Olive Oil: A Perfect Friend for Your Heart

Olive oil is the richest gift of the heaven for mankind and one of the finest gifts of the nature. Source of monounsaturated fatty acid olive oil is natural juice of olive fruit of olive tree, olea europaea. Olive tree is evergreen and can live up to 600 years or more. It takes 5 to 8 years for olive tree to produce olive fruit. People are using this from before the biblical time. It contains fatty acid and high levels of anti oxidative ingredients. Ancient poet Homer named it ‘liquid gold’. Olive oil is not only a mere food for Mediterranean people but it is used for medicinal and ritual purposes. It has the ingredients to reduce the bad cholesterol LDL in blood and increase HDL level in blood. It contains anti oxidants and vitamin E and K. Anti oxidants called polyphenols strengthen the body immune system and destroy the harmful free radicals. It has more unsaturated fat than any other fat or oil. The mortality rate in unsaturated fat consumers is less than consumers of saturated fat.

Growing areas

Olive cultivation is mainly widespread in Mediterranean countries like Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, Portugal, Italy, Morocco, Israel, Lebanon, Greece, and France. Those are major producers of olive oil. Of them Spain, Greece and Italy produce superb quality olive oil. About 60% cultivated land of Greece is used for olive cultivation. Now the other area of the world is thriving in olive industry such as Australia. About 95% of the world productions of olive oil come from Mediterranean countries.

Ingredients

One tablespoon olive oil contains 120 calories, 14 grams of fat with no cholesterol. 77% fat in olive oil is monounsaturated, 9% is polyunsaturated fat. Virgin olive oil contains the antioxidants beta-carotene, vitamin E and phenolic compounds tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol.

EVOO: Extra virgin olive oil is produced by first pressing of the olives. It has a free acidity which is called the oleic acid not more than 0.8 grams per 100 grams. This is the best quality and the highest grade. It has superior taste, color and aroma. If you buy olive oil this should be the first choice. It is the best for your salad dressing, marinade and bread dipping and it needn’t much for that.

Virgin: It has a free acidity not more than 2 grams per 100 grams. This is lower quality than extra virgin olive oil.

Pure olive oil or olive oil: It has free acidity of oleic acidity not more than 1 gram per 100 grams. The most sold olive oil in the world falls into this category.

Lampante olive oil: not fit for consumption. Free acidity is more than 3.3 grams per 100 grams. It comes from bad fruits and carelessly processed.

Refined olive oil: it comes from processed virgin olive oil. Refined oil is colorless, tasteless and odorless generally. It is processed chemically.

Pomace olive oil: it is obtained from pomace which is ground flesh and pits left after pressing. It is of low category used in soap factory or other industrial purposes.

We should use olive oil if we are health minded. Olive oil is the healthiest substitute to any other fat used in cooking because it has no cholesterol. Olive oil health benefits are not limited to heart but also are useful for health of skin, nails and hair. It is said that every day use of olive oil keeps you away from heart disease. So, at least a teaspoon of olive oil is enough to take care of our heart. Olive oil is easily absorbed in body. Its natural anti oxidants can help slowing down natural aging. Olive oil slows down excessive acid production in digestive system which helps preventing ulcers and other gastrointestinal problems. Pregnant mothers should consume olive oil to deliver children with better height, weight and mental condition. Olive oil rich diet can assure you not to be a victim of diabetes and even it can be delayed to occur. It maintains blood pressure keeping normal. It protects from coronary heart diseases. It can control obesity by stimulating metabolism and digestion. Obesity is now a problem for many people. The problem can be overcome by using olive oil.

So, enjoy the taste of olive oil in your diet and use it for healthy long lasting life.