The beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet on human health and, in particular, on the reduction of the risk of cardiovascular diseases, have been attributed mainly to its high content of olive oil.
This means that olive oil can be considered a food with great properties and benefits. Although its main fatty acid, oleic acid, is considered important for these effects, olive oil has other biological properties that we will discuss later.
Difference between olive oil and olive pomace oil
Many people believe that olive pomace oil is the same as olive oil. This is not the case because the extraction of pomace oil from olive oil results in a drastic chemical change.
Olive oils are made by squeezing olives and extracting the oil. Olive pomace oil, on the other hand, is produced by processing pulp waste of the simple pressing methods to extract olive oil.
The pomace is the pulp that remains after the olive has been crushed until obtaining a pasty substance, and the first centrifugation of Extra Virgin and Virgin Olive Oil has been completed. The leftover solids left over after centrifugation still have oil in them, and you need to add a solvent to extract what’s left. The solvent, typically hexane, is added to the pomace, which causes the oil to be extracted from the pulp. Once this is done, the solvent will be removed leaving dried pulp and separated oil. The resulting oil is known as crude olive pomace oil.
The refining process to which crude pomace oil must be subjected for commercial purposes significantly reduces the content of phenolic compounds, losing many of its properties.
Therefore, the main difference between olive oil and pomace oil, apart from its extraction method, is that olive oil has many more beneficial properties thanks to its higher concentration of phenolic compounds. In addition, pomace oil, during its refining and chemical processing, can generate compounds, such as benzopyrene, which could become toxic.
This is the healthiest oil
Without a doubt, we stick with olive oil because the process to extract it, especially if it is extra virgin, does not generate any type of substances that could be toxic for health and, in addition, it preserves each and every one of its nutrients (vitamins, minerals, phenolic nutrients, etc.).
Some of the benefits of olive oil are the following:
Olive oil as a tool against obesity
The PREDIMED study showed that the intake of virgin olive oil for 3 years was associated with a decreased body weight and a reduced waist circumference.
In addition, it has been observed that the regular use of olive oil improves the palatability of salads, vegetables and legumes, thus favoring the increased consumption of foods rich in dietary fiber and low in energy density that favor greater satiety and satiety.
Olive oil in cardiovascular diseases
Once again, the PREDIMED study reported that the consumption of EVOO translated into a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality in people with high cardiovascular risk due to its ability to improve lipid profile and lower blood pressurewhich consequently reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events.
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