Originally Posted by TRaffic Jammer
I took a thai cooking course taught by the Heart Associations' Head Chef, Olive Oil is only healthy when not heated. If you use olive oil in cooking, once heated it becomes almost 100% saturated fat. Left alone it's wonderfully healthy with it's good fats. Cook with canola oil or a olive blend if you must have the extra "flav" from the olive oil. NOTE I am not a health nazi, but apparently most ppl think olive oil is good for you no matter what.... not so.
i think the grade of olive oil should also be taken into consideration. a cold-pressed extra virgin olilve oil has a much lower smoking point than a more refined "regular" cooking olive oil. this can range from 200-400F respectively. the oil decomposes somewhat when it reaches its smoking point which is generally why you don't want to cook with an extra-virgin. olive oil i mean. if you do cook with either oil, it's probably best to stick to low heat to retain most of the olivey goodness... making sauces, no frying, and of course, no re-using the oil.