, meat, eggs, cream, avocado, olives, nuts, etc.).

Regarding saturated fat and cholesterol, this is an excerpt from New Atkins for a New You:

"THE SATURATED FAT MYTH

THE MYTH: Saturated fat is to blame for a host of health ills.
THE REALITY: Nothing could be further from the truth. Recent research actually points to the benefits of saturated fat as part of a balanced intake of natural fats. Harvard researches found that the higher their subjects' intake of SFAs, the less plaque they had in their arteries. [3] And although some types of SFAs increate cholesterol levels, replacing dietary carbohydrate with either protein or any kind of fat lowers your blood triglyceride level and elevates HDL ("good") cholesterol levels. [4] Moreover, the number of small, dense LDL ("bad") particles actually decreases, becoming the fluffy, less risky type. [5] So where did the SFA go? When carb intake is restricted, the body makes less saturated fat and simultaneously burns more of it. And, strange but true, research shows that during the weight loss phases of Atkins, if you eat saturated fat, the less carbohydrate you eat, the more you reduce the saturated fat levels in your blood. [6] Even in the weight maintenance phases of Atkins, the increased intake of saturated fat is associated with decreased blood levels of SFAs."

The references are:

[3] D. Mozaffarian, E. B. Rimm, and D. M. Herrington, "Dietary Fats, Carbohydrate, and Progression of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Postmenopausal Women", American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 80 (2004), 1175-1184

[4] J. S. Volek, M. J. Sharman, and C. E. Forsythe, "Modifications of Lipoproteins by Very Low-Carbohydrate Diets", The Journal of Nutrition, 135 (2005), 1339-1342

[5] Ibid.; R. M. Krauss, "Dietary and Genetic Probes of Atherogenic Dyslipidemia", Artheriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, 25 (2005), 2265-2272; R. M. Krauss, P. J. Blanche, R. S. Rawlings, H. S. Fernstrom, and P. T. Williams, "Separate Effects of Reduced Carbohydrate Intake and Weight Loss on Atherogenic Dyslipidemia", Americal Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 83 (2006), 1025-1031

[6] C. E. Forsythe, S. D. Phinney, M. L. Fernandez, E. E. Quann, R. J. Wood, D. M. Bibus, et al., "Comparison of Low Fat and Low Carbohydrate Diets on Circulating Fatty Acid Composition and Markers of Inflammation", Lipids, 43 (200, 65-77

[goin2befit]

Re: Which is better Butter or Olive Oil???

Thanks so much Georgina!!!! I just knew you would have some information for me

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Which is better Butter or Olive Oil???

>>I do stay hungry a lot and have alot of cravings...>>

Maybe you're not eating enough food altogether?

[not2late]

Re: Which is better Butter or Olive Oil???

I'm just curious. I know fat is good and both butter and extra virgin olive oil is good as well, but is one better over the other?

Does the saturated fat make you feel satisfied and full longer?

Thanks,
Amanda

It depends.

Are you looking at this in terms of the most monounsaturated fat, which are supposed to be "healthier" than the more saturated fats? If so, then olive oil is the "healthiest" between olive oil and butter. If you click the link to my blog in my signature, my October 2009 entry ranks animal fats in terms of their % unsaturated-ness. Butter ranks the lowest among the animal fats listed at 34% unsaturated (mono and poly combined). Goose fat ranks the highest at 68% unsaturated (mono and poly combined)---better than turkey or chicken.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Which is better Butter or Olive Oil???

you ask a loaded question because even saturated fats are not all created equal
butter is a short chain saturated fatty acid. as such it is absorbed by your intestines and transported by the hepatic pathway to your liver where it is fractured to make ketone bodies that are dumped back out into your blood stream for use as fuel to make body energy.
this is why eating a lot of butter as your fat of choice instead of a long chain fatty acid fat can cause one to have very purple stix for the same amount of fat eatten and same amount of exercise done.

that is also why folk who switch to coconut oil suddenly are posting about their stix being darker. Coconut is a medium chain fatty acid and also does the butter fat route.

olive oil contains many different phenolsabout 30 in all and some fo them are known to be antimicrobial, antioxidant, and radical scavengers so in addition to providing fuel for making energy we get some healthy extras.

as far as your atkins goes either one will work.

[goin2befit]

Re: Which is better Butter or Olive Oil???

Wow... ask a "loaded question" and get a LOAD OF KNOWLEDGE!!!! Thanks so much for great answers. I've been eating more butter instead of evoo and can honestly say, I feel better. I do feel full longer and even the inside lining of my intestine (which has been inflammed for some time) feels more relaxed. So a little of both may be a good thing.