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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – May is Mediterranean Month, and olive oil is one of the top foods of the Mediterranean Diet! It’s also at the top of my list because it’s my oil of choice as well! While a fat is a fat when we refer to calories, not all fats (including oils) are equal when we refer to our health. I’ve chosen Olive Oil because it leads by a margin when we compare it to other oils both in taste and its benefits for our health! Fat is a necessary nutrient for our health so we can’t live without it. Fat also makes our food tastier, and since we have a satiety center for fat in our brain, it gives us a sense of fullness. Why is olive oil my choice in oils? Let’s begin with a little background on fats.
Most of us are aware that saturated fatty acids found in animal fats such as butter, are the bad guys that are the artery clogging, heart disease causing fats (okay, I’m not saying to never eat them). Most of us also know that the monounsaturated fatty acids that make up Olive Oil and Canola Oil, along with the polyunsaturated fatty acids found in foods such as fish and vegetables and other vegetable oils such as corn oil, are the good guys and healthy for us. Both these two types of fatty acids found in food and oils are not associated with cardiovascular disease, and studies have found them to have many health benefits for us humans. The well -known Omega-3 fatty acids touted for their many, many health benefits are part of the polyunsaturated fat group (The Omega-3’s are found in highest quantity in cold water fish such as salmon).
One tidbit about fat though is that all dietary fats found in whole foods and oils, are a mixture of all three types of fatty acids. Olive oil, which contains the most monounsaturated fatty acids (higher than canola) has health benefits above our polyunsaturated fats when we eat them as oils. This is why I have chosen olive oil over canola and over corn oil (and other vegetable oils part of the polyunsaturated group). What am I suggesting? I am suggesting that we choose olive oil over butter (the artery clogging animal fat), and that we also choose olive oil over other vegetable oils to cook with. Let’s choose olive oil for our salad dressings, sauces, and anytime we add oil to our food. I am also suggesting that we obtain the majority of our very healthy polyunsaturated fats (such as the Omega-3’s) from whole foods such as salmon and vegetables.
But let’s make our “Oil of Choice, Olive”! Why? Let’s compare the benefits of Olive oil to Canola first (the other oil high in monounsaturated fatty acids), and then to corn oil and other vegetable oils (the polyunsaturated oils).
Let’s Compare
Olive Oil is Chemically More Stable than Canola. Olive oil contains more monounsaturated fatty acids than Canola oil and less polyunsaturated fats (Canola oil has a higher amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids). Why is this important? Polyunsaturated fats are more susceptible to oxidation during heating than monounsaturated fats. What does this mean to us? When we cook with canola oil especially at high temperatures, canola oil will be more susceptible to forming free radical compounds (oxidation effect from heat.) than olive oil. Free radical compounds are known for their carcinogenic effects. Bottom line, cooking with olive oil may be safer for our health than canola oil.
Olive Oil is Chemically More Stable than Other Vegetable Oils. Corn oil, safflower oil and soybean oil, are polyunsaturated fatty acids. Again, polyunsaturated fatty acids are not as stable chemically when they are exposed to oxygen (found in our air!), and heat. Want an example? Ever wonder why fish becomes smelly after a day or two? Fish becomes smelly because its fat (namely the polyunsaturated fats including our omega-3’s) has reacted with oxygen to spoil. This is how we know our fish is not fresh. Since polyunsaturated fats are more reactive to oxygen and heat than monounsaturated fats, olive oil may be a safer bet to cook with. In one study testing chemical stability on their reaction to heat, here is a quote: “The results demonstrate that Virgin Olive Oil has a remarkable thermal stability” when compared to other vegetable oil samples” (sunflower, soybean, cottonseed oils).
The Health Merits
Olive Oil is Heart Healthy. Olive oil is heart healthy in several ways. There is evidence that olive oil is protective against cardiovascular diseases. This includes its health promoting effects on our blood lipids (cholesterol levels) as well as health promoting effects on blood vessel health, blood clotting and our immune functions, all important to our cardiovascular system.
Olive oil Contains Antioxidants. A direct quote: “Olive oil has been shown to be effective against oxidative -stress associated diseases and also with aging (anti-aging is pretty important!)”. Did we ever think a fat could contain phytochemicals? Well our olive does, and it contains the type known as phenolic compounds. These compounds have high antioxidant properties vital for our health, so adding a bit of olive oil to our diet may help us to prevent photo-aging damage to our skin too!
