Food version: extra virgin olive oil or regular olive oil?

Should we use extra virgin olive oil or normal olive oil with food? this question lingers when we grocery shop.

With Ramadan reaching us and most households will have something oily every day and we all know olive oil is a healthier version.

Many studies confirmed the generous use of olive oil as a key contributor to health with other healthy foods. But before jumping into the content of olive oils let’s learn something interesting or perhaps brush up on some knowledge.  

The tale of two 

There are two types of fats, saturated and unsaturated as many would know. Saturated fats (LDL) the bad fats are found in animal products like beef, high-fat dairy foods, and fast foods. Unsaturated fats (HDL), the healthy kind also divided into two monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. They are mostly found in plant-based products, especially nuts. 

Olive oils

Olive oil contains about 75% of monounsaturated fatty acids. monounsaturated fatty acids help lower LDL cholesterol. It also has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. And not surprisingly studies have shown that people consuming more olive oil have a lower risk of getting cancer, heart disease, and even dementia. 

Extra virgin olive oil

So what does extra virgin oil offer? it offers extra benefits as well. The oil is a product of a mechanical pressing of ripe olives and processed without chemical solvents or high heat. Thus keeping a natural content of the oil called phenols. Regular olive oils lose this chemical. Some laboratory test results show that high level of phenols gives extra antioxidant effects. However, there have not been any studies showing that extra virgin olive is better than regular olive oils.  

Regardless of which one is healthier, olive oil is just one aspect of a healthy diet. Most nutrition comes from consuming plenty of fruits and vegetables, nuts whole grains.