Olive Oil - The Heart of the Matter

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Popeye the sailor man, famous for his football
sized muscles, has this girlfriend Olive Oyl who
is good for his heart, but it wasnt until my 19
year old son took up bodybuilding that I was
introduced to the world of carbs and calories,
fats and transfats and , yeah, olive oil. It IS
spelt differently but is as good for the heart
OUR hearts. Apparently the motto , as Ive learnt
in recent times, is eat to live not , as I have
been mistakenly doing so far by switching parts
of speech, living to eat. I staunchly believe
that the proof of the pudding is indeed in the
eating. So when I see my sons much improved
musculature, I must agree that he has a good
thing going and (alas!) knows more than I
do. Here are a few excerpts from the fount of
knowledge Oils (fats) are essential but in the
right doses Oils are the most efficient source of
energy that the human body can have. They are
essential for the bodys messaging system- nerves
that carry information to and fro the brain. They
are important to build healthy cell membranes.
They are essential for lubricating skin and
joints, for building the spongy tissue that
cushion our bones and also for regulating
hormones (the proteins that trigger and sustain
all bodily reactions).
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• The 3 avatars of fats
• Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and
  are villains in this star cast they raise LDL
  (bad) cholesterol levels and lead to heart
  disease. Animal fats and tropical oils like palm
  and coconut oil are all saturated fats
• The supporting cast of villainy is played by
  trans fat. These are hydrogenated fats that have
  been thus transformed to increase their shelf
  life. All those readymade flaky biscuits and
  pastries, burgers and French fries, margarine and
  salad dressing are paths to short lived
  happiness. They too increase LDL cholesterol
  levels.
• Unsaturated fats are the saviours. They are of 2
  types Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated
  fats. Polyunsaturated fats are further classified
  into Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.
• No more than 10 of your daily calorific intake
  should be from saturated fat, 20-35 should come
  from unsaturated fats. Avoid trans fats
  altogether

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The truth about olive oil Olive oil is extracted
from the olive fruit, a traditional tree crop in
the Mediterranean region. 100g of Olive oil
contains 14g of saturated fats, 73g of
monounsaturated fats, and 11 g of polyunsaturated
fats including 1.5g of Omega 3 and up to 21g o
omega 6 fatty acids. In addition, it contains
Vitamin E and Vitamin K. The flavour of the oil
depends on the raw material the olives from
which it is extracted the region where these
trees are grown and the methods of
extraction. Interest in olive oil as a medium of
cooking was sparked because of the popularity of
the Mediterranean diet of which olive oil is an
integral part. This is a diet proven to foster
heart health.
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Which olive oil fits your bill? The market is
flooded with many kinds of olive oil, so lets
just arm ourselves with what these actually
mean. Virgin and extra virgin olive oil do NOT
refer to the manufacturer but the method of
manufacturing olive oil. This simply means that
the oil was extracted from the fruit by
mechanical means with no use of chemicals. Extra
virgin oil has a lower smoking point. Both these
types are good for cooking and salads. Refined
olive oil is what you get when the oil is put
through a process that removes colour, odour and
flavour which might otherwise be difficult to get
used to. Refined oil is essentially tasteless,
colourless and odourless it has very little
fatty acid content. There is an extra light
variety of refined oil too. These are ideal for
sautéing, stir frying and deep frying as well as
dressing. Crude olive pomace is made by treating
leftover olive paste after pressing for virgin
oil with solvents like hexane which are then
removed. It is then further refined to get
refined pomace oil and blended with virgin olive
oils to get olive pomace oil. This is a process
where the last drop of oil is extracted from
olives like a 2nd or 3rd decoction of coffee
using the same grounds in the filter. It is
cheaper and most people look at it cross eyed
with suspicion.
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Olive oil- the many pros Olive oil, as pointed
out earlier, blitzed into the health food scene
because of its cardiovascular benefits and its
ability to lower the risk of coronary heart
disease. Extra virgin olive oil contains
oleocanthal which is a good compound for the
control of Alzheimers disease. Its antioxidant
constituents, Vitamin E, oleic acid, carotenoids
and phenolic compounds, are anti-inflammatory and
thus prevent pancreatitis or the acute
inflammation of the pancreas, damage to liver
tissue as well as ulcerative colitis. Olive oil
also has a short shelf life and spoils very
fast. Take care when you buy this oil. Use a
trusted brand so you dont get short changed on
quality and freshness. Drop that jelly belly.
Switch to olive oil or at least include it in
your cooking.
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Thank You...