Olive Oil (Extra-Virgin/Virgin)

Olive Oil (Extra-Virgin/Virgin)

Olive Oil (Extra-Virgin/Virgin)

What is it:

Extra-virgin olive oil is a type of oil made from pressing fresh olives. It is considered to be the highest quality and most flavorful form of olive oil. The oil is produced by mechanically pressing the olives without the use of heat or chemicals, which helps to preserve the oil’s natural flavors and nutrients. Extra-virgin olive oil is commonly used in cooking and as a dressing for salads and other dishes.

Rating:

Extra-virgin olive oil is known for its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid), which are believed to have several health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. It is also rich in antioxidants, such as vitamin E and polyphenols, which help to protect the body from oxidative stress and reduce inflammation. Olive oil may also help alleviate symptoms of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and improve brain function.

Resources:

  1. Dietary intake of oleic acid can reduce inflammation (cross-sectional epidemiologic study)
  2. The potential anti-cancer effects of oleic acid from olive oil (review)
  3. Oleic acid from olive oil may inhibit breast cancer cell growth (in vitro study)
  4. The antioxidant, anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory effects of olive oil (review)
  5. Antioxidants in olive oil protect against LDL oxidation in rabbits (animal study)
  6. Olive oil improves parameters of cardiovascular health (randomized, parallel, controlled clinical trial
  7. Olive oil intake associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events, and stroke (systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies)
  8. Olive oil intake associated with improved parameters of hypertension (double-blind, randomized, crossover dietary-intervention study)
  9. Olive oil may help improve cognition (multicentre, randomised, primary prevention trial)
  10. Mediterranean diet with olive oil may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes (nutrition intervention randomized controlled trial)
  11. Olive oil along with fish oil may promote improvements in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (randomized controlled trial)

How we rate ingredients

Health is like a bank account, certain ingredients make a deposit into your health bank, meaning they add to
your health. Certain ingredients withdraw from your health bank. We want health promoting ingredients in our diet. To keep things simple, we rate ingredients on a green, yellow, red scale:

Clean

It is naturally occurring in food and has no harmful effects on the body. It is real food. It is health promoting.

Caution

It goes into one or more of the below categories

  • It is not naturally occurring in food but doesn’t have data showing it has a harmful effect on the body (additives like Gellan Gum)
  • It is naturally occurring but can have some harmful effects on the body (added sugars, oils, gums etc.)

We Avoid

It is known to have a harmful effect on the body (ex. All food colorings, Natural Flavors, MSG, Potassium bromate, aspartame, artificial flavors)

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