Secret 13: Choose Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

As with eggs, so with fats. Whenever possible, choose the most unprocessed, top-quality food available. Just like an organic egg from a free-range chicken will have more nutrients than an egg from a caged hen whose diet is supplemented with antibiotics and steroids, so too do cold-pressed oils have more nutrients than the chemically processed oils such as the more affordable vegetable oils that line your typical supermarket shelf.  For the Rolls Royce of oils, always looks for 'cold-pressed oil' or 'expeller-pressed oil' over simply 'sunflower oil' or 'safflower oil' or worse 'vegetable oil'. Oils are a major component of your diet and you deserve the healthiest, most nutritious oils available. Like many things in life, you tend to get what you pay for. A chemically processed hybrid vegetable oil stored in a clear, plastic container will be much more affordable than a cold-pressed single source oil stored in the refrigerated section in a dark, glass bottle. But how much oil do you need if you tend to steam and bake rather than deep fry?  If your car deserves the most expensive gasoline, your body does too! Your car won't last more than ten years, or, if you regularly buff and maintain it, maybe even longer.  What does a human body need to last much longer than that?  And if, over the course of a long life, your body is provided with premium oil, perhaps when you are retired you might save on hospital bills that you might otherwise incur by eating food prepared with the cheapest oil possible?

So in Secret 13, Sally Beare shares the wisdom of strong, healthy 80+ year olds who live in Campodimele, Italy and Symi, Greece: your #1 oil is first-pressed, cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil (virgin olive oil has been stripped of Vit. E to produce Vit. E capsules.  Why not obtain the Vit. E directly from the extra-virgin oil?).

Rich green-gold hues of extra-virgin olive oil

I use olive oil as the primary oil in my kitchen - raw, for adding flavor, and for cooking. Since olive oil is high in monounsaturated fats and low in polyunsaturated fats, it has a long shelf and does not need to be bleached and heated to high temperatures like other oils. Thus it contains a much higher percentage of its original nutrients. So what are the benefits of olive oil? This 'nectar of Greek and Roman gods' helps transport fat-soluble antioxidants, as well as Vit.A and Vit. E around your body.  It raised good HDL cholesterol, promotes cell formation and membrane development. Oleic acid reduces levels of the breast-cancer inducing gene HER-2/neu. Olive oil has anti-fungal properties that help keep your intestinal flora healthy and aid in reducing candida overgrowth. If you are planning on a night out, a spoon of raw olive oil will protect your intestinal lining.  

First-pressed, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil is available in supermarkets as well as at warehouse clubs such as Sam's Club.  If there is no mention of 'first-pressed' on the bottle label, then it is the second or third press. Here are two brands I currently have in my kitchen:

Romano: olive oil stored in a dark glass bottle

Sam's Club: comes in a large, clear plastic bottle

I prefer storing my olive oil in a cool place in a dark glass bottle. I store the large, see-through, three liter plastic container from Sam's Club in a dark, cool cupboard and use this to top up a smaller, dark glass bottle on the kitchen table for daily use.  

Here's a quick and simple salad dressing that is always delicious and fresh and has none of the added chemicals that you might find in store-bought salad dressings: mix 1/3 extra-virgin olive oil with 2/3 balsamic vinegar, pour over salad and toss well.

Other great cold-pressed oils you may consider using on your salad include hemp oil and flaxseed oil.

Take-home message: replace all chemically processed vegetable oils in your kitchen with first-pressed, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil.  When eating out, ask what kind of oils are used for cooking.