COMPOSITION OF OLIVE OIL

Contrary to popular belief, certain fat types exist which are essential to the human diet. The most beneficial of these fats are precisely those which are found in olive oil: unsaturates. These are easily absorbed, as they have less bonds between their carbon atoms. The unsaturates most commonly found in olive oil are the monounsaturates (oleic acid), which, as we will see further on, has extremely valuable biological effects in the human diet. Linoleic acid (vitamin F) is also present in significant amounts, and is also vital for the human organism: it must be consumed in food as it cannot be synthesised by the human body. The same applies to vitamin E (tocoferol), which is an efficient antioxidant.

BENEFICIAL PROPERTIES

Liver and Gall-bladder
Olive oil helps to eliminate gallstones in the bile duct and can even expel them completely.

Digestive tract
Olive oil protects the mucus membrane of the digestive tract: it forms a protective layer in the stomach and duodenum and prevents digestive ulcers from forming. It also acts as an efficient mechanical laxative, regulating bowel movement and helping prevent cancer of the colon.

Epithelial tissue
Over the centuries, many different cultures were aware of the beneficial qualities of olive oil for hydrating, replenishing and protecting the skin. It is used today in numerous brands of cosmetics.

Cholesterol and heart disease

The prominence of this type of diseases today all over the world – they cause 40% of deaths – means the role played by olive oil in risk reduction becomes even more important. The oleic acid present in olive oil works directly on one of the risk factors, cholesterol (present in the atheromatous plaques, which adhere to the walls of the coronary arteries and obstruct them, with the additional danger of blood clots being transported to the finer capillaries).
High-density cholesterol (or HDLs, High Density Lipoproteins) helps to remove the cholesterol which has become attached to the artery walls and reduces the risk of heart attack. HDLs are increased, among other factors, by regular exercise, moderate alcohol consumption and by consuming olive oil, and they are depleted by obesity, smoking and badly-controlled diabetes. It has been scientifically proven that oils rich in oleic acid such as olive oil play a vital role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Infant nutrition

Olive oil has been discovered to be the natural fat which is most similar in both composition and digestibility to mother's milk. It is the only vegetable or animal oil which has this similarity of composition.
In addition to this, olive oil has an excellent linoleic acid and vitamin E content, making it the ideal fat for babies as it is extremely beneficial for bone growth, brain development and the formation of the nervous system.

INTERNATIONAL CONSENSUS DOCUMENT

The traditional MEDITERRANEAN (European) diet is characterised by an abundance of foods of plant origin such as bread, pasta, vegetables, salads, pulses, fruit, nuts and OLIVE OIL as the main source of fats; moderate consumption of fish, poultry, eggs and dairy products, small amounts of red meat, and low to moderate amounts of wine, normally consumed with meals. This diet is low in saturated fatty acids and rich in carbohydrates and fibre, and has a high monounsaturated fatty acid content deriving mainly from olive oil.


COMPARISON OF OILS

There are three reasons why it is better to consume olive oil than other vegetable oils (sunflower oil, corn oil or soybean oil):

1 Virgin olive oil is completely natural. It is as natural as a fruit juice, while chemical solvents such as hexane, heptane, etc. need to be used in the extraction of vegetable oils in order for them to be fit for human consumption.

2 The body assimilates virgin olive oil better than soybean or sunflower oil. It also has a higher digestibility coefficient as it is closer to the melting point of lipids at body temperature.

3 It has been proven that no vegetable or animal fat exists which comes closer in its composition to mother's milk than virgin olive oil.


OLIVE OIL AND FRYING

When olive oil is used for frying it "expands" in the pan. This has a very positive effect on the food being fried. It forms a finer, denser layer around the food than other vegetable oils, preventing it from absorbing any more oil than strictly necessary. It therefore adds less calories to fried food and prevents the product's natural juices from spilling out and being wasted.
A study carried out in this field showed that the weight of products fried in olive oil was 1% and 10% lower than for those fried in sunflower and soybean oil respectively. This was due to the fact that the food had soaked up more oil in these cases. Compared to olive oil, 12% more sunflower oil and 47% more soybean oil were used up in the frying process.