Olive Oils - all you need to know
You may find on the market many types of olive oil, and of different qualities.
This guide will help you to discover the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, its properties and benefits on your organism.
On Lucaniae.com you will only find pure Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Buying on Lucania.com is like buying oil at the oil mill, where no further industrial processes are applied. This is the core of our business model.
In general, you may find these major types of olive oil for sale:
- Virgin Olive Oil
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVO)
- Virgin Olive Oil (VO)
- Refined Olive Oil
- Composite Virgin Olive Oil
- Other variants (which we will not discuss in this forum)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
In order to produce Extra Virgin Olive Oil, only mechanical pressing methods can be applied, paying attention to not alter the chemical characteristics of the oil.
Hence, no further treatments other than washing, centrifugation and filtration are allowed.
Higher Temperatures as well as exposure to light can catalyze oxidation phenomena, hence only cold pressing is usually allowed, and the so extracted oil shall be stored and handled with good care, in order to preserve its qualities.
EVO is a higher quality oil, where the free fat acidity (=oleic acid) is below 0.8% (or 0.8g per 100 g oil).
To achieve a good EVO, special care is paid in avoiding excessive exposure of the olives and of the just extracted oil to light and heat sources.
The olives shall be pressed very soon after their harvest.
Only cold pressing is allowed, which in turns extracts less oil from the olives, compared with other extraction methods.
Virgin Olive Oil
Virgin Oils is characterized by a higher presence of oleic acid (between 0.8% and 2.0 %) , which leads to higher acidity of the oil and therefore to a faster deterioration of the organoleptic properties of the oil.
Refined Olive Oil
Olive Oil can be refined by mean of industrial processes, in order to artificially reduce the acidity and the removal of oxidized particles. Refined Oil can have maximum 0.3% oleic acid.
However, in order to give to this product a meaningful color and taste, it needs to be mixed with Extra Virgin Oil.
Olive Oil
Standard Olive Oil is a mixture of Refined Olive Oil and Virgin Olive or Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The free fat acids shall not exceed the 1% in mass.
The quality of this oil is strictly dependent on the VO or EVO oil used, and its amount (normally below 10%, but good quality olive oil can be mixed and sold with up to 30% Extra Virgin Olive Oil).
Benefit of a quality Olive Oil on your organism
The Extra Virgin Olive Oil is composed mainly by unsaturated fat acids. Most of them is represented by the oleic acid, a fat acid Monounsaturated.
Additionally, good amounts of A and E vitamins are present (which are known for their antioxidant benefits), as well as phenolic compounds.
| Fatty acid | Type | Percentage | ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oleic acid | Monounsaturated | 55 to 83% | [92] |
| Linoleic acid | Polyunsaturated (omega-6) | 3.5 to 21% | [92][93] |
| Palmitic acid | Saturated | 7.5 to 20% | [92] |
| Stearic acid | Saturated | 0.5 to 5% | [92] |
| α-Linolenic acid | Polyunsaturated (omega-3) | 0 to 1.5% | [92] |
source: Olive oil - Wikipedia
What does this mean for your health and your body?
- The Antioxidating sources present in the EVO reduce the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (e.g. lowering of the blood pressure, control of insulin secretion) as well as they provide anti inflammatory benefits.
- Reduced risks of diabetes (as the EVO helps controlling glycemic levels in your body)
- Reduce the risks of high LDL cholesterol levels
- Provides relaxing effects on the gastro-intestinal tract via the oleic acid, and the polyphenols provide anti-inflammatory effects in cases such colon irritations and colitis.
- Provides anti-aging protection, via its anti-oxidizing properties.
- Boosts your immune systems
- Helps producing osteoblasts, which are the building blocks of your bones
- Helps the children in myelinization process of their brains and its growth.
Do you need some more reasons to switch to a good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil?