Olive Oil vs Sesame Oil: Which Is Less Inflammatory?
Olive Oil
Sesame Oil
Olive oil is less inflammatory than sesame oil. This is a gap between two decent oils rather than a good one and a bad one, since both stay liquid at room temperature and both carry antioxidants.
Sesame oil loses ground on one fat in particular. Around 40% of it is omega-6, and most people already eat far more omega-6 than they need, mainly through processed food. Olive oil is mostly oleic acid instead, plus the peppery compounds that calm inflammation on their own. Make olive oil the bottle you reach for daily and keep toasted sesame for what it does best, which is a teaspoon stirred in at the end for flavour.
Side by side
| Olive Oil | Sesame Oil | |
|---|---|---|
| Inflammation Score | Low · 1/10 | Medium · 4/10 |
| Category | Oils & Fats | Oils & Fats |
| Serving size | 1 tbsp (14 g) extra virgin | 1 tsp (5 g) toasted |
| Key nutrients | Oleocanthal, Hydroxytyrosol, Oleic acid, Vitamin E | Sesamin and sesamol, Vitamin E, Omega-6 (linoleic acid, ~41%), Oleic acid |
| How often | Daily, 1-2 tbsp, most of it raw | — |
On the AIP diet
Olive Oil
Olive oil is allowed on the Autoimmune Protocol in every phase, elimination included. It comes from a fruit rather than a seed, which is exactly why it survives the cull that removes sunflower, sesame, canola and the other seed oils. In practice it becomes the default fat of an AIP kitchen alongside coconut oil and avocado oil, so it is worth spending a little more on a bottle you actually enjoy.
Sesame Oil
Sesame oil is not allowed during the elimination phase of AIP. Sesame is a seed, and the protocol removes every seed and every seed oil, sesame included. It is usually an early reintroduction, and one of the easier ones, because pressing leaves almost none of the seed protein behind in the oil. Until then, olive oil or coconut oil does the same job.
What each one brings
Olive Oil
- Contains oleocanthal, behind the peppery sting, which blocks the same enzymes as ibuprofen
- Improved insulin levels and how well the body handles blood sugar in pooled trials
- Rich in oleic acid and vitamin E, and stands up to a hot pan better than most oils
- Takes the place of butter and refined seed oils, so every spoonful replaces something worse
Sesame Oil
- Carries sesamin and sesamol, plant compounds that work as antioxidants
- Those same compounds keep the oil from going rancid on the shelf
- Mostly unsaturated fat, unlike butter, coconut oil and the other solid fats
- A teaspoon of the toasted kind flavours a whole dish, so a little goes a long way
Watch out for
Olive Oil
- In trials on mostly healthy adults, the inflammation markers did not change much
- Light, pure and refined olive oil have had the protective compounds stripped out
- Calorie dense at roughly 120 calories a tablespoon, so it adds up faster than people expect
- Heat, light and time destroy the phenols, so a clear bottle by the hob is the worst place
Sesame Oil
- Around 40% of its fat is omega-6, which most diets already have too much of
- Toasted sesame oil smokes at a low temperature, so it is a poor frying fat
- Sesame is one of the more common food allergies
- Cheap bottles are often cut with soybean oil, so check the label
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