Pop Quiz #4: Which of these oils contain the least fat?

Last week's pop quiz (which food has the highest saturated fat) revealed that one of America's most addictive foods is also the highest in saturated fat.

Today's final pop quiz (are you sad it's the final one for now?) deals with another topic that's crucial to good health. So put your thinking cap on, and remember that trick questions may come your way now and then (take the hint).

Question: Which of the following oils contain the least amount of fat?

a) Olive oil

b) Canola oil

c) Coconut oil

d) Corn oil

e) Sesame oil

f) Fish oil

g) Avocado oil

h) Peanut oil

(Jeopardy music plays as you ponder):

Well, let's see now.....

I'm familiar with most of these oils....

Hmmm....which is lowest in fat.

I'm going to guess it's _____ oil.

Answer: So sorry, it's another trick question ( I tried to warn you). The answer is that none of these oils are lowest in fat because all oils are 100% pure liquid fat. Oils are the extracted fats from vegetables, nuts, seeds, or fish, and all oils contain 120 calories per TBS and 14 grams of fat. Oils are known to damage the endothelial lining of our arteries (thereby paving the way for plaque formation), increase inflammation, and restrict blood flow as much as butter or lard.

Here's something that might surprise you, too: coconut oil is one of the worst. Not only is coconut oil 100% fat (as all oils are), but 92% of it is saturated fat. Coconut oils contains more than double the saturated fat as does pure lard. NOT good and definitely not healthy.

Oils are a real diet buster, too. Just adding 3 Tablespoons of oil a day (which isn’t unlikely in the American diet) will lead to a weight gain of 3 lbs/month – without adding any bulk or nutrition to the food. Get your healthy fats by eating the whole foods, and not just the extracted fats. In other words, get your olive oil by tossing a few olives on your salad or pizza.

I can show you how to bake, sauté, and make salad dressings without the use of oils!