Constantine Alexander
Certified Olive Oil Consultant
http://www.eat-online.net/english/education/olive_oil/judge_olive_oil.htm
Out of all the cooking oils that exist, for example: vegetable oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, nut oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, (just to name a few) are not healthy for the body, except for OLIVE OIL. Olive oil is the only oil that is healthy for the body. According to scientists, olive oil can help prevent cancer (even breast cancer), heart disease, rhumatoid arthritis, blood clotting (after eating a fatty meal) and help lower high blood pressure. Naturally grown or organically grown, cold pressed, extra-virgin olive oil is the best.
When you buy olive oil in the store, you have to be careful because the majority of the olive oil in the store is not pure (they do not contain all the nutritional value that olive oil is supposed to have); trying to find real olive oil is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
In order to find real olive oil, it must meet the following specifications: (1) Extra virgin olive oil should have a free oleic acid acidity of no more than 1%, whereas ordinary virgin olive oil can have an acidity of up to 3.3% (this is not good). (2) Extra virgin olive oil is supposed to be cold pressed. (3) Extra virgin olive oil is supposed to be unfiltered and look cloudy. Most olive oil that you find in the store is factory-produced olive oil that looks clear. If it is clear, then it has been filtered, which further reduces the nutritional quality of the oil. Let me repeat: Real olive oil is not filtered; it looks cloudy. (4) The oil should be packaged in dark glass bottles to protect it from the damaging effects of light. Avoid buying oil that is stored in plastic containers because the oil can absorb some of the compounds used in the plastic, such as PVC's (polyvinyl chlorides) which cause cancer.
When you buy your Extra Virgin Olive Oil, it should be stored in a cool cupboard away from sunlight and heat. You may refrigerate the olive oil, though this will make it more cloudy. The cloudiness will disappear when the oil returns to room temperature.
It is very important to be aware that just because you can find olive oil in the store that says "extra virgin olive" it does not mean anything because of the corruption that exists in the industry of food/health. There are those who exploit the masses of health conscious people, for profit. Please go to the following two web addresses or sites on the internet to get more information on the olive oil scandal and also learn more about olive oil in general:
http://www.islamicmedicine.org/oliveoil.html |
