Celebrate The Best Food For Health Across The World This Month
Wellness Wednesday Celebrates Nutrition
It’s that time of the week again and, as we pause to enjoy Wellness Wednesday, we wanted to celebrate National Nutrition Month which this year is flying the flag for flavours from around the world.
Being culturally adventurous is also another great way to boost your potential to achieve your wellness goals. That’s because we can learn so much about nutrition from the dietary choices and lifestyles of those in many different parts of the world. While The Mediterranean Diet remains one of the most popular healthy diet plans, it’s not the only one worth considering. And the great news is that the inclusion of a healthy monounsaturated fat such as extra virgin olive oil can be used in so many dishes from all corners of our world.
Embrace Cultural Diversity In Your Wellness Plan
Cultural Diversity In Your Wellness Plan
This theme of wellness through nutritional exploration is summarised so perfectly by the organisers of National Nutrition Month:
Celebrating flavors from cultures around the world is a tasty way to nourish ourselves and appreciate our diversity. We are all unique with different bodies, goals, backgrounds and tastes! A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist can help you create healthy habits that celebrate your heritage and introduce you to new foods and flavors.
“The theme Celebrate a World of Flavors gives every culture a place at the table. Celebrating the cultural heritage, traditions and recipes from all people is a tasty way to nourish ourselves, learn about one another and find appreciation in our diversity.”
During National Nutrition Month®, the Academy encourages everyone to make informed food choices and develop sound eating and physical activity habits they can follow all year long. The Academy encourages seeking the advice of RDNs – the food and nutrition experts who can help develop individualized eating and activity plans to meet people’s health goals.
“Celebrate a World of Flavors highlights the unique, cultural variety of foods available to people from around the world and the role that registered dietitian nutritionist play in helping clients create healthy habits while celebrating their cultural foods and heritage,”
Rahaf Al Bochi
A national spokesperson for the Academy in Baltimore, Md.
RDNs help clients fine-tune traditional recipes, provide alternative cooking methods and other healthful advice for incorporating family-favorite foods into everyday meals.
Why The Mediterranean Diet Remains Top For Health Benefits
The ever-popular diet, with its emphasis on quality extra virgin olive oil, fresh fruit, vegetables and fish continues to out rank its rivals on this key barometer for wellness and nutrition. It was named best diet overall for 2022, in addition to best diet for healthy eating, best heart-healthy diet, best diet for diabetes, best plant-based diet and easiest diet to follow.
It is generally accepted that the folks in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea live longer and suffer less than most Americans from cancer and cardiovascular ailments. The not-so-surprising secret is an active lifestyle, weight control, and a diet low in red meat, sugar and saturated fat and high in produce, nuts and other healthful foods, with extra virgin olive oil at its heart.
The Mediterranean Diet including extra virgin olive oil offers a host of health benefits, particularly including weight loss, heart and brain health, cancer prevention, and diabetes prevention and control. By following the Mediterranean Diet, you could also keep that weight off while avoiding chronic disease.
For more information on National Nutrition Month, including how to find a regional registered dietician please see here.
To find out a bit more about how you can incorporate Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil in to your cooking, whatever your cultural traditions, please check out our inspirational recipe section here. Happy cooking!
Celebrate National Wellness Month With Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Updated 23rd August 2023
August is National Wellness Month: a time of year to focus on taking care of your own health and wellbeing. One way of achieving a wellness lifestyle without having to overhaul existing habits is adding extra virgin olive oil to your diet.
There is no short supply of research that shows self-care can help you manage stress and promote greater happiness. Even making small changes to your lifestyle can impact your health in positive ways.
Not only does Extra Virgin Olive Oil benefit the body with its monounsaturated fatty acids, helping reduce cholesterol levels and improve cardiovascular health – but it has amazing flavor that will make meals come alive for your taste buds – all while boosting your level of wellness.
Let’s take a closer look at the culinary effects that extra virgin olive oil can have on how you celebrate National Wellness Month in 2023!
Starting Your Day With Extra Virgin Olive Oil To Boost Wellness
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a key component in The Mediterranean Diet – one of the most consistently popular diet and lifestyle for those seeking to improve their overall wellness. If you want to incorporate a Mediterranean start to your day, one of the best ways to do so is by drinking extra virgin olive oil, first thing in the morning.
This is a quick and easy way to boost your daily intake of antioxidants and healthy fats. Drinking a shot of olive oil in the morning can be good for your skin, throat and help as part of a wellness plan.
How Much Extra Virgin Olive Oil Should I Take To Improve Wellness?