Olive Oil may Lower Adult Onset Diabetes Risk The type of dietary fats we eat play an important role in the development of insulin resistance, a prelude to type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes has become common- place for reasons that include our high fat, high sugar, and the high amount of processed foods we eat. These components lead to our growing waistlines and risk for diabetes as we age. A review of scientific literature (many research studies, not one) links beneficial insulin management properties to Olive oil, a primary component of our Mediterranean Diet!
Olive oil has Anti-inflammatory Properties. Research indicates that Extra Virgin Olive Oil eaten daily over a period of time, may confer anti-inflammatory benefits similar to Ibuprofen (active ingredient in Advil). Extra Virgin Olive oil contains a compound called Oleocanthal, and it is this compound that gives the oil its stronger pungent taste, which over time may protect against some inflammatory related diseases. Olive oil may contribute to the anti-inflammatory benefits important to our cardiovascular system (similar to a baby aspirin taken daily); skin aging and some cancers. It may also play a key role in the reduction of early dementia thought to be a component of cognitive decline in aging and it may play a similar role in Alzheimer’s prevention.
The Practical
Type. Extra Virgin Olive Oil contains the highest amount of antioxidants and health properties because it is the least processed. It’s made from the first pressing of the olives. Virgin olive oil adds a second pressing of the olives and pure olive oil is processed through additional filtering and refining. Extra light olive oil is the most processed and while it has a mild olive flavor, it does not contain less calories.
Variety. Extra Virgin Olive Oil comes in many varieties depending upon its origin, olives and/or blend of olives and soil. What is most important is our own personal preference in taste. And there is a wide variety of Olive Oils! Let’s look at the color since greener oils are made from an earlier harvest, are fruitier, and peppery. These contain the highest amount of antioxidants. The yellow-gold oils are smoother, and taste buttery.
Calories. Olive Oil and all oils are approximately 45 calories per teaspoon, and 1 teaspoon is considered 1 fat serving (3 teaspoons equals a tablespoon). For those of us who are looking to lose or manage weight, let’s keep in mind that a “little” goes a long way, especially when a food is so rich in taste as Olive Oil is. In fact, we can adjust over time so that a little fat satisfies us more than a lot of fat used to. Let’s just be choosy when we choose our fats.
Okay, Olive Oil and particularly Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the least processed of oils, has a multitude of health benefits for us. It comes in a multitude of varieties of flavor intensity, so that we can make a choice based on our personal taste and need, whether for our salad, sauces, dipping our bread (it’s heart healthier than adding butter to our bread!), or to cook with. Grilling this Memorial Day Weekend? Grill lots of veggies, a healthy choice and baste them with a light olive oil before grilling. Love potato salad on the side for our outdoor parties? Try making it with a small amount of olive oil instead of mayo, which is the French way, healthier and I think tastier too!
My thanks again to Oldways, a Non- Profit Company dedicated to bringing nutrition education to us consumers and for their organizing a learning symposium about the Mediterranean Diet. I not only returned to my Italian roots, I learned hands-on how to taste test Olive Oil and partake in the Mediterranean way of eating first -hand. In Sicily, the heart of the Mediterranean, they have been cultivating olives and olive oil, similar to fine wines since the 7th century B.C. and let me say, I have definitely made it a part of my daily eating since I’ve returned.
A little Olive Oil perhaps?
Here’s to The Foods of The Mediterranean, and Our Health!
June M. Lay M.S.
JuneFit
For a few more practical tips, I found this site informative, http://www.howtodothings.com/food-and-drink/a3460-how-to-choose-extra-virgin-olive-oil.html
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Sources:
Georgios Kalantzakis, et. al., Stability and radical-scavenging activity of heated olive oil and other vegetable oils; European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology
Volume 108, Issue 4 , Copyright © 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
John L. Harwood, Parveen Yaqoob, Nutritional and health aspects of olive oil, European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology, Volume 104, Issue 9-10 , Pages685 – 697
© 2002 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Montserrat Fitó,et.al, Olive oil and oxidative stress, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, Volume 51, Issue 10 , Copyright © 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of Italian extra virgin olive oil monti iblei, J Med Food. 2007 Dec;10(4):650-6.
Audrey C. Tierney, Helen M. Roche, The potential role of olive oil-derived MUFA in insulin sensitivity, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research
Volume 51, Issue 10, Copyright © 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Beauchamp, et.al., Ibuprofen-like activity in extra virgin olive oil, Monell Chemical Senses Center, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and Department of Chemistry. University of Pennsylvania, reported in Brief Communications Nature Vol 437, September 2005
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