Avocado Oil vs. High-Polyphenol Olive Oil: What’s the Difference?

There’s a lot of buzz out there about the healthiest and best tasting fruit and vegetable oils, and grocery stores shelves offer shoppers an enormous selection of oils ranging from cheap processed seed oils to true gems like polyphenol rich olive oil. It can be difficult to know from the packaging whether the latest flashy looking bottle of oil is really worth trying, or if it’s just a marketing gimmick.

In this post, we’ll dive into avocado oil, a primary competitor of olive oil. We’ll break down the differences between a polyphenol rich olive oil like our Frantoio Grove EVOO and avocado oil. We’ll share our conclusion, which probably won’t surprise you. If it’s a guarantee of high quality, excellent taste, freshness, and nutritional value that you’re after, polyphenol rich olive oil is your best bet!

What is polyphenol rich olive oil?

Polyphenol rich olive oil is widely acknowledged as the highest quality olive oil available on the market. Polyphenol rich olive oil is a type of extra virgin olive oil, so it meets all the high standards required of an EVOO and boasts additional qualifications. Polyphenol rich olive oil contains a higher-than-usual concentration of polyphenols, secondary nutrients found in olive plants that convey a wide array of essential health benefits. In order to be designated a polyphenol rich olive oil, the oil must earn lab test results of 250-400+ ppm of polyphenols. Some polyphenol rich olive oils boast even higher counts off 500+ ppm, but these oils are typically too bitter to be enjoyed as part of a regular diet.

What is avocado oil?

Whereas olive oil is produced by pressing fresh olives into paste and extracting the oil, high quality avocado oil is made by treating avocados with a similar process. Fresh avocados are harvested, pitted and skinned, then mashed into a paste. Producers of avocado oil then run this paste through a centrifuge, separating the oil from the solid.

(It’s important to note that although olives and avocados both play a role in the popular Mediterranean diet, the two fruits aren’t really related. Olives are stone fruits like cherries and peaches, whereas avocados are technically berries and are related to plants like cinnamon and sassafras.)

Like polyphenol rich olive oil, avocado oil can convey health benefits. It contains oleic acid (just like olive oil), which has been proven to boost cardiovascular and heart health. It also contains the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin which can promote eye health and prevent eye disease. As a healthy source of fat, avocado oil can help the digestive system process and absorb nutrients, and it can help prevent inflammation throughout the body.

Can Avocado Oil Be Extra Virgin?

The problem with avocado oil is that its quality is not regulated. While producers of high quality avocado oils lean into the “extra virgin” standards used in the olive oil industry, there is no governing body equivalent to the International Olive Oil Council that sets the rules for avocado oil quality. Third party testing of oils isn’t yet an industry standard. This means that bad actors can label their avocado oil with terms like “extra virgin” without actually guaranteeing a standard of quality or nutritional value. In fact, a recent study found 82% of avocado oils available for purchase in the United States were rancid or mixed with other types of oils.

By contrast, extra virgin olive oil is highly regulated by regional, national, and international standards. No oil can be labeled extra virgin without passing through strict third party lab testing. When you’re shopping for olive oil, you can rest assured that an extra virgin olive oil with a seal from a third party certification organization (such as our seal from the California Olive Oil Council) is an indicator of the high quality you’re seeking.

Polyphenol Rich Olive Oil vs. Avocado Oil

There is a large degree of overlap between polyphenol rich olive oil and avocado oil, but the two aren’t quite the same. In fact, their key differences mean that each type of oil is better suited to some uses than others:

	Avocado Oil	Polyphenol Rich Olive Oil
Is the oil refined?	Likely, yes. Avocado oils can be fresh, cold-pressed, and full of nutrients, but many are refined into neutral oils that are better for cooking at high temperatures.	Never! In order to be labeled as polyphenol rich, your olive oil will have to have passed tests that define it as a cold-pressed EVOO of excellent quality.
Is it considered a healthy fat?	Yes, for high quality olive oils. For neutral oils, the health benefits are less of a guarantee.	Yes, polyphenol rich olive oil is one of the healthiest possible sources of fat to incorporate into your diet.
Does it contain polyphenols or other antioxidants?	Yes, avocado oil contains antioxidants and some polyphenols, though most of these are lost if it is refined.	Yes, polyphenol rich olive oil is, as the name suggests, rich in polyphenols and antioxidants such as oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol.
How does it taste?	Refined oil will be mild and neutral, whereas true, cold-pressed avocado oil should taste green and nutty.	Polyphenol rich olive oil is pungent, pleasantly bitter, peppery, and grassy. Taste is a marker of high quality.
How to use it in the kitchen?	Refined avocado oils are best for cooking at high temperatures. Use these oils for frying and baking. If you can find a high quality, extra virgin avocado oil, use it as a finishing oil or in a dressing.	Polyphenol rich olive oils should almost always be enjoyed as finishing oils, which allows their nuanced flavors to shine through. Cooking with these oils may decrease their nutritional content, as some polyphenols break down when exposed to high levels of heat.

Our Recommendation: Choose High Polyphenol Oil Over Avocado Oil

If you’re looking for an excellent finishing oil to enhance a dressing or a dip, your best bet will be to choose a polyphenol rich olive oil over an avocado oil. The designation polyphenol rich olive oil means you can rest assured that the oil is cold-pressed, carefully crafted, and bursting with nutritional benefits and nuanced flavor.

By contrast, when shopping for avocado oil, it’s possible to find high quality oils rich in nutrients and with delicate tasting notes, but it’s also very likely that you’ll encounter highly processed neutral oils disguised as higher quality oils.

Because avocado oil is unregulated, and because we are unabashedly team olive oil, we encourage you to explore our blog further and try our polyphenol rich olive oil today