Extra Virgin Olive Oil For Wellness
What Is In 1 Tablespoon Of Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
1.9 milligrams of vitamin E (10 percent of Daily Value)
8.1 micrograms of vitamin K (10 percent of DV)
European Food Safety Agency Recommendation
The European Food Safety Agency regulation states that extra virgin olive oil with a polyphenol level of 250mg / kg and above can make health claims. However, it is also very specific about which polyphenols this applies to. It specifically states that this must include hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives, (oleuropein and tyrosol). So long as these polyphenols are present, the beneficial effects can be obtained with a daily intake of around 20ml of olive oil.
At this level of polyphenol, 1 tablespoon will have around 7.1 mg/kg (250 / 35) So to get the health benefits you would need to take around 3 tablespoons per day.
Because the concentration of polyphenols in Morocco Gold is much higher than the standard, you will get the associated health benefits with around 2 tablespoons per day.
Morocco Gold Commits To Global Wellness By Becoming Ambassador Of Global Wellness Institute
Our support of The Global Wellness Institute demonstrates our shared vision to transform the health and wellness of people, communities and the planet, also to eradicate preventable diseases worldwide.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil And The Pursuit Of Wellness
It has been known for centuries that high quality extra virgin olive oil is good for your health and wellbeing. It has also been lauded across many cultures.
In ancient Rome, olive oil was used for nearly everything in relation to their health. Roman medicine takes heavily from Greek doctors, who influenced European medicine for centuries.
The difference now is – following extensive scientific research we now know exactly what is in high quality olive oils that is so good for you – its antioxidant polyphenols.
Echoing the ambition of The Global Wellness Institute and its Ambassadors across the globe, Morocco Gold is on a mission to:
Re-establish extra virgin olive oil as a healthy diet / wellness lifestyle choice
Show wellness conscious people on how this incredibly simple diet / lifestyle choice – inclusion of a high-quality extra virgin olive oil – can have a profound impact on their health and wellbeing
Show how extra virgin olive fits into a wider wellness lifestyle.
Morocco Gold is an exceptionally high-quality extra virgin olive oil from a unique new source. What makes it so special is it is teeming with health enhancing polyphenols. The following illustrates the range of chronic conditions where research into these polyphenols, all of which are present in Morocco Gold, has demonstrated positive effects.
Health Benefits And Polyphenols
In fact the European Food Safety Authority has now approved health claims for extra virgin olive oils with polyphenol content of more than 250mg / kg. Morocco Gold contains polyphenols well above this level.
Research has shown that polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil have a massive and positive impact on health and doctors recommend high consumption of polyphenol sources. It is important that this is genuine, unprocessed extra virgin olive oil like Morocco Gold that will still have its polyphenols intact. Processed or refined olive oils usually have their polyphenols extracted from the oil during filtration and refining.
The Global Wellness Institute™ is a non-profit organization and the leading research and educational resource for the global wellness industry. The GWI was founded in 2015 and has since developed the most frequently cited, in-depth research on the $4.5 trillion wellness economy. The GWI’s 2018 Global Wellness Economy Monitor found that the global wellness industry grew 13.5% from 2015-2017, from a $3.7 trillion to a $4.2 trillion market. According to the Institute, there are ten sectors that make up the multi-trillion wellness economy. There are currently 28 GWI Initiatives led by thought-leaders and experts in their fields working to increase knowledge about wellness in its many and varied forms.
The GWI’s Wellness Moonshot: A World Free of Preventable Disease is the first global commitment to eradicate preventable, chronic diseases. In 2019, the GWI introduced the Wellness Moonshot Calendar as a tool to create a culture of wellness within organizations and workplaces worldwide. GWI launched Wellness Evidence in 2011, the world’s first aggregation of medical evidence for the most common wellness modalities and therapies.
Exploring what is so special about extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) that deliver the extraordinary health benefits of best olive oil as well as tasting great.
Updated October 18th 2022
Summary
The best olive oil is extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
Studies show that the fatty acids and antioxidants in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) can offer some powerful health benefits.
The monounsaturated fats in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) contribute to a healthy diet.
Saturated fats are usually solid or semi-solid at room temperature and are strongly associated with raised blood cholesterol
One tablespoon (13.5 grams) of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) typically contains Saturated fat: 14% Monounsaturated fat: 73% (mostly oleic acid) Vitamin E: 13% of the Daily Value (DV) Vitamin K: 7% of the DV
True extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is loaded with polyphenols the antioxidants some of which have powerful health benefits.
