Friday, July 31, 2009

Discover Nature's Perfect Food-Virgin Olive Oil

By Beth Allen

Olive oil is clearly one of the good oils, one of the healing fats. Olive oil is a natural juice which preserves the aroma, vitamins, taste and properties of the olive fruit.

For a healthy diet, one or two teaspoons of extra virgin olive Oil should be added to most of your meals. There is a large body of clinical data to show that consumption of olive oil can provide heart health benefits such as favorable effects on cholesterol regulation and LDL cholesterol oxidation, and that it exerts anti-inflamatory, anti-thrombotic, anti-hypertensive as well as vasodilatory effects both in animals and in humans.

Spanish researchers suggest that including olive oil in your diet may also offer benefits in terms of colon cancer prevention. From a natural health perspective, olive oil is the magic bullet of nutrition and a healthy diet. Olive oil has been part of the human diet for more than 5000 years. To reverse our pandemic of chronic disease, we have to return to eating a more traditional diet, and high quality olive oil can safely be included in that diet.

Virgin olive oil is better than more refined oil because it contains polyphenols that work as antioxidants to keep your heart healthy. Virgin olive oil comes from virgin oil production only, has an acidity less than 2%, and is judged to have a good taste. Virgin oils are categorized and graded in two ways, one is chemical and the other organoleptic (taste). Virgin olive oil that is judged to have no defects is classified as extra. But while all types of olive oil are sources of monounsaturated fat, extra virgin olive oil, from the first pressing of the olives, contains higher levels of antioxidants, particularly vitamin E and phenols, because it is less processed.

Top-quality extra-virgin oils from Italy, Spain Albania and Greece are sold at high prices, often in "prestige" packaging but in North America, Italian and Spanish olive oils are the best-known. The best-quality oils are called cold-pressed, a chemical-free process that involves only pressure and which produces oils that are low in acidity.

Olive oil can enhance the flavor of a salad or be used to marinate meat or fish. It is best suited for using uncooked in dishes where you can appreciate its exquisite aroma and flavor. Add flavor to olive oil by infusing the oil with sprigs of rosemary or other dried herbs. The result is a full-bodied, deeply-colored olive oil that can be appreciated for its own distinctive bouquet and rich and complex flavor.

Olive oil is a panacea, the perfect oil for all ages.

About the Author:

No comments: