Olive Oil – Savior or Killer?

For years now I’ve been using olive oil in my food preparation. Extra virgin olive oil to be precise. This is superior quality oil obtained from the first squeeze of olives and has the best flavor and aroma. I use it in my salads and for cooking. Then I heard the rumor it wasn’t all that healthy. Time to get the facts straight.

Olive—sky walker (Flickr.com)

The Good

Olive oil is obtained from the olive, obviously. Mostly used in the Mediterranean cuisine, people in Spain, Italy and Greece for example have been using it in their diets for many hundreds of years. Statistics show that these countries have a lower risk of coronary diseases, cancer, allergies and even the common cold. Olive oil is responsible for a big part of that good health.

A whopping 70% in olive oil are monounsaturated fatty acids, the good kind of fats. Opposed to saturated fatty acids, it actually reduces bad cholesterol levels. It even has the ability to dissolve some bad fats. Furthermore, it is a good source of vitamin E α-tocoferol, which is important for bodily processes such a cellular renewal, protects cells, its walls, blood vessels and tissue.

You’ve heard me talking about extra virgin, but there is also virgin and regular olive oil.

(Extra) Virgin Olive Oil

Extra virgin is the superior, first squeeze kind. Virgin is the second squeeze. These olive oils contain bioactive substances such as hydroxytyrosol, squaleen and fytosterol. Studies have shown that these substances, especially combined as found in olive oil have great benefits. These powerful anti-oxidants reduce the risk of developing Parkinson, breast-, pancreas-, prostate, colon-, skin- and stomach cancers and coronary diseases. Many trust in its sun protection abilities as well and it can relief eczema or dry skin, which is why the cosmetic industry is trying to extract these nutrients. The presence of oleocanthal is proved to work anti-inflammatory and painkilling, similar to Ibuprofen.

Regular Olive Oil

When you buy a bottle of ‘regular’ olive oil, you get a mixture of refined olive oil and extra virgin olive oil. Its taste is more neutral, less distinct than the aromatic full flavored extra virgin sibling. There are some positive sides however. It is cheaper, no further explanation needed there right? And, during the refining process, most of the bioactive substances as described above have been lost. It is purified and its composition will not alter when heated, affecting quality nor taste.

The Bad

This is where it gets extra interesting. Ask a 1000 people which oil kind they’ll prefer, and they’ll pick the extra virgin olive oil. It is the healthiest and the best tasting. That was my logic as well. However, the rumor I got confronted with was that olive oil is bad for cooking, baking and frying. And that is partially true.

(Extra) Virgin Olive Oil

Evil olive oil—Cubosh (Flickr.com)

Surprisingly, all the things that make this kind of olive oil superior, goes negative when heated. Especially when heated above 180 degrees Centigrade or for a longer time, the biochemical composition of the oil changes in a way it could harm your health. In this process, so called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed. PAHs are known to cause cancer. You’ve definitely seen PAHs in its most common form, being the black stuff when you burn your meat or toast for example. Avoid eating this at all times.

Regular Olive Oil

These PAHs do not form when regular refined olive oil is heated. Therefore this is the olive oil best used when stir frying, baking of (deep) frying.

The Ugly

The ugly part is that even if you try to be healthy, without proper knowledge those intentions go to waste. Now that you know everything you need to know, we can all say “Olive Oil Improves My Life”.

Filed under: Health and Happiness

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