1248. Gary Brecka: The SECRET Blood Marker That Could Save Your Life! (Pt. 2)

By Dave Asprey

You‘ve probably noticed a lot of talk about cooking oils and fats lately. I’ve been discussing the negative effects of seed oils for years —they’re unstable, oxidize easily, and slow down your cells. But what about olive oil? There is so much conflicting advice. Some say it’s fine to chug several tablespoons per day and use it for cooking. Others say it breaks down and oxidizes at most temperatures, so stay away. The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between. Olive oil has many benefits if you use it right. But there are two superior options for most applications, including high-heat cooking: tallow and ghee.

Let’s dive into the science of why animal fats like tallow and ghee are better for high-heat cooking, why extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) has limitations, and how to use olive oil without losing its health benefits—or damaging your biology.

The Oxidation Problem: What Happens When Unstable Oils Meet Heat

When you heat cooking oils, their fatty acids can oxidize, meaning they react with oxygen to form harmful compounds like lipid peroxides [1]. These oxidative byproducts can ruin the taste of your food. They also aren’t good for your body (more on this in a second).

An oil’s stability generally depends on its fatty acid composition: 

• Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are the most stable. Their molecular structure is fully “saturated” with hydrogen atoms, so they resist oxidation, even at high temperatures. Examples of saturated fats are tallow, ghee, butter, MCT oil and coconut oil. 
• Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) are moderately stable. They have one double bond, which makes them more prone to oxidation than saturated fats but less prone to oxidation than polyunsaturated fats. Examples of monounsaturated fats include olive oil and avocado oil. 
• Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are the least stable. Their multiple double bonds make them highly reactive under heat. Examples of polyunsaturated fats include omega-6 seed and vegetable oils like sunflower, soybean and safflower oils. Omega-3s like the ones found in fish are also polyunsaturated. 

Why Oxidation Matters for Your Biology

When unstable oils oxidize during cooking, the harmful byproducts you ingest don’t just taste bad—they disrupt your cellular biology. Lipid peroxides and aldehydes can damage your DNA and your mitochondria [2] [3]. This slows your metabolism and accelerates aging. Oxidized fats also trigger systemic inflammation, which underlies nearly every chronic disease, from heart disease to neurodegeneration [4].

Olive Oil: The Good, the Bad, and the Polyphenols

Extra virgin olive oil is about 73% monounsaturated fat (mostly oleic acid), ~16% saturated fat, and only ~10% polyunsaturated fat. Compared to seed oils like sunflower or soybean oil, olive oil is far more stable, and it’s packed with polyphenols—natural antioxidants that protect the oil (and your cells) from oxidation [5].

Here’s the catch: polyphenols degrade when exposed to heat. Studies show that at temperatures as low as 100°C (212°F), polyphenols like hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein start to break down. At higher temperatures, they degrade even faster, leaving the oil vulnerable to oxidation [6].

This means that while EVOO can handle light sautéing or baking at lower temperatures (under 350°F) when moisture is present (e.g., cooking with vegetables), it’s not the best choice for most cooking applications including frying, roasting, or grilling

If you’re cooking at high temperatures, you need fats that are built for the heat. This is where animal fats like tallow and ghee shine.

Why Tallow Is Best for Cooking

Tallow (rendered beef fat) is about 50% saturated fat, 42% monounsaturated fat, and only 4% polyunsaturated fat [7]. Its high saturated fat content makes it exceptionally stable under heat. Since saturated fats don’t have double bonds they resist oxidation even at very high temperatures. Tallow has a smoke point of about 430°F (~225°C) [8]. This is when the fat starts to burn. But before reaching its smoke point, tallow’s oxidative stability protects it from breaking down into harmful byproducts.

Tallow also contains fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K2 (assuming the animal was grass-fed). These nutrients are heat-stable, meaning they don’t break down during cooking.

Why Ghee Is an Ancient Superfat

Ghee (clarified butter) is another high-heat powerhouse. It’s about 62% saturated fat, 29% monounsaturated fat, and 4% polyunsaturated fat, with a smoke point of around 450°F (232°C) [9]. Ghee is free of water and milk solids, which are the parts of butter that burn and oxidize at lower temperatures. Like tallow, ghee contains fat-soluble vitamins. It also contains butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid that supports gut health and reduces inflammation [10]. 

Tallow and ghee are very resistant to oxidation so they’re best for cooking. EVOO resists oxidation at low-to-moderate heat, thanks to its polyphenols—but only up to a point. If you’re cooking, your best bet is to choose tallow or ghee. For salad dressings, drizzling over veggies, or maybe very light sautéing, you can use some olive oil for flavor.  

What Nobody Tells You About Olive Oil 

I recommend about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil MAX per day for longevity. I know this flies in the face of the “drink olive oil for longevity“ trends. Here is why: 

Your body will benefit from olive oil’s moderate oleic acid (monounsaturated fat) and hydroxytyrosol content (although I take a supplement with 100 times more than you can get in olive oil).

The problem is that excessive intake of oleic acid increases D5D (Delta-5-desaturase) and D6D (Delta-6-desaturase) [11]. These key enzymes control the biosynthesis of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) – the fats we are minimizing!

High D5D and D6D activity can increase your body’s own PUFA production [11]. That means greater oxidative stress – the same type you’d get from just eating omega-6-loaded canola oil.

You can limit D5D and D6D by avoiding excessive olive oil and excessive carbs. That will reduce the availability of long-chain PUFAs, which lowers oxidative stress.

