Why is extra virgin olive oil so healthy?
Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats, but so is lard - so something else may be the secret of olive oil's remarkable benefits. Unlike vegetable oils derived from seeds, olive oil is derived from a fruit. This means that there are unique anti-oxidants not found in vegetable oils, known as polyphenols. Polyphenols are compounds found in fruits (like olives) and vegetables. They act as shuttle systems to move free radicals from lipid (fat) membranes to water-soluble anti-oxidants (such as Vitamin C) so that they can be removed from the body. Like a relay race, if one of the runners is missing, the race will not be won no matter how strong the other runners might be. Polyphenols act as the intermediate relay runner to take free radicals from lipid-soluble anti-oxidants (such as Vitamin E) and pass them off to water-soluble antioxidants (such as Vitamin C). This is the real health benefit of olive oil. That's why olive oil is so effective in preventing the oxidation of LDL particles (a primary cause of heart disease development) and in providing protection of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids from oxidation in biological membranes.
From newsletter Zone Diet Weekly Tip from Dr. Barry Sears
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