Avocado Oil vs Vegetable Oil: Which Is Less Inflammatory?
Avocado Oil
Vegetable Oil
Avocado oil is less inflammatory than vegetable oil, and it is not close: avocado oil sits at the low end of the inflammation scale and vegetable oil near the top. Both are sold as neutral oils for a hot pan, so they compete for exactly the same job at home: searing, roasting and frying.
Vegetable oil is a blend of seed oils, and most of what ends up in the bottle is linoleic acid, an omega-6 fat. Western diets already run heavy on omega-6, largely through fried and packaged food, and the body uses that fat to build some of the messengers that carry inflammation around. Refining then leaves the oil bare of the plant compounds that might have pushed back.
Avocado oil is pressed from the flesh of a fruit instead of a seed. About seven tenths of it is oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that sits low on the inflammation scale, and it has the highest smoke point of any common oil, so it holds together at temperatures that would wreck a delicate bottle. One thing to watch: no legal standard sits behind the name, and in testing only about four in ten bottles held the oil the label promised. Pick a brand that names the harvest on the label, and give it the searing and roasting you were doing with vegetable oil.
Side by side
| Avocado Oil | Vegetable Oil | |
|---|---|---|
| Inflammation Score | Low · 2/10 | High · 7/10 |
| Category | Oils & Fats | Oils & Fats |
| Serving size | 1 tbsp (14 g) | 1 tbsp (14 g) |
| Key nutrients | Oleic acid, Vitamin E, Lutein, Beta-sitosterol | Linoleic acid (omega-6), Oleic acid, Vitamin E (tocopherols), Alpha-linolenic acid |
| How often | Daily, 1-2 tbsp, mostly for cooking | — |
On the AIP diet
Avocado Oil
Avocado oil is allowed on the Autoimmune Protocol in every phase, elimination included. AIP takes out the oils pressed from seeds, and this one comes from the flesh of a fruit, so there is nothing in it to remove. Its job in an AIP kitchen is heat: it handles the roasting and searing that a good olive oil is wasted on, and it brings no flavour of its own to the dish.
Vegetable Oil
Vegetable oil is not allowed during the elimination phase of the Autoimmune Protocol. The protocol removes every seed and every seed oil, and soybean, rapeseed, sunflower and corn are all seeds. Refining leaves almost none of the seed protein in the bottle, so these oils are often reintroduced without trouble later on. Until then, olive oil and avocado oil cover the same jobs in a kitchen.
What each one brings
Avocado Oil
- About seven tenths of it is oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that sits low on the scale
- Highest smoke point of any common oil, so it survives searing and roasting
- Pressed from fruit rather than seed, so it fits AIP and other strict diets
- Almost no taste of its own, so it works where olive oil would clash
Vegetable Oil
- Neutral in flavour and stable enough for high-heat cooking
- Mostly unsaturated fat, unlike butter, lard and the other solid fats
- Carries vitamin E, which protects fats in the body from oxidising
- Rapeseed-based blends bring some alpha-linolenic acid, a plant omega-3
Watch out for
Avocado Oil
- No legal standard behind the name, so bottles vary wildly in what they hold
- In testing, only about four in ten held the oil the label promised
- Lacks the peppery compounds that put olive oil a point lower on the scale
- Around 120 calories a tablespoon, and easy to pour more than you meant to
Vegetable Oil
- Refining strips out most of the plant compounds an unrefined oil carries
- Reaches most people as fried food, which does raise inflammation markers
- Breaks down into aldehydes when heated, and reusing the oil concentrates them
- The label names no single oil, so the blend can change between batches
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