Olive Oil

It’s been a week since my first post and I’m super excited to put up another one. A special shout out to all who read my first post, THANK YOU! 💖

Please, let us always be mindful that the journey of a thousand miles, begins with one step. A secret to staying on the course of a good lifestyle is to take a step at a time. Do not attempt to reach your destination in a day, remember we are on a lifelong journey. Celebrate every achievement and if all you achieve this week is swapping your regular oil with Olive oil, trust me, you have done well. Now onto one of my favourite things, Olive Oil. How to identify the real deal……

The Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the Cadillac of olive oil. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, EVOO for short is made from pure, cold pressed olives whereas the other types of olive oil may include processed oils and still be labelled as Olive Oil.

Do note that anytime I refer to olive oil in my posts, I mean the extra virgin olive oil. That is the one that has the antioxidants we want and works wonders in the guts, brain, joints , hearts and more. Authentic EVOO should typically be green coloured, peppery in taste with fruity aroma. The olives for EVOO are usually picked before they are fully ripened, hence the green colour. A fully ripened harvest will produce golden coloured oil.

The best time to buy and use any EVOO is within the first two years of harvest. You should buy only EtVOO that specify their harvest month and year. And as you may have  guessed, the younger the better.

Light affects the quality of the oil and so the oil is best stored in dark containers to stop light from penetrating the oil. A pale coloured oil may be an indication of having been affected by light. It would be best to purchase those in dark containers.

Looking out for the acidity level is also important, which should be stated on the container. A good quality oil should be between 0.2% and 0.8%, the lower  the better. The EU regulatory requirement is a minimum of 0.8% but many have much lower.

Handpicked olives make better olive oils than those mechanically picked (some producers state this on their products or website). 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil has been known to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases even though more research is needed.  Autistic children and those with delayed development may benefit from taking it on empty stomach in the morning. Anyone with IBS(Irritable Bowel Syndrome) should give it a go too. 

And contrary to popular opinion, the smoke point for EVOO is very high so you can cook with it like you would with your regular oil.

Do not expect a day’s transformation but I’m almost certain that within a month of use , from my experience, there should be a visible difference in your hair, nails, skin and bowel movement.  

Your EVOO can very well replace butter, you can dip your bread in it and do your baking with it. Unless you buy your olive oil from an olive farm, ensure the oil has enough details to make a good choice.

Spain, Italy and Greece produce good ones but so far, my favourite origin is…………………………... 

Goodluck!

Can my dinnerware be a source of poisoning? Get ready, you may have to replace your much loved plates, dishes, cups etc.  See you next week. Ciao!

                                                                             whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. So Live well! 😊