This Food Prevents Cancer, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, and You Can Rub It All Over Your Body
Good oil like good wine is a gift from the gods. The grape and the olive are among the priceless benefactions of the soil, and were destined, each in its way, to promote the welfare of man.
–George Ellwanger, Pleasures of the Table (1902)
The first press of extra-virgin olive oil is the sexiest taste I have ever imagined...
By the way, I use olive oils whenever and however I can. They are delicious raw and even better mixed with herbs in a mortar and mashed with a pestle. I am also a slow cooker of foods (recall last year's article on cooking foods slowly and not burning to prevent cancer?), and olive oil is the best for it. I cook my eggs in the morning and my meats in the evening in olive oil. Besides tasting so good, the best thing about olive oil is it prevents disease.
For years the therapeutic benefits of olive oil, particularly the first press (the so-called "extra virgin") have been touted. In fact, Hippocrates, considered by many the father of western medicine, prescribed olive oil for almost every ailment, and rightfully so. The people of the Mediterranean region recognized early on the uses of olive oil for nutritional, cosmetic, and medicinal purposes. Today, they have some of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world.
Interestingly, solid scientific evidence shows a Mediterranean diet, which includes tons of olive oil, is not only generally healthy, but actually lowers harmful cholesterol (a.k.a. low-density lipoprotein or LDL). The mechanism for this is not fully known. It may be simple micronutrients within olive oil actually bestow the benefits. Moreover, due to its chemical structure and function, olive oil also protects other cholesterols in your body from oxidation. Thus the antioxidants in olive oil discourage diseases of inflammation that include not only heart disease but arthritis and high blood pressure.
These aren't the only reasons to follow the Mediterranean example and use olive oil. Here are several others:
| • | Olive oil is rich in vitamins, especially vitamins E and K. |
| • | Olive oil is a mild laxative. |
| • | Olive oil may protect the stomach from ulcers. |
| • | The amount of oleic acid in olive oil is similar to the essential nutrients found in mother's milk. |
| • | Olive oil may help dissolve clots in capillaries (the small vessels in your body). |
| • | Olive oil appears to lower the degree of absorption of other edible fats. |
| • | Olive oil may help with pancreatic and intestinal hormone secretion. |
According to a study approved by the FDA, taking two tablespoons of olive oil a day is may improve heart health. I get easily this much and encourage you to do the same. Don't be crazy and actually take it like cough syrup... at least have more fun with it than that. Use it in place of fats like butter and other oils every time you eat and cook.
For example, instead of butter gobs on your bread, try dipping the bread in a flavored olive oil. You can flavor the oil with simple things like basil or garlic or more complicated mixtures like the restaurant Carrabba's does. Better yet, toss out your "fake" high fructose corn syrup salad dressings and simply mix a little vinegar (flavored if you like) with olive oil for your salad dressings and marinades. Mmm...
Oh, and even though it has antioxidants within, it is still an oil, so remember to store it carefully. Cold will slow down the oxidation, but it turns solid if refrigerated. So it is best stored as a liquid at room temperature (you just have to use it faster or buy smaller bottles). To reduce light damage, store it in a cupboard or use a dark bottle, and cork it tightly to reduce the amount of oxidation. You can easily add flavors to olive oil by placing a sprig of rosemary or other dried herbs in a carafe or bottle filled with olive oil.
And of course no article on olive oil would be complete without a little science: Olive oil is mainly monounsaturated. By volume, 75% is known as oleic acid, 13% is saturated fat, 10% is Omega-6 fatty acid, and 2% is Omega-3. What this means for us is that the oil is well-balanced with a mix of many oil types. Thus, olive oil can be cooked under moderate, slow heat without creating disease-causing byproducts. And like other nonsaturated oils, it is liquid and stable at room temperature... perfect for bread dipping.
When it comes to the oil from olives... What do I do?
| 1. |
Eat it whenever I can. |
| 2. |
I buy only extra virgin – this is the first pressing and is "cold-pressed" to extract the most beneficial chemicals and avoid oxidation from heat extractions. |
| 3. |
I often buy a larger bottle, but split it into several smaller bottles to avoid oxidation longer and but still get value by the bulk. |
| 4. |
I cook eggs in olive oil... mmm... Try a couple over easy and you'll never use butter again! |
| 5. |
I am careful to not use too much of it as some people think the longer-chain oil adds to body fat more easily than the shorter-chain fats like palm and coconut. |
| 6. | Olive oil is wonderful on the skin and whenever I can I'll offer my girlfriend to exchange a hand or foot massage with olive oil. It is so pleasant that it is illegal in most states. |
Here's to our health,
David Eifrig Jr., M.D., M.B.A.
P.S. A quote from this week's NY Times reminds me of how terribly dim-witted and paternalistic Western medical training still is... and this from a cancer doctor, ugh. Can you imagine that the head of the breast cancer unit cautions against excess emotions? I'd fire him on the spot.
One physician who cautions against excess emotions is Dr. Hiram S. Cody III, acting chief of the breast cancer service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center... he says his job "is not to be emotional and/or cry with my patients."
There are two reasons for this stance, Dr. Cody tells young physicians on rounds: It is not therapeutic for the patient, and it will cause "emotional burnout" in the doctor.