OLIVE YOUR CHOICES
Versatile oil has many benefits — if you choose the right one
My kids enjoyed a good laugh at my expense while at the grocery store the other day. Apparently, I was taking way too long in the olive oil aisle. I was in an unfamiliar store surrounded by unfamiliar brands, so I couldn’t just grab my favourite on the fly. My children couldn’t grasp how it could take me so long to choose a brand. How different could they really be? Although many oils are housed in similar dark green bottles with similar lighter green labels, what lies within these bottles is not the same.
We are not stingy with olive oil in our kitchen, so I do not want to mess around with what I buy. Olive oil can be one of the healthiest fats in our diets, but only if you buy the real stuff.
Olive oil is rich in antioxidants, which reduce inflammation and protect cells against oxidization. It’s also been shown to help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The healthful fats in olive oil are a sustained source of energy and contribute to brain health, mood stabilization and proper hormone development, while also keeping us full longer.
But Consumer Reports, the U.S. National Consumer League, and Consumer Lab have all recently discovered that some olive oils are not what they claim to be. Some brands mix higher-quality olive oil with other less healthy oils such as non-virgin olive, canola or sunflower oil, some have begun to oxidize or go rancid, and others are full of chemicals or pesticides.
In a 2015 news release announcing the National Consumer League’s findings on mislabelled olive oil products, Mary Flynn, a researcher at Brown University, explained how the health benefits of olive oil can be diminished. “Extra virgin olive oils contain compounds called polyphenols, which are responsible for many of their purported health benefits. In general, the fresher the olive oil, the
Buy cold-pressed or cold-extracted olive oil. Heat can damage the antioxidants and thus reduce the health benefits.
higher the polyphenol content. As the oil ages or is exposed to heat, light or oxygen, the polyphenol content decreases. A number of studies have shown that extra virgin olive oils with higher polyphenol content are associated with greater health benefits.”