A main polyphenol in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is oleocanthal, which has been shown to work like ibuprofen, a popular anti-inflammatory drug.
Polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) also protects against heart disease by: reducing inflammation, a key driver of heart disease; reducing oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol; improving blood vessel health; helping to manage blood clotting; lowering blood pressure.
The oleic acid in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is also highly resistant to oxidation and has been shown to have beneficial effects on genes linked to cancer.
Studies have shown that a Mediterranean diet enriched with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) improved brain function and reduced the risk of cognitive impairment.
We are always delighted to come across articles that confirm our own extensive researches into the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil and it’s nutritional information. We know extra virgin olive oil is the healthiest fat in the world. Here is a wonderful summary from: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/extra-virgin-olive-oil
The Nutritional Benefits Of Olive Oil
Dietary fats are highly controversial, with debates about animal fats, seed oils, and everything in between in full force. That said, most people agree that extra virgin olive oil is incredibly healthy. Part of the Mediterranean diet, this traditional oil has been a dietary staple for some of the world’s healthiest populations.
Studies show that the fatty acids and antioxidants in olive oil can offer some powerful health benefits. This article reviews why extra virgin olive oil is the healthiest fat on earth.
What Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) And How Is It Made?
Olive oil is oil that has been pressed from olives, the fruits of the olive tree. The production process is incredibly simple — olives are pressed to extract their oil. However, lower quality versions can be extracted using chemicals, or even diluted with other, cheaper oils. Therefore, buying the right type of olive oil is crucial.
The best type is extra virgin olive oil. It’s extracted using natural methods and standardized for purity and certain sensory qualities like taste and smell. Oil that is truly extra virgin olive oil has a distinct taste and is high in polyphenol antioxidants, the main reason why it’s so beneficial.
Also, there are refined or “light” olive oils, which have often been extracted with solvents, treated with heat, or even diluted with cheaper oils like soybean or canola oil. For this reason, it’s essential to inspect the label carefully and buy from a reputable seller. Even oil that is labelled extra virgin olive oil may have been adulterated with cheaper oils.
True extra virgin olive oil is 100% natural and very high in antioxidants. Many of the lower quality olive oils have been processed and adulterated with cheaper oils.
The Fats In Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) That Contribute To A Healthy Diet
Fats are made up of fatty acids and glycerol. A fatty acid consists of a chain of carbon atoms, where each carbon atom in the chain is attached to hydrogen atoms. The number of hydrogen atoms per carbon atom determines whether the fatty acid is saturated or unsaturated and therefore will contribute towards a healthy diet.
Saturated fats If a fatty acid has all of the hydrogen atoms it can hold (2 per carbon atom in the chain) and all of the carbon atoms in the chain are linked by single bonds, it is described as saturated.
Saturated fats are usually solid or semi-solid at room temperature and are strongly associated with raised blood cholesterol which is why nutritionists recommend eating them as little as possible. Lard, butter, hard cheeses, whole milk, animal fats and palm and coconut oils – plus products containing them – all contain high levels of saturated fat that do not support a healthy diet.
Monounsaturated Fats In Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) Support A Healthy Diet If a pair of carbon atoms in the fatty acid chain is linked by a double bond instead of a single bond, the fatty acid is described as monounsaturated. Fats rich in monounsaturates tend to be liquid at room temperature. Olive oil is one of the richest sources of monounsaturated fatty acids and therefore supports a healthy diet.
Monounsaturated fats—omega-6s in the case of extra virgin olive oil—are important because they help boost heart health. This is important for helping prevent health issues such as cardiovascular disease or stroke.
Polyunsaturated fats These contain more than one double bond and are liquid at room temperature. The main sources are vegetable oils, such as sunflower oil, corn oil and rapeseed, but not tropical oils such as coconut, palm and palm kernel oils.
Trans fats Trans fats are created when a hydrogenation process is applied to solidify oil for use in margarines or to improve a product’s shelf life. This processing causes trans fats to act like saturated fats.
The following illustrates the differing fat contents of a range of products.
Fat Content Comparison Table
What Is In 1 Tablespoon Of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)?
One serving or 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil contains the following:
120 calories
10 grams of monounsaturated fat
2 grams of saturated fat
2 grams of polyunsaturated fat
1.9 milligrams of vitamin E (10 percent of Daily Value)
8.1 micrograms of vitamin K (10 percent of DV)
Not All Calories Are Created Equal
As part of maintaining a healthy diet many people want to know how many calories are in olive oil. Research has shown that not all calories are necessarily equal.
