Olive Oil

Olive oil has been around for thousands of years, and is actually a fruit chocked full of monounsaturated fat. Olive oil is a staple for those living in the Mediterranean basin where olive trees originated. Olive oil plays a major role in the Mediterranean household, not only for cooking and salad oil, but as lamp oil, beauty products for skin and hair, bath soap, and medicinal purposes as an antibiotic. While visiting Spain many years ago, I attended a lecture about olive oil. The gentleman said that during past wars, many Spanish people had no food except bread and olive oil and how important it was to their survival. He went on to discuss the many uses and benefits of this amazing oil and why olive oil is considered healthy. Olive oil is one of the most heart healthy oils available and can actually lower bad (LDL) cholesterol while at the same time maintaining good cholesterol (HDL). Studies on the brains of mice showed better connections and less memory loss on those fed extra-virgin olive oil, compared to those not consuming olive oil. Brain inflammation also improved with olive oil. A study by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, on 2000 people learned that those who ate closest to the Mediterranean diet lowered their odds of getting Alzheimer’s disease. Olive oil was a major part of their diet and maybe reduced brain inflammation. All the more reason to embrace olive oil and its many health benefits!

I suggest purchasing olive oil from California as the growers have stringent guidelines and strive to get the California Olive Oil Council, Certified Extra Virgin (COOC) seal on their labels, along with NON GMO Project VERIFIED seal. I highly recommend California Olive Ranch First Cold Press Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and it is available at most grocery stores for ten to twelve dollars. It is amazing with all the healthy certifications plus the olive oil is made and bottled right at their ranch here in the USA! When I first went to Napa Valley Wine Country many years ago, my husband David and I had lunch in a beautiful olive grove at one of the wineries. The scent was amazing, and when we inquired as to the purpose of the small olive grove, they said the entire land had been a large olive grove and when wine became so popular, they burned down the olive trees and planted grape vines. It is so exciting to see that they are once again embracing olive trees along with grape vines and fortunately they are producing the highest quality olive oil. See what happens when the demand is there, the producers step up to the plate and give us the quality we deserve.