Despite it Being Old News, the Media Now Reports Olive Oil's Benefits on Lowering Cholesterol
It always amazes me when healthy foods (or oils) consumed by long-living people for centuries pass right over the heads of the modern populace. In an article I wrote here on Feb. 20, 2008 about people claiming to live close to 120, I found out one startling thing when researching the ones who truly were close to 120: They all consumed olive oil daily...either by drinking it or using it (by habit) in the foods they consumed. In some parts of the world (namely in Greece, Italy and Spain as part of the Mediterranean Diet)--most people know it's part of tradition in their cuisine and probably explains why you'll find a lot of people in their 90's and 100's roaming happily down European street corners. That is, until young Europeans come to live in America, get hooked on very non-olive oil McDonalds and then develop heart disease.They may as well join many fellow Americans who may only think of olive oil as being Olive Oyl from Popeye--which, coincidentally is a classic cartoon/comic strip containing references to two of the healthiest things anywhere: Our article subject and...yes, spinach.
Well, in the last year, it's been both Greece and Spain having the trade-off on how much olive oil has been consumed in the world. To contrast that with the United States, those recent studies show approximately 8% of the American populace consume olive oil (probably thanks to the popularity of Olive Garden) compared to leader Italy at 30% (all of whom probably think Olive Garden is "merda" from afar). Maybe America gets some of that from the James Bond wannabes out there who inadvertently place an olive on a miniature plastic sword in their martinis. A lot of people probably just waste the olive--though others eat them out of sheer joy. Right there, they've eaten one of the most nutritious foods around before rotting their liver with the martini.
Let's not be too cynical about America here in an age when people are stuffing themselves with ever-increasing junk that's destroying one artery after another and raising health care costs for everybody. Also in an age when health care is at crisis point in this country, it's more than gratifying to know that production of olives (to be made into oil) is growing here in America each year. It's not huge, but it's a good start. That means that maybe in ten years, people will get easier access to high-quality olive oil and start improving their health. If only a large part of the American population were aware that, in ancient times through the Mediterranean, olive oil was the most sought after product with poetic words written about how magical and healthful it was.
Yes, somehow that all got lost in the shuffle in the new world of America.
The most healthful kind of olive oil and what it does to improve your arteries...
Believe it or not, there really is an International Olive Oil Council. You probably guessed that America has nothing to do with it either in these isolationist times. Why that is isn't known--but it more or less makes shopping for the best olive oil a little riskier here. If you're in Europe, you're guaranteed to get prime quality olive oil, which is generally called appropriately enough: "Extra Virgin Olive Oil." This kind of oil is one of the best tasting in the world (with loads of antioxidants) due to the cold pressing of the olives during production. Keep in mind that it's important all olive oil gets the cold pressing, because heat will change the taste and quality of the oil.
If you buy a bottle of olive oil with the words "Extra Virgin" here in America--you're actually getting something inferior. Yet, companies here can get away with it thanks to the sometimes laughable USDA allowing companies to give ridiculous labels to badly-made olive oil produced in the States. When you see adjectives such as "Fancy" on a bottle of olive oil in an American store--time to make arrangements with your travel agent to go to Italy and smuggle some real-deal olive oil with you back on the plane.
Consider those American labels to be akin to some of the unregulated health products you see in health food stores that claim with a straight face to give you inner peace and tranquility.
Mind you, if you don't care about the quality of the olive oil--it still has more health benefits than you can possibly imagine that should still make you purchase the product. I say buying an inferior version in America is better than none at all. The biggest benefit is that olive oil has monounsaturated fats that fall under the good fats (know your "Good Fats" before proceeding) every living being needs in a balanced diet. And, as I hope you know, getting monounsaturated fats in your diet often helps prevent heart disease in various wondrous ways.
It's at least fortunate that American olive oil producers put the strong selling point on their labels of the extreme health benefits--despite having to legally say that it's "inconclusive evidence." Many studies have been done in recent years that say that the best quality olive oil (the extra virgin variety) helps make a person's arteries have more elasticity that's important to preventing strokes and heart attacks. This applies not only to humans, but (surprisingly) animals, too. So go ahead and give a little piece of the Mediterranean Diet to your beloved family dog or cat by spreading a little olive oil on their usual food.
Believe it or not, there really is an International Olive Oil Council. You probably guessed that America has nothing to do with it either in these isolationist times. Why that is isn't known--but it more or less makes shopping for the best olive oil a little riskier here. If you're in Europe, you're guaranteed to get prime quality olive oil, which is generally called appropriately enough: "Extra Virgin Olive Oil." This kind of oil is one of the best tasting in the world (with loads of antioxidants) due to the cold pressing of the olives during production. Keep in mind that it's important all olive oil gets the cold pressing, because heat will change the taste and quality of the oil.
