“But what about olive oil? It’s heart-healthy!”

If I had a nickel for every time someone said this, I could buy a lot of olives. Whole olives. Not olive oil.

Let’s talk about why oil—all oil, even the fancy expensive kind—doesn’t belong in a health-focused diet.

What Oil Actually Is

Oil is a processed food. Full stop.

To make olive oil, you take olives—which naturally contain fiber, vitamins, minerals, and beneficial compounds—and extract only the fat. You discard everything else.

The result is 100% fat, zero fiber, and minimal nutrition compared to the original food.

It’s the same process used to make white sugar from sugar cane or white flour from wheat. Take a whole food, strip away most of the nutrition, concentrate the “pure” component. We recognize this as unhealthy when it’s sugar or flour, but somehow we’ve convinced ourselves it’s healthy when it’s fat.

The Calorie Density Problem

One tablespoon of olive oil contains about 120 calories.

Know how many olives you’d have to eat to get those same calories? About 25-30 olives.

Which do you think will make you feel more full? A tablespoon of liquid fat or 30 whole olives with all their fiber intact?

This is the fundamental problem with oil: it’s calorically dense but provides virtually no satiety. It’s incredibly easy to consume hundreds of calories of oil without feeling remotely satisfied.

”But the Mediterranean Diet!”

The Mediterranean diet is often held up as proof that olive oil is healthy. Let’s unpack that.

First, the Mediterranean diet isn’t healthy because of olive oil—it’s healthy despite olive oil. The diet is primarily plant-based, emphasizes whole foods, includes lots of vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and fruits. That’s what makes it healthy.

Second, traditional Mediterranean populations used much less oil than modern Americans imagine. They’d use small amounts for cooking, not drench their salads in it.

Third, studies comparing low-fat plant-based diets to Mediterranean diets consistently show the low-fat diets perform better for weight loss, heart disease reversal, and diabetes management.

The Studies They Don’t Talk About

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s research showed that a whole food plant-based diet with no oil could not just slow but actually reverse heart disease. Patients with severe coronary artery disease saw their blockages decrease.

The catch? No oil. Not even olive oil.

Dr. Dean Ornish replicated these results. Dr. Neal Barnard showed similar reversals for diabetes. The commonality? Whole plant foods, no added oils.

When you add oil back in, the results are less impressive. The progression may slow, but reversal is harder to achieve.

”Healthy Fats” vs Actually Healthy

Yes, you need fat. No, you don’t need oil.

The difference between eating olives and drinking olive oil is the same as the difference between eating an apple and drinking apple juice. The whole food provides fat (or sugar) in a package with fiber, water, and nutrients that regulates absorption and promotes satiety.

Want healthy fats? Eat:

• Nuts and seeds (with fiber!)
• Avocados (with fiber!)
• Whole olives (with fiber!)

Notice a pattern?

The Fibertarian Principle Applied

Oil fails the basic fibertarian test: it doesn’t naturally contain fiber. Because it’s not a whole food—it’s a processed extract of a whole food.

If our guiding principle is “only eat foods with natural fiber,” then oil is immediately disqualified. Not because fat is bad, but because extracted, concentrated fat divorced from its original food matrix isn’t what the human body evolved to eat.

What About Cooking?

“How do I cook without oil?”

More easily than you think:

• Sauté: Use vegetable broth, water, or even just a non-stick pan
• Roast: Vegetables roast beautifully with just a spray of water or broth
• Bake: Many recipes work fine without oil, or you can substitute applesauce or mashed banana
• Flavor: Use tahini, nut butters, or avocado for creamy dressings

After a week or two, you stop missing it. Your taste buds adjust. Food tastes cleaner, more vibrant. And you’re consuming hundreds fewer calories without even trying.

The Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know

The oil industry is massive and powerful. They fund research, sponsor dietary guidelines, and market aggressively. The American Heart Association receives funding from oil companies and recommends “heart-healthy” oils as a result.

But look at the actual science from researchers without industry funding, and the picture is clear: whole plant foods beat extracted oils every time.

The Bottom Line

Oil is not a whole food. It contains zero fiber. It’s calorically dense, nutritionally sparse, and unnecessary for health.

Want fat? Eat whole foods that contain fat naturally. Your body will get the fat it needs, packaged with fiber and nutrients, in amounts that promote health rather than disease.

That’s the fibertarian way.

PS: Yes, this means no deep frying. But if you’re chasing optimal health, were you really planning to deep fry?