Q: How beneficial is olive oil for our health? What is the difference between olive oil and extra-virgin olive oil, the two varieties available in the market?

RP, Silchar

The flesh of olives is rich in oil. When mechanical pressure is applied to the pulped flesh under cold conditions, this oil separates. Oil so produced is known as cold-pressed or virgin olive oil. Extra-virgin signifies the highest quality of oil. This natural, unprocessed oil contains many substances of high nutritional value. Oil labelled “olive oil” is the same virgin oil which has undergone industrial processing such as degumming, refining, bleaching and deodorising. With this processing, olive oil loses most of the natural nutritional factors present in the virgin olive oil.

Compared to other cooking oils, olive oil has the highest content of Monounsaturated or MUFA fats (82 per cent) which gives it the health advantage over all the others. Olive oil also contains a vast array of chemicals and antioxidants, which are beneficial for health. These chemicals, however, are only present in the unrefined virgin olive oil and are mostly removed when this oil is industrially refined. Some of the health benefits of olive oil are:

The high content of MUFA fats in olive oil significantly reduces blood levels of the bad LDL cholesterol without reducing the good HDL cholesterol, thereby lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases. This protective action of olive oil on the heart is greater than the often-recommended PUFA oils such as sunflower and safflower (kardi), which lower not only the LDL but also the beneficial HDL cholesterol levels. In diabetic patients, the MUFA fats of olive oil have also been found to lower blood triglyceride levels (another fat harmful when in excess) as well as blood sugar levels. Virgin olive oil was found to reduce the formation of gall bladder stones.

Virgin olive oil is loaded with chemicals that have been found to have numerous health benefits: a) Caffeic and gallic acids present in this oil stimulate the flow of bile from the liver thereby helping digestion of fats in the ingested food and preventing constipation b) 2-phenyethanol and triterpenic acid stimulate production of pancreatic enzymes responsible for fat digestion. Triterpenic acid also has anti-inflammatory effects c) Phytosterols help decrease absorption of cholesterol from the food in the intestines d) Polyphenols lower blood pressure e) Phenolic compounds make fats and cholesterol in the blood resist peroxidation, thereby slowing down formation of artery-blocking atherosclerotic plaque and lowering chances of heart attacks and cerebral strokes f) Vitamin E and beta-carotene ? two powerful antioxidants ? protect our cells from free-radical damage.

Virgin olive oil has been found to improve brain functioning including brain nutrition. This has special significance for children.