The good oil key to a healthy diet

Forgive me if I make you jealous, but I amcurrently staying in Andalucia, enjoying a beautiful Spanish autumn.

The local people are intrigued and amused by my attempts to speak Spanish, but seem to love my enthusiasm for their food and culture, which are of course inextricably intertwined.

Each evening I sit in a bar, enjoying a glass of rioja and watching my kids play soccer on the street with the local boys. Football really is a language all of its own.

Before dinner I amoffered bread with the most beautiful olive oil to accompany it. As far as the eye can see from the village, the surrounding hills are covered with olive groves – in fact, I have yet to see any other crop in this region at all.

Reading about the history of olives here is fascinating. In this region, they date back to before the 1st century AD, although olives were first pressed to produce oil about 6000 years before that in modern-day Israel. Today Spain produces almost half of the world’s olives, and 75 per cent of this volume comes from the Andalucian region.

The oil is used in many different types of cuisine, and in this area it seems to be the base for almost everything savoury and delicious – from salads to tapas, paella and frittatas. It would seem that olive oil is essential to the Spanish diet, which may explain why all my friendly neighbours seem so healthy and content with life.

It has long been understood that the ‘‘Mediterranean diet’’ is healthy. Its emphasis on fruit, fish, nuts, legumes, vegetables and olive oil is much better for our bodies than a diet rich in animal fats and dairy.

The benefits until recently were thought to primarily affect heart health and memory – studies have shown that the mono-unsaturated fats and high antioxidant levels in olive oil (especially in extra virgin olive oil) can protect against heart disease, dementia and high blood pressure.

These active substances may also reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, strokes and bloods clots.

This month, there has also been a study published in the JAMA: Internal Medicine that suggests olive oil may be important in preventing breast cancer. In this study, women were randomised to either a standard low-fat diet, or a diet based on the Mediterranean style.

Those eating the Mediterranean diet had an extra 4 tablespoons of olive oil per day compared with the other group. Over a five-year period, the group eating the extra olive oil had a lower incidence of breast cancer when compared with the other group. Although this does seem exciting, the study found very small numbers of cancer overall, so statistically this link is hard to prove. However, it certainly adds some more weight to the argument that a diet rich in olive oil is good for you. So when it comes to olive oil, how do you choose from the vast array that sits on the supermarket shelves? My advice would be that it is worth doing a bit of research when it comes to your oil.

The purest forms are ‘‘coldpressed’’, which means that they have the lowest percentage of nasty free fatty acids in them. If coldpressed oil is not available, or is out of your price-range, try to find an extra virgin oil (EVOO) – this is the The mono-unsaturated fats and high antioxidant levels in olive oil (especially in extra virgin olive oil) can protect against heart disease, dementia and high blood pressure. next purest.

EVOO contains the highest amount of nutritional goodies, especially antioxidants, vitamins K and E. It also has the highest burn temperature, meaning that it can be safely used for cooking at high temperatures without its properties being damaged.

Unfortunately, there are a wide variety of other ‘‘olive’’ oils out there, some of which have been adulterated with vegetable oils or other fats to bring down the price – this obviously dilutes the benefits too. I would recommend using a smaller amount of a better quality product if possible, and trying to substitute any animal fats in your diet for EVOO. Buen apetito!

Cathy Stephenson is a GP and medical forensic examiner.