In a famous study at Middlesex Hospital in London in the 1950s, two British researchers, Professor Alan Kekwick and Dr. Gaston L.S. Pawan, tested a series of diets on overweight patients. The patients on a high-carbohydrate diet consistently gained or sustained weight, even when given limited calories. Conversely, subjects on a high-fat diet lost considerably more weight than any of the other diets, even when provided with excess calories.
A more recent study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association also challenges the notion that a “calorie is just a calorie.” Led by Cara Ebbeling, PhD, associate director and David Ludwig, MD, director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, the purpose of the study was to learn what kind of diet helped people maintain their new weight after successfully losing weight. The results indicated that a low-fat diet predicts weight regain, while diets featuring a moderate to high percentage of calories from fat both increased subjects’ energy expenditure and reduced the surge in their blood sugar after eating, making these diets preferable to a low-fat diet for those trying to achieve lasting weight loss.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Evoo) Nutrition
Extra virgin olive oil is nutritious. It contains modest amounts of vitamins E and K and plenty of beneficial fatty acids.
Some more olive oil nutrition information – One tablespoon (13.5 grams) of olive oil contains the following:
Saturated fat: 14%
Monounsaturated fat: 73% (mostly oleic acid)
Vitamin E: 13% of the Daily Value (DV)
Vitamin K: 7% of the DV
Notably, extra virgin olive oil shines in its antioxidant content. Antioxidants are biologically active, and some of them can help fight serious diseases. The oil’s main antioxidants include the anti-inflammatory oleocanthal, as well as oleuropein, a substance that protects LDL (bad) cholesterol from oxidation.
Olive oil is very high in monounsaturated fats and contains a modest amount of vitamins E and K. True extra virgin olive oil is loaded with antioxidants, some of which have powerful health benefits.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) Health Benefits
Extra virgin olive oil contains anti-inflammatory substances
Chronic inflammation is believed to be among the leading drivers of many diseases, including heart disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and arthritis. Some speculate that olive oil’s ability to fight inflammation is behind its many health benefits.
Oleic acid, the most prominent fatty acid in olive oil, has been found to reduce inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein. However, the oil’s main anti-inflammatory effects seem to be due to its antioxidants, primarily oleocanthal, which has been shown to work like ibuprofen, a popular anti-inflammatory drug. Researchers estimate that the amount of oleocanthal in 50 ml (about 3.4 tablespoons) of extra virgin olive oil exerts effects similar to those of 10% of the adult ibuprofen dosage for pain relief. Also, one study showed that substances in olive oil can reduce the expression of genes and proteins that mediate inflammation.
Keep in mind that chronic, low-level inflammation is usually fairly mild, and it takes years or decades for it to do damage. Using extra virgin olive oil may help prevent this from happening, leading to a reduced risk of various inflammatory diseases, especially heart disease. Olive oil contains oleic acid and oleocanthal, two nutrients that can fight inflammation. This may be the main reason for olive oil’s health benefits.
Extra virgin olive oil (Evoo) and cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke, are among the most common causes of death in the world. Many observational studies show that death from these diseases is low in certain areas of the world, especially in countries around the Mediterranean Sea. This observation originally spurred interest in the Mediterranean diet, which is supposed to mimic the way the people in those countries eat. Studies on the Mediterranean diet show that it can help prevent heart disease. In one major study, it reduced heart attacks, strokes, and death by 30%.
Extra virgin olive oil protects against heart disease via numerous mechanisms:
Reducing inflammation: Olive oil protects against inflammation, a key driver of heart disease
Reduces oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol: The oil protects LDL particles from oxidative damage, a key factor in the development of heart disease
Improves blood vessel health: Olive oil improves the function of the endothelium, which is the lining of the blood vessels
Helps manage blood clotting: Some studies suggest that olive oil can help prevent unwanted blood clotting, a key feature of heart attacks and strokes
Lowers blood pressure: One study in patients with elevated blood pressure found that olive oil reduced blood pressure significantly and lowered the need for blood pressure medication by 48%
Given the biological effects of extra virgin olive oil, it’s not surprising that people who consume the greatest amounts of it are significantly less likely to die from heart attacks and strokes.
Dozens — if not hundreds — of animal and human studies have shown that olive oil has major benefits for the heart. In fact, the evidence is strong enough to recommend that people who have or are at a high risk of developing heart disease include plenty of extra virgin olive oil in their diets.
