While the world is moving towards being more health conscious, people are now looking to consume organic and healthier diets. While oil is a key ingredient in most dishes, eating healthier doesn’t mean you should cut oil entirely from your diet. This is because olive oil, particularly extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is among the healthiest cooking oils and possesses many health benefits. Studies have shown that maintaining a diet that has EVOO can help you protect against breast cancer, type-2 diabetes, and possibly even Alzheimer’s disease. So what makes organic EVOO better for us than other types of cooking oil?
Extra virgin olive oil contains many natural substances, such as polyphenols, which occur naturally in plants. Polyphenols have been known to provide many health benefits, such as reducing the risk of cognitive disorders and cardiovascular diseases. It is believed that EVOO is good for heart health because the polyphenols prevent cholesterol from becoming oxidized. It’s when cholesterol reacts with oxygen to damage blood vessels. The reason EVOO contains such a high amount of polyphenols is that it is produced by crushing raw olives, without any processing.
Other Cooking Oils vs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
Most of the other cooking oils such as sunflower oil or canola oil are made from seeds. It is very difficult to extract oil from seeds, so they need to be heated and the oil is extracted with solvents. As a result, most of the polyphenols are lost during this production. Sometimes it is claimed that canola oil or vegetable oil is a healthy alternative to olive oil. While there is some evidence that it can temporarily lower cholesterol levels, there is no strong evidence that it can lower the risk of diseases associated with high cholesterol, such as heart diseases.
Polyphenols help prevent fats from oxidizing. This is why unlike other cooking oils, which have fewer polyphenols, EVOO remains stable when used at high temperatures to fry foods. Another important reason for the stability of EVOO is that the main type of fat present in it is monounsaturated fat. This is a healthy fat and is quite resistant to oxidation. Monounsaturated fat can also be found in other cooking oils, but they also contain high levels of polyunsaturated fat called alpha-linolenic acid. This is not very stable and is yet another reason why heating other cooking oils too much is not a good idea
Where can you buy Good Quality Olive Oil?
Juka’s Organic is proud to offer the best quality olive oil that is extra virgin, cold processed, organic, and loaded with natural goodness. When you buy good quality olive oil from us, along with high amounts of polyphenols, you also get phenolic antioxidants, beneficial fatty acids, vitamin E and K, and many other essential nutrients. We have partnered up with women farmers from the villages of Africa who use traditional methods to derive olive oil. If you want to buy good quality olive oil, click this link: https://jukasorganic.com/products/buy-extra-virgin-olive-oil-16oz