2. Simple or MONO Unsaturated Fats
Olives
the Liquid Gold from the Mediterranean
A Greek
uses 20 l of olive oil a year, a German maybe half a liter…
Since
thousands of years, olive oil is the main fat and oil source in the Mediterranean . Olive trees are seen as symbols of long
life and health. To kill an olive tree is like stealing a horse in the States.
Olive oil
is considered the healthiest fat source in the world. First cold pressed olive
oil is the best and has found its way to many gastronomical restaurants instead
of butter.
In the Mediterranean there are 5 times less heart attacks then
in Northern Europe .
Only a
fifth of heart and artery diseases and half as much cancer which only a study
in the years 70ies pointed out; this study went on for 25 years with 13000 men.
Responsible for these figures are a high intake of vegetables and fruits which
lower the risk for cancer and the intake of lots of unsaturated fats form olive
oil and less intake of saturated fats from meat and sausages. Even-though in
certain Mediterranean regions the intake of fat is 10% more then in North Europe still the heart attack rates are still
lower.
Olive Oil and a Healthy Heart
Olives are
healthy because:
-
Olive
oil holds different kinds of anti-oxidants and vitamin E.
-
Olive
oil has only simple unsaturated fats that in contrast to the multiple unsaturated
fats are more stable and oxidize more difficultly
-
Olive
oil can bring down the levels of cholesterol in the blood, specially the bad
LDL cholesterol
Natural Olive Oil Holds Many Natural Substances
Olive oil
is the only 100% natural oil that is mass produced and comes only and 100% from
plants.
The olive
can be pressed cold, the chemical products to get the oils out of the fruits
are not necessary.
Other oily
seeds need often more pressure (heat) and chemicals to get the oils out of the
fruit.
The heat
that is caused by the pressing of these seeds makes that some of the natural
products disappear and that the unsaturated fats oxidize. Therefore is it
necessary for these oils to be refined afterwards to get rid of the oxidized
materials and the bad tastes. The best olive oil and the most natural oil in
the world is Native Extra Virgin Olive Oil that is won by cold pressing only,
it is won 100% without heat or chemicals.
In
unrefined olive oil there is an extra wealth of natural substances about 50, of
which some PHENOLS and Vitamin E, which are both very strong anti oxidants and
that protect the oil naturally of oxidizing.
Like This the Anti Oxidants Protect the Blood
Fats from Oxidizing
Oxygen is
the catalyst of oxidation. Free radicals attack everywhere in our body where
oxygen is available, like it the veins and there where oxygen is used for
energy production (muscles). It is therefore that anti oxidants like vitamin C
and E patrol there where the free radicals are in order to protect the body
form damage. The anti-oxidants vitamin E and Phenol from olive oil are very
active in the neutralizing of the free radicals in our bodies. This is the case
not only for the veins and arteries but also the whole body; nervous system,
brain, cell membranes, where the anti oxidants protect the unsaturated fats
from oxidizing. There are more then 50 different anti oxidants in olive oil and
they all contribute in the protection of the unsaturated fats in the body.
Special:
How to Buy Olive Oil:
Olive oil
has got, similarly as wine the typical taste of the region where it is coming
from.
There are
strong European rules on olive oil production and quality:
-
Native
Olive Oil Extra (Extra Virgin Olive Oil): the best quality where only 1 gram
free-fatty acids per liter is allowed. Like with wine the fruits are taken very
well care of.
-
Native
Olive Oil: can hold up to 2 grams of free-fatty acids, native means that the
oil has not been mixed or further processed.
-
Olive
oil: Are refined olive oils, its lesser in quality as lot of natural elements
get lost in the refining process.
-
Olive
oil from rests (Pomace): is won out the rests from the first pressings through
the aid of chemicals and heat. This is the lowest quality and has nothing left
from the good olive oil anymore it contains chemical rests and has virtually no
natural elements anymore.
When buying
olive oil look for Extra Virgin Olive Oil from a first cold pressing.
Olive oil
can be won without adding heat during the pressing process, that’s why we are
talking about cold pressing, it’s important to know this as other oils from
pulses and grains need heat to get the oils out of them. Important is that heat
will always deteriorate the quality of the oil no matter what the producers
says. The color of olive oil depends only on the ripeness of the olives, which
are green in the beginning and dark violet to black when they are ripe.
