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Olive oil has many health benefits, including lowering the risk of dementia, poor heart health, cognitive decline, and early death.
How beneficial the staples of the Mediterranean diet really are depends on how the products are harvested, processed, stored, and used on farms, in factories, in grocery stores, and in homes.
“The health benefits come from a variety of factors and components found in olive oil,” said Dr. Tassos Kyriakides, assistant professor of biostatistics at the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Connecticut. . “The main one is oleic acid, which has been shown to have tremendous health benefits.”
Also important are the polyphenols, which are abundant in olive oil, a type of antioxidant that protects against cell damage and inflammation in the body, says Mercedes, head of standardization research at the International Olive Council. Dr. Fernandez said. An intergovernmental organization based in Spain.
Here's what you need to know to choose the best olive oil for your diet.
Harvesting and processing
Historically, Kyriakides said, brands that maintain high quality olive oil are those that pay close attention to the process from the moment of harvest. Oils made from carefully harvested green olives that are not fully ripe are best because they contain higher concentrations of healthful compounds, he added.
The next important step is how quickly the olives can be harvested and processed into oil.
“Some companies have their own flour mills and processing equipment and within two hours they can take the fruit off the tree and put it in the mill to get the product,” Kyriakides said. This minimizes the risk of oxidation and fermentation due to the fruit being left out for too long after harvest.
Davide Pichetola/NurPhoto/Getty Images
A worker pours harvested olives into a silo on a truck for transport to a factory in Molfetta, Italy, on December 2, 2020.
There should be no more than a few days between harvest and processing dates, he added.
Experts say how oil is processed is one of the biggest factors in determining whether a product is healthy. Extra virgin olive oil is the healthiest version because it is cold-pressed only once, without high heat or chemical solvents. Special processing preserves the extra virgin oil's nutrients.
Freshness, storage method, etc.
You may be wondering how brands know when to harvest their olives and when to process them.
Due to the growing popularity of consuming olive oil for its health benefits, some companies are listing these details directly on the product label. Also, some labels have his QR code, which you can scan with your smartphone to read the information.
In any case, experts recommend always checking the dates of harvest, processing, and bottling, as well as the “best before” date to get the freshest oil.
Bottles that are less than three months old from harvest to store shelf are the best choice, Kyriakides said, and the further out the expiration date when the oil is purchased, the fresher the product will be.
The International Olive Council recommends that brands limit expiration dates to two years after bottling.
For example, if a brand's bottle lists the harvest date as “23/24,” “that means the harvest lasted from late 2023 to early 2024,” Kyriakides says. . “Others will be very strict and say October or September 2023.”
For fans in the US, you no longer need to import to get fresh olive oil. This has been made possible by the growth of US-based producers. California in particular has a climate suitable for growing heirloom olive trees, allowing locals to obtain high-quality oil in a much shorter period of time. Georgia, Oregon, Texas, and Arizona also produce olive oil, but on a smaller scale.
Similar to the compounds found in tea and chocolate, the compounds found in olive oil degrade over time, especially when stored in high-temperature environments or exposed to light and air, says a small fruit and scientist. said Dr. Selina Wang, an associate professor specializing in vegetable co-promotion. Vegetable processing at the University of California, Davis.
For this reason, it is important to store the oil in a cool environment and in a dark glass bottle throughout its life. The importance of a cool environment is also why it is better to consume the oil raw, such as in salad dressings, than to use it in cooking. But experts say that no matter how you consume it, olive oil is much healthier than the highly refined oils you buy at the grocery store.
If extra virgin olive oil is kept on the top shelf near a bright big light at the grocery store and the bottle is warm, that's a red flag, Kyriakides says.
“I'm not going to buy that oil because I know it's sitting there and it's already exposed to that heat,” he added.
In addition to information about harvest and processing dates, another way to assess oil freshness is by taste.
“The richer the taste of olive oil, the more health benefits it has,” said Joseph R. Profaci, executive director of the North American Olive Oil Association, an industry group. He said the compounds in the oil also contribute to the taste of the oil. Email. “If health is the main factor, consumers should look for hardy products rather than mild ones.”
For that reason, Profaci added, people should “get used to opening a bottle of olive oil and tasting it as soon as they get home.” “It helps them develop a more discerning palate for olive oil. If they accept the taste and are disappointed, especially if it smells like wax crayon or stale nuts, take it back to the store.” Please request a refund or replacement.”
And once you taste it, Wang said, if the oil is fresh enough, don't put it off for a special occasion.
“Olive oil should be consumed as soon as possible, because the reason we buy olive oil is first for health and secondly for flavor, both of which deteriorate as the oil ages. ” she added.
Keeping the oil in the refrigerator at all times will extend the protection of the phenolics for an additional year or two. Just be sure to warm it up on the counter a little before adding it to the salad until it reaches a normal consistency, Kyriakides said.
