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Olive Oil: The Foundation of the Mediterranean Diet
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September 2006 By Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D. personalizednutrition.com This spring, after immersing myself in the Mediterranean diet at a conference in Italy co-sponsored by The James Beard Foundation and New York University, I developed a new appreciation for olive oil: its delicacy, versatility, complex flavor and its essential contribution to the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean Diet is widely known as one of the healthiest diets on the planet. It’s a complex diet containing many foods which contribute to its health benefits. It’s plant-based, high in vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fish, low-to-moderate in dairy and meat (very low in saturated - animal - fat) and the occasional glass of wine. Olive oil is the diet’s principal source of fat. It was first observed in the 1950s by nutrition scientist, Ancel Keys, that people in Greece, southern Italy, southern France and other countries bordering on the Mediterranean, eating their local food, experienced few nutritional problems and rarely suffered from heart disease. Since then, many studies have confirmed that this mixture of foods we now call the Mediterranean diet has many important properties which may help prevent not only heart disease, but certain cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and even weight gain. While every element in the Mediterranean diet is important, eating fresh, extra-virgin olive oil may trump everything. The type of fat you eat is critical to your health. This is because fat ends up in all of your body’s cells. It acts as a cell lubricant, improves flexibility and communication between cells, and is important for cell metabolism and gene expression. If the fat you eat is saturated – solid at room temperature – as in butter or animal fat – this decreases cellular flexibility and functioning. So, following the Mediterranean diet, but eating the wrong kind of fat, could reduce your health benefits immensely. Olive oil, the staple of the Mediterranean diet, is unique in many ways. First, it’s made from a fruit which is exposed to the elements. This exposure forces olives to synthesize antioxidants to protect themselves and concentrates the valuable nutrients in the oil, which is high in compounds called polyphenols, Vitamin E and caretenoids. Polyphenols are also found in wine, tea and cocoa and are known for protecting the heart in many ways – reducing blood clotting, lowering bad (LDL) cholesterol, raising good (HDL) cholesterol and lowering blood pressure. Vitamin E is a well-known antioxidant, which helps prevent oxidation and cellular aging and may help prevent diseases such as cancer. Caretenoids are plant compounds giving the olive its color. They’re important for your immune system, your skin, your vision, bones, reproduction, and may reduce cancer risk. Olive oil is also high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acid called Oleic acid. To extract the oil from olives, which has been done since 3,000 B.C., it is cold pressed without heat or chemicals and this helps preserve the nutrients in the oil. Extra Virgin, the highest quality, is cold pressed only once. It maintains a certain acidity (below 0.8), which is important for its nutrient content, staying power, and superior flavor and cooking characteristics. The stability and nutrient content of the oil depends on a variety of factors – harvesting and storage practices - but one of the most important factors I learned about in Italy was: freshness. Olive oils should be green and fruity. They should smell like fresh olives. Mediterraneans consider olive oil a seasonal food. And studies confirm that as days, weeks and months go by after harvest, the nutritional quality of the oil diminishes. “Eighteen months is currently considered to be the maximum time for keeping virgin olive oils after production,” according to the French Institute for Fats and Oils, and that’s only if harvest and storage conditions are ideal. Bruised olives, hot temperatures, oxygen, sunlight – all reduce nutrition and quality. “Polyphenol content reduces by 40% within four months when olive oil is exposed to light,” said Armando Manni, CEO, MANNI Organic Exra-Virgin Olive Oil, at the New York University- and James Beard Foundation – sponsored conference I attended at the Villa La Pietra outside Florence, Italy last spring. “Olive oils must carry a date of harvest,” said Manni. Unfortunately, most olive oils sold in United States grocery stores don’t carry harvest dates. The rare bottle I found with a date will often be two or three years old! “Sold by” dates are not useful because some companies will make that date two or three years after harvest. Not good, according to the experts. I’ve found smaller companies will more likely carry bottles with harvest dates and I only buy olive oil from the most recent harvest – and use it up quickly! Buying Olive Oil: “Olive oil should be in an opaque container (not clear glass) as sunlight destroys it. Store it in a cool, dark place, tightly covered after using it – away from heat and sunlight,” says Dennis Lurgio, President of Lurgio Imports, LLC of Narragansett, Rhode Island (www. dellortooil.com). Mr. Lurgio imports award-winning, fresh extra-virgin Oleificio Dell'Orto Olive oil from his ancestral village in the Campagnia region of Italy. Lurgio only sells bottles from the most recent harvest, which he says will usually be in Fall or Winter – and his bottles carry the harvest dates. “Olive oil buying is personal and taste-driven. You can’t go wrong with a Tuscan or Umbrian olive oil, which are strong and flavorful. It’s great for anything, dipping bread, salad dressing, cooking. Sicilian oils may be stronger, Ligurian oils may be lighter and better for fish,” says Bill Menard, Owner of Bella Italia (http://www.bellaitaliaonline.com/), an Italian goods and gourmet foods store in Bethesda, Maryland. Menard, who is passionate about Italian food, says most of his bottles are harvest-dated, but he keeps track of harvest and bottling dates of all of his oils, knows all of his producers, who include Italian families in the olive oil business for hundreds of years. See the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: http://oldwayspt.org/index.php?area=pyramid_med
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Imported
by Lurgio Imports |
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