Health trends in diet come and go as fast as you can say food fad. Eat oat bran; don’t eat oat bran. Eat cranberries; no, eat tons of blueberries.
We all heard for years how healthy it is to include olive oil in our diet. And then we heard maybe it wasn’t as great as people thought because some results were unproven.
But once again olive oil is back in the health spotlight, with sound research to back it up: Scientists at Chicago's Northwestern University found that oleic acid, found in olive oil, blocks the action of a cancer-causing gene found in 30 per cent of women with breast cancer.
While the scientists called the study results encouraging, they also cautioned that lab results do not always translate into clinical practice. But I say what the heck, go for it. I know too many women who are breast cancer survivors or are walking in the 60-km Weekend to End Breast Cancer marathon each summer because they know a woman who has been hit by it. Making sure you have a little olive oil in your diet can’t hurt.
The bennies of olive oil have been cited for years as part of the overall benefits of the so-called Mediterranean diet, one that’s rich in fish, fruit, vegetables and olive oil, and lower in meat and dairy than most people in North America are used to.
All the health advocacy around olive oil/the Mediterranean diet started way back in the 1960s when scientists observed that people in Crete, otherwise known as Cretans (as opposed to cretins) ate a lot of salt and fat. But they also ate a lot of plant foods. The point of interest was that they were living longer than the proverbial long-lived Japanese, who also ate a lot of salt – tamari and miso anyone? – but whose diet was low in fat and lower in plant foods.
The Cretans showed lower rates of stroke, stomach cancer, heart disease and other cancers. Researchers observed that other people living around the Mediterranean region also had a lower incidence of heart disease, despite their high intake of mono-unsaturated fats, namely olive oil. As well, some research shows that olive oil may influence body fat distribution, with less fat stored around the stomach.
While studies suggest that the Mediterranean diet can reduce risk of death from heart disease and cancer, direct experiments on animals haven’t yet delivered consistent results. So other than the breast cancer research, we are all still a little murky over the real health benefits.
My conclusion is certainly olive oil is better than saturated fats, and it can’t hurt, especially if you’re a woman. But maybe the bottom line will be that one day we’ll find that all these health benefits have more to do with the good wine, plentiful sunshine and laid back lifestyle in those lovely Mediterranean climes than they do with anything else.
Sweet or grassy, yellow or green?
Speaking of wine, it may sound surprising, but you can think of olive oil in a similar vein. And I’m not just referring to good health effects.
The quality and taste of olive oil is greatly influenced by geographical factors such as land or region, just like wine. You also have good and bad olive years, just like you have good and bad grape years, depending on the weather.
This terroir factor – a term you’re going to hear a lot at the upcoming Cornucopia – applies to olive oil making the same way it does to wine making. (Terroir, according to the web-based Wikipedia, was originally a French term in wine and coffee appreciation to describe the special characteristics of geography that made the food product unique. It can be loosely translated as "a sense of place" embodied in certain qualities of the food or wine and the way the product is produced.)
Just like wine, the quality of olive oil depends on the good care of growers and producers. The results can deliver olive oil with a host of distinctive characteristics: Some have a strong olivey taste, especially ones from Spain. Others are mild. Some are spicy; others have a grassy or fruity taste, or a nutty undertone.
Then you have the differences in colour and body. The two main colour groups, yellow and green, say more about the time of season the olives are harvested than they do about the quality.
Olive oil connoisseurs delight in distinguishing between the many vintages, holding the stuff from Provence in highest esteem.
In addition to the distinctive physical properties, you need to consider the grades based on processing, which go like this:
Extra virgin
: Derived from the first cold pressing of olives without refining. The oil is extracted from the olives by mechanical means involving pressure. The final result maintains the taste and chemical and biological characteristics of the olive. Extra virgin is considered the best in quality, flavour and health benefits. It contains around 40 antioxidant phytochemicals. Antioxidants have been associated with reduced oxidation of LDL, or bad cholesterol, so perhaps these phytochemicals lie at the heart of olive oil’s health benefits.Virgin
: Also derived from the first pressing without refining. It has an acidity level between one and two per cent. Although its flavor varies in intensity, virgin olive oil is milder than extra virgin olive oil.Pure
: Undergoes some processing, such as filtering and refining.Extra light or light
: In a word, forget it. Some lower grades are even considered lubricating oils! Extra light or light olive oil undergoes considerable processing and only retains a very mild olive flavour. In some countries of origin, extra light is a mixture of refined olive oils derived from the lowest quality grades available through chemical processing. Some reports warn that they are pretty bad for your health due to the lack of original properties and the chemicals used. Don’t be fooled by the name. The term "light" or "extra light" refers to the lighter color, fragrance, and flavor obtained by an extremely fine filtration and refining process, and not to the amount of calories the oil contains.So here’s to good health and good taste – get out there and get yourself a good bottle of olive oil. Just don’t overdo it and pour yourself a glass – take it, like all good things, in moderation.
Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning freelance writer who got a big kick out of watching the goats in the olive trees in Morocco.
