Top Health Benefits Of Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil From Dreas Olea

The composition of olive oil involves olives, which are the fruit of olive trees. Olives are the traditional crop of the Mediterranean region. A bunch of whole olives is pressed to make olive oil. People are using olive oil in a variety of applications, including cooking, cosmetics, medicine, soaps, and as a fuel for traditional lamps.

Extra virgin olive oil

Olive oil has its origins in the Mediterranean, but now people from all over the world are consuming it. Extra virgin olive oil is made by crushing olives and extracting the oil while keeping temperatures below 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 F).

In the diet, people tend to preserve olives that are present in olive oil or salt-water. They eat them whole and make pizzas and other dishes with them. You may use olive oil as a bread dip, pasta drizzling, cooking oil, or salad dressing. Some people eat it by spoonful for medicinal purposes.

Types of olive oils:

Best Greek Extra virgin olive oil is the highest quality olive oil available. It is made from pure olive oil that has been mechanically processed without chemicals, has a superior taste, and contains less than 0.8% free acidity.

Even though it is the highest grade, quality, aroma, flavor, color, and price differ significantly between brands. Extra-virgin olive oil is the best choice for a light and tasty salad dressing.

• Virgin olive oil

With about 1.5 percent free acidity, olive oil is of slightly lower quality. It has a pleasant flavor and is suitable for both sautéing and frying.

• Refined olive oil

Refined olive oils are usually labeled “pure olive oil” or simply “olive oil.” Processed olive oil is made from virgin oils using refining methods that do not alter the glyceridic structure. In refined olive oil, free acidity, referred to as oleic acid, is less than 0.3 grams per 100 grams (0.3 percent).

• Extra light olive oil

This olive oil has a lighter flavor and color, but it is still high in fat and calories. Because this olive oil is flavorless, it’s ideal for baking and other applications where a strong flavor would be overpowering.

Steps to making olive oil

• Harvesting

Early in the season, people tend to pick green olives, and harvest mature olives later in the year during the harvesting season (August – December).

• Processing

After harvesting olives, they wash and crease them by using granite weights or steel hammer mills after separating them from leaves and branches.

• Malaxation

You can add water to olives and pits after being crushed into a dense paste. Then, the mixture is slowly churned to allow the tiny oil droplets to combine into more significant drops.

• Pressing

A mechanical oil press or a centrifuge is used to press the mixture after the olive pulp and water have been sufficiently stirred. Both methods are used to separate the olive oil from the water and pulp.

• Refining

There is no need to refine the highest-quality of olive oil which consists of green olives collected at the moment of ripeness. Virgin or extra virgin olive oil is the raw version of this product. Manufacturers prefer to use heat or chemicals to refine lower-quality oil. This process masks the less desirable flavor and results in an effect known as “light” or “pure” olive oil.

• Bottling

People prefer to store this olive oil in stainless steel tanks and then pour it directly into bottles or packages that protect the oil from heat, oxygen, and light.

The Extraction of Greek Olive Oil 

Olive oil pressing, like the grinding step before it, has evolved. Greek olive oil producers used to finish the malaxation process by spreading pulp of olive oil between burlap bags and stacking them on top of one another. They would then compact the stack with a mechanical press and collect the olive oil squeezed out.

The end product is cold olive oil because the method does not involve heat to separate the water and oil. Although these extraction techniques are constantly changing dramatically.

The process of extraction takes place in many modern olive oil production facilities by placing the paste in a large centrifuge and then spinning it until it separates the oil and the extracted paste. While the unrefined Greek olive oil produced is identical to pressing, centrifuge technology allows producers to extract far more oil than simple presses.

Advantages of best greek extra virgin olive oil:

• It has anti-inflammatory properties

Oleocanthal is a phenolic compound that is also present in extra virgin olive oil. It is mainly responsible for the tingling or burning sensation that may occur while tasting an excellent extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil has anti-inflammatory properties and can help with fever reduction. Oleocanthal also prevents Alzheimer’s disease and kills cancer cells.

• Improves the health of hair and skin

Vitamin E is present abundantly in the best Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Vitamin E has been a fat-soluble antioxidant that can protect the body from eye and skin problems while making hair and skin healthier. Each tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil may contain about 1.9 mg of Vitamin E.

• Aids in the prevention of diabetes

A diet that contains fruits, vegetables, pulses, and grains contains a large quantity of olive oil. They are low in saturated fats, moderately high in carbohydrates and fiber. Is it most effective for people with diabetes? It improves blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity while lowering “bad” low-density lipoproteins.

• Reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes

Natural olive oil has a monounsaturated fatty acid content of 70%. As a result, the cholesterol levels in the blood decreases while reducing the chances of heart problems. Additionally, olive oil lowers the risk of diabetes and atherosclerosis.

• Reduce High Blood Pressure

According to recent research, consuming olive oil regularly can help lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

• Lowers cholesterol levels in the blood

Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides are all reduced by olive oil. LDL cholesterol is the wrong kind, and it raises the risk of heart attacks and pulmonary heart disease. Extra virgin olive oil, which contains nearly 40 antioxidant chemicals, aids in the reduction of LDL cholesterol oxidation.

• Helps with weight loss

Despite high calories, you can utilize olive oil to reduce weight as it helps in the reduction of obesity. According to medical experts, the monounsaturated fats found in olive oil make it hard for people to gain weight. Experiments with Mediterranean olive oil have yielded positive results in terms of weight loss in humans.