Olive Oil, Your Health, Your Kitchen

Extra virgin olive oil has become such a symbol of healthy eating that it is hard to believe that it was once accused of increasing the harmful cholesterol. It was a fat, so it had to be bad for us. Fortunately, we left those times behind and now olive oil and most fats are much better understood.

The main reason olive oil is healthy is because it is rich in healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. About 75% of that monounsaturated fat is oleic acid, which is very stable even at high temperatures. Moreover, our body processes oleic acid easier than other fatty acids.

Secondly, organic extra virgin olive oil also contains high levels of antioxidants like phenols, and vitamins E and A, which fight free radicals and thus prevent premature aging. Those antioxidants help neutralize the oxidation process, which is common to alls fats, and preserve the properties of olive oil too.

So, the fact that olive oil is capable of

resisting oxidation at higher temperatures much

better than seed oils makes it the safest

vegetable oil for frying.

Many in the non-Mediterranean industrialized

countries feel uneasy when a Mediterranean recipe

calls for frying in olive oil. Frying is an old

cooking technique that is very popular in the

Mediterranean cuisines. It is as much an integral

part of the healthy traditional Mediterranean

diet as consuming raw olive oil with bread and

salads.

Some olive oil tips for the kitchen

When heated up, olive oil expands in volume and

food absorbs it less than other cooking oils.

Therefore, you need a smaller quantity of olive

oil.

If it didn’t burn in your frying pan, you can

reuse olive oil up to three times. Some say even

five times, but I personally never use it more

than twice.

Olive oil transmits flavors between foods, so

never fry meat in olive oil you used to fry fish

and vice versa. My grandmother always kept a jar

for fish and one for meat next to the olive oil

bottle. It is the best way not to get flavors

mixed up.

Finally, olive oil looks thicker than other

vegetable oils, but this is only appearance as,

contrary to popular belief, it has no more

calories than sunflower oil, for instance.

Olive oil for your health

In the 13th century Arnau de Vilanova, doctor of

the Catalan royal family, already realized that a

moderate intake of olive oil enhanced the vital

functions of the body. In the 20th century, the

late American doctor, Ancel Keys MD, documented

that the olive oil based Mediterranean diet

reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

We see that contemporary research has confirmed

what the Mediterranean peoples knew and practiced

intuitively all along.

Heart disease is the Achilles’ heel of modern

societies living at a frantic pace. Since Dr.

Keys and his followers realized that we in the

Mediterranean have a better cardiovascular health,

the first medical studies on olive oil focused

mainly on that area.

They proved that olive oil balances the

cholesterol levels, can reduce the risk of a

heart attack, can play a role in the prevention

of arteriosclerosis, and fights high blood

pressure.

Later, research was extended to other areas like

digestion, cancer, and diabetes. The results have

been very positive and olive oil usually comes

through with flying colors.

One particular study concluded that with only two

tablespoons of virgin olive oil every day you can

begin to experience the health benefits that the

Mediterranean peoples have enjoyed for so long.

Incorporating it naturally into your eating

practices is simple.

Integrating olive oil

The easiest way is to get into the habit of

drizzling olive oil over slices of bread or

toasts, consuming it as a dressing for sandwiches

instead of butter, and adding it to salads with

some salt.

Wherever you go in the Mediterranean, Morocco,

Provence, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Catalonia,

Andalusia, or Majorca, you’ll find people eating

their own combination of bread and raw olive oil.

As a Catalan I eat pa amb tomaquet, literally

bread with tomato, almost every day: as part of

my breakfast, as a snack, or, I admit, when I am

too lazy to cook dinner. It is the Catalan

bruschetta, so to say, and you can prepare it in

no time with slices of bread or toasts, both are

fine.

Here is the most basic recipe for pa amb tomaquet.

Cut a very ripe tomato crosswise, rub the bread

with one half on both sides, drizzle olive oil

liberally over the bread and sprinkle some salt.

You can eat it plain or add any topping and

accompaniment you like: prosciutto-style or

cooked ham, cheese, tuna fish, an omelet,

anchovies, figs, olives. Even with a chocolate

bar at tea or coffee time, it may sound weird,

but it is delicious.

Other recipes with raw olive oil are authentic

allioli, salads with olive oil dressing, cold

sauces like romesco, and sopa de farigola or

thyme soup. As the Catalan saying goes: Sopa

sense oli no val un dimoni, literally, Soup

without oil isn’t worth a devil, meaning that a

soup with no oil is junk.

Here is the recipe. In a soup pot, bring 2-quart (

2 l) water to a boil together with 2 peeled

garlic cloves and 2 sprigs thyme. Simmer for 10

minutes and drain. Place 1 or 2 slices of country-

style bread on the bottom of each soup bowl,

drizzle them liberally with extra virgin olive

oil and ladle the soup over it. In the spring and

summer this soup is also great with mint instead

of thyme.

Recent studies have shown that the health

benefits of the Mediterranean diet are not

derived from olive oil alone, but from the

Mediterranean diet as a whole. So, eat well and

enjoy!

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