Dear ,
Olive oil has long been prized for the rich flavor it provides to a wide variety of foods - from meats and fish to vegetables and even baked goods. And in recent years, scientists have discovered that the benefits of olive oil go far beyond culinary.
Rich in monounsaturated fats and antioxidant nutrients called polyphenols, olive oil has been found to:
- Increase levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol
- Reduce body fat, specifically dangerous belly fat
- Slash the risk of metabolic syndrome
- Improve blood sugar balance and long term glycemic control
- Boost satiety, benefiting weight loss efforts
- Reduce inflammation
- Lower blood pressure
- Reduce the risk of some forms of cancer
However, the unsettling fact is that about 80% of the olive oil you see on grocery store shelves is fraudulent. The "olive oil" you're using may have very little olives at all.
Whether that means your olive oil is diluted with cheaper, processed oil and food coloring or it’s simply poor quality olive oil labeled as extra virgin… you’re definitely NOT getting what you paid for.
The worst part? Labeling laws aren’t strict enough to protect consumers. Some Greek and Italian olive oils on the shelves aren’t even from those countries...
And the kind of olive oil you consume matters when it comes to its many health benefits.
The right kinds of olive oil are packed with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and free-radical fighting antioxidants.
But you have to have high-quality oil you can trust.
Which is why I want to introduce you to my friends at Kasandrinos.
The Kasandrinos know their olive oil. Probably because their family has been harvesting and crushing olives for generations straight from ancient trees on their land in southern Greece.
They make their single-source olive oil the same way their ancestors did: handpicked from old world trees pressed in small batches.
Faux Olive Oil: A Harmful Food Masquerading as Healthful
Olive oil fraud has been confirmed by independent tests at the Olive Center, associated with the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis. Tests conducted in Australia in 2012 also confirmed these findings. Just last month, the Olive Oil Times reported the imprisonment of two Spanish businessmen for selling hundreds of thousands of liters of "faux" extra virgin olive oil.
In fact, Tom Mueller, author of "Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil" estimates that 60 percent of the extra virgin olive oil sold globally has been adulterated with low quality oils and colorants.
In an article on this food fraud, CBS News reports: "Consumers who think they're buying one of the healthiest foods on the planet often get something very different."
Something different, indeed!
Manufactures of "faux" extra virgin olive oil use predominantly (70-80%) highly refined, omega-6 rich oils including safflower, sunflower, canola, soybean or hazelnut oil in addition to 20-30% olive oil. Chlorophyll and beta-carotene are added to create the characteristic golden or greenish appearance of a true "extra virgin" olive oil.
And while the flavor and color may come close to that of an extra virgin, the effects on your body are anything but. The type of fat you eat affects every aspect of your health - your mood and mental clarity, your circadian rhythms, the constriction or dilation of your blood vessels, whether you store calories as fat or burn them as fuel, the fluidity or stiffness of your joints, the tone and texture of your skin, and even whether your genes are primed to fight cancer... or promote
it.
A diet that is rich in omega-6 fats - like those found in "faux" olive oil - has been found to:
- Increase systemic inflammation
- Suppress the immune system
- Promote free radical damage
- Encourage the storage of calories as fat
- Promote cell proliferation and the risk of some forms of cancer
That's why it's essential you purchase your olive oil from a reputable source.
Which is why I recommend getting your olive oil from Kasandrinos because:
- It all starts with the olives. Kasandrinos picks and sorts their olives by hand from ancient trees, which means a more flavorful fruit and a fresher taste.
- No fertilizers. No pesticides. Ever. Kasandrinos trees are older than genetic modification, all their olive oil is certified Organic and naturally Non-GMO.
- Kasandrinos olive oil is pressed straight from the grove. No barrels of olives baking in the sun or left to mold.
- Every bottle is cold-pressed to preserve nutrients and taste. That means a low-temperature, slow-churn for hours to get the golden oil from the olive and into a final mesh filter before storing.
- Time and sunlight degrade olive oil like nothing else, breaking down antioxidants and robbing the oil of its flavor. That’s why Kasandrinos bottles their olive oil in ultra-dark glass or BPA-free tin cans to protect it from light and preserve its taste and quality.
- All their olive oil is shipped in climate-controlled containers to prevent oxidation. And because they only sell the most current harvest, you can always expect the freshest oil possible… straight from the tree to your table.
- There’s only one real way to know if your olive oil is “real” or not - a chemical analysis. And every batch of Kasandrinos olive oil goes through two independent, third-party tests for quality and freshness.
In fact, they don’t sell anything that’s been sitting on the shelf for more than one season.
And fortunately for you, we worked out a deal with Kasandrinos! They are willing to give Healing Gourmet readers up to 50% off their first purchase!
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Ensuring Your Olive Oil is REAL
Here are a few more ways to help ensure you're getting the highest quality, real extra virgin olive oil.
Know the source. The best way to ensure your olive oil is authentic is to choose artisan or locally-produced olive oils. Those produced by domestic small family farms pass the tests of authenticity.
Look for designations. Denominazione d'Origine Protetta (DOP) in Italy, Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in France and Denomination of Origin (DOP) throughout the European Union (EU) give you assurance that the products was produced and processed in that specific region. The California Olive Oil Council (COOC) and International Olive Council (IOC) certify high quality extra-virgin olives oils based on taste and quality.
Read the harvest date. Choose oils from this year's harvest if possible. Otherwise, check the "best by" date. Don't use oils that that were bottled more than two years ago.
Choose opaque or tinted bottles. Real olive oil degrades easily due to light and heat. So choose bottles that block light and store the product in a dark cabinet or pantry. Also, only buy a quantity that you'll use within a few months.
Go for flavor, not color. High quality olive oils come in a variety of shades, so color is not the most important determinant. If you are able to sample, be sure to avoid off flavors (ie- metallic, moldy, greasy, meaty and cardboard)
Buy "extra virgin" only. "Pure" or "light" oil, "olive oil" and "olive pomace oil" have all undergone chemical refinement.
When it comes to olive oil, buy the highest quality you can find and use for drizzling or salad dressings. For cooking, opt for oils that hold up better under heat including virgin coconut oil, grass-fed ghee, tallow and lard.
To Your Health,
Kelley Herring
Healing Gourmet
PS - With Kasandrinos, you don’t just get a great-tasting bottle of olive oil - you get the purest possible oil, harvested using Old Word methods from the land their family has tended for generations.
- "Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil" by Tom Mueller (Atlantic Books in the U.K.)
- Fallon, Sally, and Mary G Enig, PhD, "Tripping Lightly Down the Prostaglandin Pathways," Price- Pottenger Nutrition Foundation Health Journal, 1996, 20:3:5-8
- Fallon, Sally, and Mary G Enig, PhD, "Diet and Heart Disease-Not What You Think," Consumers' Research, July 1996, 15-19
- Simopoulos AP, Leaf A, Salem N, Jr. Workshop statement on the essentiality of and recommended dietary intakes for Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2000;63(3):119-121
- Kris-Etherton PM, Hecker KD, Binkoski AE. Polyunsaturated fatty acids and cardiovascular health. Nutr Rev. 2004;62(11):414-426.
- Mozaffarian D, Ascherio A, Hu FB, et al. Interplay between different polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease in men. Circulation. 2005;111(2):157-164.
- Cortés B et al. "Acute effects of high-fat meals enriched with walnuts or olive oil on postprandial endothelial function." J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006 Oct 17;48(8):1666-71. Epub 2006 Sep 26.
- Perona JS et al. "Virgin olive oil reduces blood pressure in hypertensive elderly subjects." ClinNutr. 23, 5:1113-21, 2004.
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