Extra-virgin olive oil: a precious friend for the health of the arteries
Published on 15/10/2012
Low cholesterol levels are the best ally in the fight against cardiovascular and circulatory diseases.
Olive oil, if extra-virgin, can be a precious ally, because among all oils those obtained from olives are rich in components important for the well-being of the body.
Their characteristics are well known: few saturated fats, which are dangerous for the arteries, and a fair amount of essential polyunsaturated fats (which the human body cannot produce on its own), as well as oleic and linoleic acid.
And among all olive oils, extra-virgin has unique characteristics: it is an unrefined oil whose acidity does not exceed 0.8%. And since no processes are used to correct its organoleptic qualities, to produce extra-virgin oil a rigorous selection of the raw product is required, the olives, which must be of "first quality".
The harvest, too, has its importance: hand-harvesting uses ladders and human labor to "beat" the trees, whereas when harvesting is done mechanically, chemical substances that tend to make the olives fall off the tree more easily are frequently used.
«In extra-virgin oil, the olives are crushed with stone mills or with steel crushers», explains Mauro Amelio, head of the chemical laboratory at Fratelli Carli, «After pressing, another process is used, either pressure or centrifugation, to separate the pomace, that is, the solid part, from the liquid part. Plain olive oil, on the other hand, immediately after being "pressed", is edible, but its retail sale is prohibited, as it is very acidic and unpleasant in flavor. For this reason, it undergoes refining».