If you eat zero carbs and zero oleic acid, you’ll excessively limit D5D and D6D (just because “less” is good doesn’t mean “none” is better). That could impair essential functions like cell signaling, inflammation regulation, and brain metabolism.

How Biohackers Use Olive Oil  

Olive oil isn’t bad. It’s all about using the right dose and the right type in the right applications. 

My human performance and longevity recommendation is:

1. Don’t eat refined seed oils like canola, corn, soy, safflower, sunflower etc.
2. Eat 2-3 Tbs of high-quality, high-polyphenol EVOO per day – ideally raw to preserve antioxidants
3. Get most of your fats from saturated sources (grass-fed beef fat, butter, ghee, MCT oil, coconut oil)
4. Use grass-fed tallow or ghee for cooking
5. Cook any fat (including tallow and ghee) with oregano, rosemary, and thyme to limit oxidation and for extra antioxidants

Rational and Irrational Takeaways

If you’re cooking at high heat, you’re asking for trouble with olive oil. Sure, the polyphenols will give you some protection, but they’re not bulletproof. EVOO’s limitations mean that tallow and ghee are the clear winners for roasting, frying, and grilling.

Does this mean you should throw out your olive oil? Absolutely not. Use it strategically: drizzle it on your food after cooking, or sauté lightly at lower temperatures with some moisture. That way, you’ll get the benefits of its antioxidants and healthy monounsaturated fats without the oxidative downsides.

You can protect olive oil or even tallow or ghee from oxidation by adding additional polyphenols in the form of rosemary, oregano, and thyme. If you’ve read my longevity book, you already know how important those herbs are for your mitochondria and gut bacteria.

The biohacker in me loves olive oil for its polyphenols and its role in a healthy diet—but the CEO in me knows better than to use the wrong tool for the job. When it comes to high-heat cooking, stick with the fats that won’t betray you: tallow and ghee. When it comes to olive oil, eat it raw and don’t use too much so you don’t excessively increase D5D and D6D. 

Don’t fall for the common mistake we all make with a cognitive bias.

Just because something is good for you (like olive oil) it doesn’t mean that more of it will be better for you.

Your mitochondria will thank you.  

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Sources: 

1. Zhuang Y, Dong J, He X, Wang J, Li C, Dong L, Zhang Y, Zhou X, Wang H, Yi Y, Wang S. Impact of Heating Temperature and Fatty Acid Type on the Formation of Lipid Oxidation Products During Thermal Processing. Front Nutr. 2022 Jun 2;9:913297. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.913297. PMID: 35719170; PMCID: PMC9201814. 
2. Gentile F, Arcaro A, Pizzimenti S, Daga M, Cetrangolo GP, Dianzani C, Lepore A, Graf M, Ames PRJ, Barrera G. DNA damage by lipid peroxidation products: implications in cancer, inflammation and autoimmunity. AIMS Genet. 2017 Apr 18;4(2):103-137. doi: 10.3934/genet.2017.2.103. PMID: 31435505; PMCID: PMC6690246. 
3. Hikisz P, Jacenik D. Diet as a Source of Acrolein: Molecular Basis of Aldehyde Biological Activity in Diabetes and Digestive System Diseases. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Mar 31;24(7):6579. doi: 10.3390/ijms24076579. PMID: 37047550; PMCID: PMC10095194. 
4. Kanner J. Dietary advanced lipid oxidation endproducts are risk factors to human health. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2007 Sep;51(9):1094-101. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.200600303. PMID: 17854006. 
5. Correia M, Moreira I, El Maghariki J, Manuel T, Alves P, Barros R, Gomes A. The Metabolic and Analytical Changes of Healthy Volunteers upon Intake of Portuguese Extra Virgin Olive Oil: A Comparison Study between Pre- and Post-Intervention. Nutrients. 2023 Jul 28;15(15):3351. doi: 10.3390/nu15153351. PMID: 37571288; PMCID: PMC10421349. 
6. Attya M, Benabdelkamel H, Perri E, Russo A, Sindona G. Effects of conventional heating on the stability of major olive oil phenolic compounds by tandem mass spectrometry and isotope dilution assay. Molecules. 2010 Dec 1;15(12):8734-46. doi: 10.3390/molecules15128734. PMID: 21124271; PMCID: PMC6259580. 
7. US Department of Agriculture. “FoodData Central.” Usda.gov, 2019, fdc.nal.usda.gov. 
8. Sharma, Heena, R. Giriprasad, and Meena Goswami. “Animal fat-processing and its quality control.” J. Food Process. Technol 4.8 (2013): 1000252. 
9. Bali, Sharadendu & Utaal, Maneshwar. (2019). Ghee: the much maligned cooking medium, now slowly reclaiming its therapeutic reputation. International Journal of Scientific Reports. 5. 370. 10.18203/issn.2454-2156.IntJSciRep20195303. 
10. Zhai S, Qin S, Li L, Zhu L, Zou Z, Wang L. Dietary butyrate suppresses inflammation through modulating gut microbiota in high-fat diet-fed mice. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2019 Jul 1;366(13):fnz153. doi: 10.1093/femsle/fnz153. PMID: 31295342. 
11. Park HG, Engel MG, Vogt-Lowell K, Lawrence P, Kothapalli KS, Brenna JT. The role of fatty acid desaturase (FADS) genes in oleic acid metabolism: FADS1 ?7 desaturates 11-20:1 to 7,11-20:2. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2018 Jan;128:21-25. doi: 10.1016/j.plefa.2017.11.004. Epub 2017 Nov 21. PMID: 29413358; PMCID: PMC5806126.