The Health Benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- stephendhughes
- Nov 24, 2018
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 20
There are important health benefits in consuming olive oil, not least for your cholesterol. Read on to understand why….
First some myths. That cooking with olive oil is bad for you. This is not the case: unlike polyunsaturated oils that produce toxins (aldehydes), when heated, good quality extra virgin olive oil produces very low levels of this carcinogenic compound. If you want to understand the science about why you should cook with olive oil read our blog posted linked below...
But the science goes further, to support what empirical public health evidence has shown for decades; that the Mediterranean diet, based heavily on extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), is good for our health and longevity.
The science is below but first some facts:
EVOO is a fruit. Quite unlike seed oils, it is high in monounsaturated fats with a wealth of evidence that links its consumption to heart health and reduction in age-related illness like dementia.
Not all EVOO is equal. The quality is dependent upon the type of olives, the soil and the climate (our land with its ancient 250 plus year-old Castiglionese trees are hard to beat) but also upon picking the olives at just the right time (turning black but still predominantly green), transporting the olives to the mill as quickly as possible (we make sure this is within a few hours of harvesting) and the way in which the olives are milled.
It would be nice to think that our oil is still “cold pressed”, and, indeed, when we started on our journey making EVOO we used a mill with traditional presses making the oil in the same way that it had been produced for centuries, with the olives being literally crushed under a giant stone wheel and then slowly pressed in steel presses. I have fond memories of the whole process. But the best quality is not made this way anymore, so we had to transfer our milling to a more modern process a few years back that uses a centrifugal process to separate oil, water, and solids. The modern technique has the advantage of limiting the oil’s exposure to oxygen, that can degrade it. Neither process uses heat, but the older terminology somehow stuck, so people still look for the words “cold pressed” on labels as a sign of quality. In fact, all the best oils are now produced using the centrifugal process. It is “cold extraction” rather than “cold pressed”. Incidentally organic EVOO (like ours) can only be produced using mechanical cold extraction.
EVOO is more fragile than you might think. Light, heat, and oxygen are the enemies of the best EVOO, which is why we sell our oil in opaque tins, and never clear bottles. But even under optimum storage conditions, oil will eventually degrade. A sealed bottle of extra-virgin olive oil has a shelf life of at least 24 months but is best consumed within the first year. The cooks in our region will replenish their stocks with oil from a local producer in November each year, keeping any oil that has not yet been used for cooking only.
The benefits to our cholesterol levels are well established.
If you are already convinced read no more but if you want to understand the science read on – although we should add that the understanding of cholesterol and its effects on the human body is still evolving and some conclusions have yet to fully verified.
What is known and well evidenced is that there are two types of cholesterol. High-density lypo protein and low-density lypo proteins (LDP). The LDP is considered to be the unhealthy variety. Whereas polyunsaturated fats (the seed oils) will produce both types of cholesterol, monounsaturated oils – olive oil – will reduce the variety considered unhealthy and increase the healthy one. A diet of olive oil can therefore reduce the “bad” cholesterol levels in your blood stream and increase the “good” cholesterol. These conclusions are pretty mainstream science.
What is less evidenced, is the positive impact upon our bodies use of Omega 3, an essential fat that has important benefits for our heart, brain, and metabolism and one that we don’t consume enough of. Olive oil is high in Omega 9 (unlike polyunsaturated oils that are high in Omega 6). Why this is important is explained by Professor John Stein, Oxford's emeritus Professor of neuroscience: “Because vegetable oils are rich in omega 6 acids, they are contributing to a reduction in critical omega 3 fatty acids in the brain by replacing them”. In effect they are forcing out the necessary (and important) omega 3, leaving the body with lower levels of Omega 3 and higher levels of Omega 6. Olive oil, producing as it does, Omega 9, does not compete in the same way with Omega 3, allowing our bodies to retain more of this essential fat.
Here some links that support much of what we have said above for those who are interested.
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