The Benefits of Olive Oil

Copyright © 2014 Elena Martin One of the most popular ingredients used in the Spanish cuisine is, with no doubt, olive oil. This is also a very distinguishing feature, in comparison with any other European gastronomies, in which butter is generally preferred for the same purposes for which Spanish people choose olive oil. It is also a key ingredient of the so-called Mediterranean Diet, which is a balanced and varied diet mainly based on traditional crops of this geographical area, such as wheat, olives and grapes, that is to say, pasta and bread, olive oil, wine at lunch and fruits are some of its main elements. Human beings can obtain energy from three different sources: sugars, proteins and fats. Sugars are the main driving force for our body -we ingest and use them without letting them accumulate. Proteins are the structural elements and can be animal or vegetal. And what about fats? Are all of them good, bad or neutral for our health? The problem is that the body cannot o would not digest significant amounts of animal fats while it has still enough energy obtained from sugars. Therefore, abusing of a specific type of food is, with no doubt, dangerous for our health. With regard to the Mediterranean lifestyle, it can be defined as “moderate”: we eat a bit of everything, spend quite a lot of time outdoors and therefore get the vitamins from the sun -even if the air is more polluted than some years ago- and also take naps. Thus, generally speaking, the Mediterranean population can be defined as healthy. And one of the factors contributing to this health may be olive oil, as a source of healthy fats. Olive oil started to be used over 3,000 years ago for very different purposes: cooking, lighting and soap manufacture. However, the problem was -and still is- its price. In comparison with other low-quality products, olive oil is expensive. The highest-quality olive oil is the extra virgin olive oil, which is produced just by pressing the olives. This product, if taken with moderation -about 30 grams per day, which […]