Extra
Virgin Olive Oil is expensive due to the amount of labor that goes in the
process of growing, keeping the trees, collecting and harvesting the olives,
selecting and pressing the fruits, up to 80% of the labor is by hand. A mature
tree will give only between 3,5 and 5 liters of oil. Olives need to be
harvested by hand in sometimes difficult circumstances. Like with wine, the
aroma and quality often comes from where the tree was standing, how much sun it
got and how much the farmer cared about the trees and its fruits. All extra
Virgin Olive Oils are similar in the amounts of anti oxidants they contain and
the amounts of unsaturated fats they have.
To know
where the oil comes from should be checked from bottle to bottle. Similar to
wine production for olive oil are also DOC and ADC, this means that the oils
come from a certain region only and this region is protected by law. The oil
needs to come and be produced in the same area. They are more typical in taste
as each region has its own characteristics and kinds of olives. These oils can
be even more expensive as normal Extra Virgin Olive Oil as the production is a
lot smaller then the other olive oils.
Also visit:
www.olivenoel-info.net
How to Keep the Arteries Healthy?
Only
OXIDATED fats clog the arteries!
Olive oil
is very stable and ideal for baking and pan frying. Mono unsaturated fats oxidize
less in the bloodstream then poly unsaturated fats.
Olive oil
stays good for years if placed in a cool, dry and dark place, and closed bottle
with a good cork or cap. Olive oils stay stable even under high temperatures.
It will hardly ever smoke or start stinking or becomes brown like the poly
unsaturated fats or the saturated fats.
Mono
unsaturated fats oxidize less easy under heat and light then poly unsaturated
fats. Many poly unsaturated fats oxidize already by little heating or under the
influence of light, like sunflower oil.
This makes
mono unsaturated fats healthier for your arteries then poly unsaturated fats as
only oxidized fats will clog up in the arteries and stick to the sides and
eventually block them.
In our body
through our normal metabolism a lot of free radicals are released in the bloodstream
that causes the poly unsaturated fats to oxidize rapidly, whereas the mono
unsaturated fats from olive oil don’t.
How Come these Fats in Our Arteries?
The blood
fats are transported through 240000km of veins and arteries. For this it needs
fat transport ships like LDL. An LDL holds about 3800 small fatty acids. Whilst
in transport these fatty acids are oxidized in the bloodstream through the free
radicals. To protect for this the LDL holds a lot of vitamin E. A lot of
vitamin E in the LDL helps to protect for oxidation.
If some of
the fatty acids of the LDL are oxidized and are dumped in the bloodstream the
eating-cells come into action and eat them away (they are keeping the
bloodstream clean) and this is the best scenario, however when there is not
enough vitamin E there is too much oxidation and there will be too much
oxidized fat particles in the blood, couple this to the fact that the
eating-cells can get saturated and deposit themselves on the arteries.
The result;
the first fat deposits set themselves on the arteries. On these deposits more
and more substances stay glued. This is the first step for arteriosclerosis.
Mono Unsaturated Fats are good for the Arteries
We can
decide ourselves how the LDL and its 3800 fatty acids are composed, by what
kinds of fat we eat; poly unsaturated fats are easily oxidized, mono
unsaturated fats are not and olive oil holds on top of that many anti oxidants.
Tip; How does Vitamin E protect for Oxidizing
in the Blood?
Poly
unsaturated fats (sunflower oil, corn oil…) are healthy as they keep the blood
liquid and less sticky; however they tend to oxidize easier. Oxidized poly
unsaturated fats are then bad for the arteries. To avoid too much oxidation the
intake of vitamin E can reduce the oxidizing process. A daily intake of 100 to
400 mg of vitamin E will reduce the possibility of a heart attack with 35%.
Mono
unsaturated fats (olive oil…) also keep the blood flowing and less sticky,
these fats also oxidize less easy. Saturated fats without having been oxidized
stick by themselves on the arteries, they also make the blood cells sticky and
the blood less flowing.
How Does Arterioscleroses Happen?
1. Fat
deposits from saturated fats and oxidized fats
2. Only fat-particles
(LDL) with the protection of vitamin E are protected from oxidation
3. Fat
particles (LDL) without vitamin E oxidizes and deteriorates
4. Eating
(cleaning) cells eat the oxidized fat
5. Eating cells get saturated and deposit
themselves to the arteries
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