The Nutrition of Olive Oil
Olive Oil is the magic bullet of nutrition and a healthy diet. Olive Oil is a panacea, the perfect Oil for all ages. One or two teaspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil should be added to most of your meals.
When buying Olive Oil make sure it is Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the dark green variety and ensure it is cold pressed.
In Greece, Olive Oil has been considered numinous for millenniums. The olive was known as the "gift of the gods", according to Greek mythology which claimed that it was initially brought to the Greeks as a gift by the Goddess Athena, and then later picked by Zeus as the most useful invention of the time.
Olive Oil is a complex compound made up of fatty acids, vitamins, microscopic bits of Olive and other water soluble components. Its primary fatty acids are oleic and linoleic acid. Oleic acid is monosaturated and makes up approximately 55 - 85% of Olive Oil.
Linoleic is polyunsaturated and makes up about 9% of Olive Oil. It also contains a small amount of saturated fat. Olive Oil's polyunsaturated fatty acids lower both LDL and HDL levels in the blood. Its monounsaturated fatty acids on the other hand control LDL levels while raising HDL levels. No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated fat as Olive Pil - mainly oleic acid. And furthermore, the modest amount of well-balanced polyunsaturated fatty acids in Olive Oil is well protected by its own natural antioxidant substances.
The colour of Olive Oil is dependent on the pigments in the fruit - green Olives give a green oil because of the high chlorophyll content. Ripe Olives give a yellow oil because of the carotenoid (yellow red) pigments.
There are as much as 5mg of antioxidant polyphenols in every 10 grams of Olive Oil. The dark green variety of Olive Oil contains the most antioxidants. Olive Oil is the second best natural source of Vitamin K available. The greener the vegetable or oil the higher the content because Vitamin K is associated with chlorophyll.