Does olive oil lose it's benefits when food is cooked in it?

Interesting question! The hypothetical benefits of olive oil are twofold: First, it contains some antioxidants, useful in retarding the damage from our glucose-eating cells. Secondly, it contains high levels of 'good' cholesterol, which may help prevent several problems.





Heating, especially to higher temperatures (ie, smoking hot), will certainly oxidize the antioxidant and, I'd bet, create some new compounds to boot. But the oils are more stable.





The food that goes into it isn't likely to affect the chemistry much at all.





Overall, it's clear that some benefits are retained after cooking, but as with most foods, the less you cook it, the better.