A. Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, executive editor of the Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter, responds: “Current recommendations are to consume a moderate-fat diet, with specific guidance to favor polyunsaturated fat (vegetable oils such as soybean and corn oil) rather than saturated fat (mainly from animal fat, meat and dairy). Hence, it would make sense to use a vegetable oil to make salad dressings and in sauting vegetables. Olive and canola oils are high in monounsaturated fat. If you prefer olive oil, that is a good choice as well. It is better to incorporate healthy fat into food preparation – particularly by substituting for less-healthy choices such as sugar and refined carbohydrates – than to simply drink it, which adds calories. “
