Ok, so we've all heard that Olive Oil is "good for us" and we should start using it instead of vegetable oil or any other "hydrogenated oils" and that IS true.... but here's what you didn't know...
There is NO regulation over the olive oil business. What does that mean to us? It means that many olive oils out there are NOT 100% olive oil, so who knows what other cheaper oil they are sticking in the bottle and what that means to our health.
Before I get into that, here's a quick tip about olive oil and heat....
Olive oil is meant to be used as-is (ie- pour it on your salad) OR at a VERY LOW HEAT (ie- use to sautee or marinate but do NOT use for stir fry or any other type of high heat use). When Olive Oil is heated to high, it loses it's structure and the original wonderful nutrients you get out of it are not only lost, but it can actual be toxic to your health.
A great alternative for high heat cooking is "grapeseed oil", it withstands very high heat and still keeps it's structure. I learned this from a chef in a cooking class.
Here's a great article which gives more info. on how over heating olive oil is toxic: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/spiritual-dammit/2009/07/cooking-with-olive-oil-can-be-toxic.html
So now back to the issue at hand.... olive oil NOT being 100% olive oil in the bottle. How can we know? For one, if the price tag is really low, then most likely, it's not 100% olive oil. On the other hand, just because the price tag is high, does NOT guarantee it IS 100% olive oil. So now what? Shish, yet another thing to worry about, right?
I say, don't get discouraged and don't stop using olive oil, but DO make sure that you get it from a source that has confirmed directly with the manufacturer that it IS 100% olive oil.
Ironically, I found the real deal through a pet food website called, Cornucopia Express (The brand is called
"Elyros" - Extra Virgin Olive Oil ("EVOO")- I have searched elsewhere online and can't find it available, but not to say it's not in some health food stores like Whole Foods, nonetheless, I'll provide the link below).
It is human grade, (ie - made for us humans to cook and use on our salads, etc), but as a side note, it's also great for our pets (bet you didn't know EVOO is good for them too).
That's why I'm gonna order at least 4-5 bottles next time, to stock up and have enough to share for me and my 4-legged pets. In the interim, I'll use up what I already have for myself, but the pets are already get the good stuff from "Elyros". You can find it under Cornucopia's link, under products/supplements (and btw, if you do have cats or dogs, Cornocopia is THE only food out there that ISN'T full of fillers and unnecessary grains that our pets cannot process and ALL the ingredients are items you can pronounce and are good for your pets - so, if you have a four-legged friend or have friends that do, you might want to check out their food too, not just the olive oil). http://www.cornucopiapetfoods.com/products
Of course, I always provide links to back up my statements, so here's a great link I found to another blog that is confirming exactly what I stated above: http://oliveoiltalk.blogspot.com/2012/02/is-your-olive-oil-really-extra-virgin.html
Now we're talking.... here's Wikipedia's info. that tells you about the organization that DOES track Olive Oil and it's origins, the question is, how easy is it for us to check our favorite name brand and see if it's 100% real or not. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_oil_regulation_and_adulteration
For now, I'm gonna stick with "Elyros", the brand that was confirmed by Cornocopia Express's vet of 45+ years to be 100% pure extra virgin olive oil (made for humans and great for our pets too). See the link I provided above.
Godere!!! ("Enjoy" in Italian)
Wow, who knew? Right!
Nice article- great links. thanks.
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