Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil High In Syns?

If you prefer to cook with extra virgin olive oil because it cooks better than spray oil, you will have to make sure you are tracking the syns of your oil according to how much you use.

On average, extra virgin olive oil has 6 syns a tablespoon, so this works out to be 2 syns per teaspoon, which is not too many syns out of your 15 daily allowances.

Down below we've made a small guide which will explain why you shouldn't have extra virgin olive oil on the slimming world diet, the benefits of olive oil as well as the syns of other popular cooking oils to keep you on track.

Why Should I Not Have Extra Virgin Oil On The Slimming World Diet?

Many people prefer to cook with low cal cooking spray rather than olive oil since it is much lower in calories. Olive oil is 119 calories for just a tablespoon while low-calorie cooking sprays only have 1-3 calories.

Working out Slimming World Syn Values is explained in this article.

If you want to use extra virgin olive oil during your cooking, you can, its very important however to be measuring out the oil you use. Drizzling oil or guessing how much you should be using is not recommended due to its high-calorie content.

We would also suggest avoiding using it in salad dressings as it adds unnecessary syns, only two tablespoons take your whole daily syn allowance!

Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil Good For You?

Although extra virgin olive oil is very high in calories, it does also have several health benefits which can justify spending some syns.

For example, although olive oil is high in syns it is also high in healthy monounsaturated fats, it is full of anti-oxidants too which are great for your body.

This means olive oil is very good for you, it's just high in calories so should only be consumed within moderation, or we suggest using a low cal olive oil cooking spray, these sprays have a small measured amount of oil mixed with water making them low in calories.

Low Syn Cooking Oil Alternatives To Extra Virgin Olive Oil

If you find olive oil too high in syns to be cooking with, there are plenty of other lower syn oil options to choose from. We've listed a few alternatives down below.

• Vegetable oil - 7 syns per tablespoon.
• Sunflower oil - 6 syns per tablespoon.
• Rapeseed oil - 7 syns.
• Spray oil (mixed) - 0.5 syns.
• Hazelnut oil - 6 syns.
• Peanut oil - 6 syns.
• Canola oil - 6 syns.
• Groundnut oil - 7 syns.
• Grapeseed oil - 7 syns.
• Avocado oil - 6 syns.
• Coconut oil - 7 syns.

Final Words

To conclude, extra virgin olive oil is very high in syns, coming in at 6 syns for a tablespoon or 2 syns for a teaspoon. If you are using olive oil, make sure to measure the amounts you are using, or if you want to cut back on syns consider using a low syn alternative or a low cal cooking spray.