If you buy a bottle of olive oil with the words "Extra Virgin" here in America--you're actually getting something inferior. Yet, companies here can get away with it thanks to the sometimes laughable USDA allowing companies to give ridiculous labels to badly-made olive oil produced in the States. When you see adjectives such as "Fancy" on a bottle of olive oil in an American store--time to make arrangements with your travel agent to go to Italy and smuggle some real-deal olive oil with you back on the plane.
Consider those American labels to be akin to some of the unregulated health products you see in health food stores that claim with a straight face to give you inner peace and tranquility.
Mind you, if you don't care about the quality of the olive oil--it still has more health benefits than you can possibly imagine that should still make you purchase the product. I say buying an inferior version in America is better than none at all. The biggest benefit is that olive oil has monounsaturated fats that fall under the good fats (know your "Good Fats" before proceeding) every living being needs in a balanced diet. And, as I hope you know, getting monounsaturated fats in your diet often helps prevent heart disease in various wondrous ways.
It's at least fortunate that American olive oil producers put the strong selling point on their labels of the extreme health benefits--despite having to legally say that it's "inconclusive evidence." Many studies have been done in recent years that say that the best quality olive oil (the extra virgin variety) helps make a person's arteries have more elasticity that's important to preventing strokes and heart attacks. This applies not only to humans, but (surprisingly) animals, too. So go ahead and give a little piece of the Mediterranean Diet to your beloved family dog or cat by spreading a little olive oil on their usual food.
Olive oil lowering your cholesterol LDL and the mysteries of why that's kept a secret...
Recently, I saw a segment on FoxNews (with the burly Dr. Manny) about how olive oil could potentially lower your "bad" cholesterol also known as your LDL. When I saw the report, I thought to myself: Isn't this something we knew a long time ago? Some of my own family have lowered their cholesterol considerably via the same means. Well, apparently a lot of people don't know that as they should. Here we have one of the most useful edible oils on the planet that's been proven to help a person's health in myriad ways--and it's pretty much only consumed by accident (and too rarely) rather than willfully. Based on the rate of heart disease and obesity in this country, most people obviously don't buy bottles of olive oil or consume foods that have olive oil in it. As I insinuated earlier, even the types of olive oil available in America aren't always of the very best extra virgin quality.
Without wanting to get on a tirade you can't prove about the medical establishment, knowledge about olive oil is likely not getting out there diffusely on purpose. If everybody ended up with healthy arteries and we wiped out heart disease and stroke from America, there wouldn't be any...well, heart surgeons or pharmaceutical drugs needed as badly any longer. Of course, other things can cause the same problems, but it's nine times out of ten related to what we eat over time.
___
Naturally, we can't expect some people to pour a big glass of olive oil and gulp it down every night either in the morning, before going to bed...or during mid-day--if that's the kind of person you are. In earlier centuries, that's exactly what some did if even using olive oil on their face as a proven natural moisturizer. One of the best (or common) ways to get it into your diet is by using it as a dressing on salads. I have a salad almost every night for dinner now using olive oil dressing--and it not only gives you a taste of how Italians eat daily, but also tastes good. There's countless ways to use olive oil on food, so use your imagination if you have a tendency to do culinary experiments when making dinner.
In the meantime, we should all wish that this type of edible oil gets as much attention (and profits) as that other non-edible oil that's causing about as many economic problems for America as a bad diet does...
Recently, I saw a segment on FoxNews (with the burly Dr. Manny) about how olive oil could potentially lower your "bad" cholesterol also known as your LDL. When I saw the report, I thought to myself: Isn't this something we knew a long time ago? Some of my own family have lowered their cholesterol considerably via the same means. Well, apparently a lot of people don't know that as they should. Here we have one of the most useful edible oils on the planet that's been proven to help a person's health in myriad ways--and it's pretty much only consumed by accident (and too rarely) rather than willfully. Based on the rate of heart disease and obesity in this country, most people obviously don't buy bottles of olive oil or consume foods that have olive oil in it. As I insinuated earlier, even the types of olive oil available in America aren't always of the very best extra virgin quality.
Without wanting to get on a tirade you can't prove about the medical establishment, knowledge about olive oil is likely not getting out there diffusely on purpose. If everybody ended up with healthy arteries and we wiped out heart disease and stroke from America, there wouldn't be any...well, heart surgeons or pharmaceutical drugs needed as badly any longer. Of course, other things can cause the same problems, but it's nine times out of ten related to what we eat over time.
___
Naturally, we can't expect some people to pour a big glass of olive oil and gulp it down every night either in the morning, before going to bed...or during mid-day--if that's the kind of person you are. In earlier centuries, that's exactly what some did if even using olive oil on their face as a proven natural moisturizer. One of the best (or common) ways to get it into your diet is by using it as a dressing on salads. I have a salad almost every night for dinner now using olive oil dressing--and it not only gives you a taste of how Italians eat daily, but also tastes good. There's countless ways to use olive oil on food, so use your imagination if you have a tendency to do culinary experiments when making dinner.
In the meantime, we should all wish that this type of edible oil gets as much attention (and profits) as that other non-edible oil that's causing about as many economic problems for America as a bad diet does...
