olive oil

If oliveoil is supposed to be healthy for us (ie. on salads etc.) then why if I take an all white skinless chicken breast and throw it into a pot of boiling olive oil it is not? Could someoneplease explain the reasoning (or is it fried foods from fast food chains b/c they do not use the good oil? If so what is the best oil to eat/cook with?)

High temperatures convert the healthy fatty acids found in olive oil into unhealthy ones, such as trans fats (the worst kind), and saturated fats.

Quick heating should not be a problem such as pan-frying veggies, but having the oil sit for several hours (days?) in deep-fryer is bad. I routinely fry my veggies + chicken in cold pressed olive oil flavored with garlic. We are only talking about a few minutes of heat considerably below smoking point of the oil. (I believe I’ve heard that smoking point and the point where fats start to be converted to trans fats are somewhat related?)

Olive oil in its natural form is very healthy. Its a monounsaturated fat with many health promoting properties. The problem is that when you heat the oil, it becomes toxic. So if you are to cook with it, try to make the cooking time as low as possible. Take a look at Berardi’s article, The Fat Roundtable. He gives you the low-down on it. Also Udo Erasmus gives lots of info on it as well. Try a search on him too.