We all know olive oil is a heart- and brain-healthy oil. It can also boost our immune system to fight against diseases. And therefore we happily go on a journey to look for the best and only the best extra virgin olive oil for our kids and family. Do we really know how to reap the health benefits of the olive oil?
Action, Action & Action
Knowing but inaction leads to nowhere. Just like knowing the health benefits of exercise and physical activities, but if we do not conscientiously take time off to exercise, our body, soul and mind will gain nothing from inaction. On the other hand, infrequent or irregular action may give us a false impression that we would gain something.
The first step to reaping the health benefits of olive oil, therefore, is to start using it regularly because you believe it is a healthy oil, instead of just knowing it or using it occasionally. The key is to make it a routine, that is to say, using olive oil becomes a habit and transparent in our use.
💡 Health benefits of olive oil ➚ Here are the summaries:
- Promotes BRAIN health: Reduce the risk of Alzheimer, Dementia, and prevent mental decline.
- Protect us from HEART diseases: Keep our heart young, prevent blood clot, and stroke, lower overall cholesterol level, atherosclerosis, and blood pressure.
- Promote healthy BODY: Fight osteoporosis, reduce inflammation and pain.
- Boost GUT health: Prevent heartburn, improve health of intestinal wall, anti-ageing.
- Help us LIVE longer.
- Lower CANCER risk, in particular, breast, colon-rectal, prostate, ovarian, skin cancer.
- Reduce the risk of TYPE II DIABETES.
To be more actionable, we now present our three-step approach to reaping the most health benefits from the olive oil. We have conceptualised this three-step approach from our 8 years of experience in this industry.
STEP 1: Use EXTRA VIRGIN Olive Oil
Nothing new here but it is still true! There are many types of olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, pure olive oil, extra light olive oil, olive-pomace oil. If we use an inappropriate one, how can we reap the full benefits of the olive oil?
Between the unrefined Extra Virgin olive oil and refined olive oil such as Pure olive oil, Extra Light olive oil, Olive-Pomace oil, EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil has an added advantage over the refined olive oil because extra virgin olive oil contains the heart- and brain-healthy polyphenols in addition of the monounsaturated fat (Omega-9), which is also known to help reduce bad cholesterol levels in our blood and lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.
💡 Because refined oil is produced from extremely high temperature and possibly using chemical solvent, its natural phytonutrients will have already been stripped off at the end of the refining process. If we read the ingredient list, we will notice that extra virgin olive oil is added into the refined oil, normally between 5%-10%
Why EXTRA VIRGIN Olive Oil Is Preferred?
Besides its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, extra virgin olive oil tastes way way more wonderful and complex than pure and extra light olive oil, which the latter two totally cannot be matched.
Moreover, extra virgin olive oil is also an excellent choice for home cooking because it can withstand temperature as high as 210oC.
To better reap the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil for cooking, we recommend using it below 150oC. For that matter, use extra virgin olive oil to fry vegetables and eggs will be a fantastic choice, or any food that tends to absorb oil during frying – When we eat the food, we are in fact eating the healthy extra virgin olive oil.
STEP 2: Use the BEST Extra Virgin Olive Oil
This is likely not what you have in mind. The best olive oil is not about the brand or the country where it is produced from because olives being the olives, have more or less the same health properties regardless of where they are from. It is not about how many awards it has won but whether it is fresh. It is not about the price but whether we can afford it in a long run. It is not about how high the polyphenols are but whether we could accept the bitterness and spiciness, and more importantly, its taste.
The best olive oil will motivate us to use it again and again. Hence, it is all about knowing what our kids and family want from the olive oil. The best olive oil is the one we will want to use it again and again, daily, weekly, monthly, years-after-years.
YES, that is right! It is all about persistent in use and sustainable consumption. It does not matter whether the olive oil is from the supermarket or from a specialist store, so long our kids and family love it and want to use it, they will surely reap the health benefits of the olive oil.
However, two important things to note is, we should buy Extra Virgin olive oil over the refined olive oil for two reasons. First, it is simply because the price difference is so minute, about S$1 or lower, and second, the polyphenols in the extra virgin olive oil is higher than the refined olive oil.
Second, the polyphenols of the Extra Virgin olive oil should preferably be at least 200 mg/kg, which is a right amount for a long term consumption.
Which is the BEST Extra Virgin Olive Oil? ➚
Just remember, what is best to us may not be the best to someone else. The best olive oil is one that our kids and family accept it and want to use it on a regular basis. And more importantly, we can afford it in the course of time.
💡 8 Tips To Choosing & Buying Premium Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil ➚
STEP 3: Make Olive Oil Part of Our Lifestyle
In order to use olive oil as often as we could, we have to establish a routine of use and make it transparent in our use. The key is, Integration, Simple, and Seamlessly.
Integration means making it part of our daily routine. Start thinking from breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, and ask ourselves at which point we want to use olive oil. This is where food-olive oil pairing comes into play.
Simple to use means making mealtime a stress-free and effortless affair. In other words, can we create simple and yet delicious dishes out of using the olive oil?
Seamlessly means making olive oil part of our daily food preparation, and as transparent it could have been, just like using soy source, sesame oil, chilli or herbs in our food preparation. Olive oil in western food is a naturally occurring but not so much for Chinese, Malay, or Indian food.
ISS: Integrate, Simple & Seamlessly … Some Examples, Please?
First, decide and fix a time you feel like using the olive oil. If you prefer doing it in the morning, the easiest is to dip a piece of crusty bread into olive oil as our breakfast, or take one or two tablespoonful of olive oil directly – It is yummy. If you take oatmeal or porridge, just drizzle the olive oil over.
Second, simply drizzle the olive oil over whatever we are taking to reap its full health benefits. For example, this is what we can do with the take-away lunch box, simply drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables or the rice. Or drizzle the olive oil generously over the instant noodle, steamed fish, ice cream or smoothies. To further extend the drizzling concept, we can use the olive oil to marinate the meat for better tenderness or make the vinaigrette.
Third, replace our cooking oil with olive oil to fry our food. Many of the vegetables often contain cancer-protective phytonutrient or are usually high in antioxidants. These vegetables are fat-soluble, i.e. our body absorbs the nutrients better if they are dissolved in fats. The polyphenols and its aroma will be transferred to the food you fry too.
To reap the health benefits of olive oil, all we need is simply 30ml or two tablespoons a day of olive oil. Just imagine if we do this for the next 50 years of our life, we can build up our body defense system against diseases, reduce the risk of heart-attack or dementia by the time we reach 60 years old.
Vegetables Cooked in Extra Virgin Olive Oil Retain More Nutrients ➚
Little things make a big difference. EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil is a whole food, and a functional food. When we view food as “medicine”, and make it a point to eat the healthy food on a everyday basis, we can surely reap the health benefits of the food.