Olive oil may be one of the healthiest foods you can eat for heart health. It reduces blood pressure and inflammation, protects LDL particles from oxidation, and may help prevent unwanted blood clotting.
Other health benefits of extra virgin olive oil (Evoo)
Although olive oil has mostly been studied for its effects on heart health, its consumption has also been associated with a number of other health benefits.
Olive oil and cancer
Cancer is a common cause of death and characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells.
Studies have shown that people living in the Mediterranean countries have a fairly low risk of cancer, and some have speculated that olive oil has something to do with it. One potential contributor to cancer is oxidative damage due to harmful molecules called free radicals. However, extra virgin olive oil is high in antioxidants that reduce oxidative damage., 29Trusted Source).
The oleic acid in extra virgin olive oil is also highly resistant to oxidation and has been shown to have beneficial effects on genes linked to cancer (30Trusted Source, 31Trusted Source).
Many test-tube studies have observed that compounds in olive oil can help fight cancer at the molecular level (32, 33, 34Trusted Source). That said, controlled trials in humans have yet to study whether olive oil helps prevent cancer.
Extra Virgin Olive oil (Evoo) and Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease is the world’s most common neurodegenerative disease and a leading cause of dementia.
One feature of Alzheimer’s is a buildup of protein tangles called beta-amyloid plaques in certain neurons in the brain.
A study in mice observed that a substance in olive oil can help clear these plaques (35).
Additionally, a controlled study in humans showed that a Mediterranean diet enriched with olive oil improved brain function and reduced the risk of cognitive impairment (36Trusted Source). Preliminary evidence suggests that olive oil can help fight cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, although human studies need to confirm this.
Can you cook with extra virgin olive oil (Evoo)?
During cooking, fatty acids can oxidize, meaning they react with oxygen and become damaged. The double bonds in fatty acid molecules are mostly responsible for this. For this reason, saturated fats (no double bonds) are resistant to high heat, while polyunsaturated fats (many double bonds) are sensitive and become damaged.
The nutritional info of olive oil, which contains mostly monounsaturated fatty acids (only one double bond), is fairly resistant to high heat. In one study, researchers heated extra virgin olive oil to 356°F (180°C) for 36 hours. The oil was highly resistant to damage (37Trusted Source). Another study used olive oil for deep-frying, and it took 24–27 hours for it to reach damage levels that were deemed harmful (38Trusted Source). Overall, olive oil seems to be very safe even for cooking at a fairly high heat. In essence good for the bodies nutritional needs.
The bottom line
Olive oil is super healthy and very nutritious. For those who have heart disease or are at a high risk of developing it, olive oil is most definitely a superfood. However, be sure to purchase extra virgin olive oil that hasn’t been diluted with cheaper oils. The benefits of this wonderful fat are among the few things that most people in nutrition agree upon.
About Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil
For health conscious, discerning food lovers across all cultures and culinary backgrounds, Morocco Gold is a natural, unfiltered, ultra premium, polyphenol rich extra virgin olive oil, whose exquisite taste and health enhancing qualities are guaranteed by our rigorous testing, provenance and authenticity, and strict adherence to single estate sourcing, with no blending or mixing.
Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil
What is extra virgin olive oil good for : how is using Morocco Gold going to boost my nutrition?
Incredibly versatile, Morocco Gold is one of the best and most nutritious extra virgin olive oils for cooking and salad dressing. Here is some nutritional info: It is high in polyphenols and cold pressed within 24 hours of harvesting.
Morocco Gold shows why extra virgin olive oil is the healthiest fat on earth. It can also be used as an extra virgin olive oil for hair and as an extra virgin olive oil for skin.
Our gold award winning extra virgin olive oil represents the very best extra virgin olive oil.
The oil is produced from olives grown in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, where the unique micro-climate and geology provides ideal conditions for olive growing. Morocco Gold combines centuries of local cultivation and harvesting knowledge, with our rigorous traceability and quality assurance procedures to bring what is locally considered a ‘noble food’ to international markets.
The olive oil is produced from the Picholine Marocaine olive. Our olives are hand-picked early in the harvesting season when the fruit is young and first cold pressed within 24 hours of picking. Some more olive oil nutritional info: There is no mixing or blending with other oils to ensure genuine extra virgin quality.
As a result this gives Morocco Gold it’s distinctive green fruitiness, hints of sweet almonds, fresh turf and a hint of herbs. It has the distinctive ‘pepperiness’ (not too aggressive) of a fine extra virgin olive oil which as a consequence gives Morocco Gold a clean, well balanced finish.
Why extra virgin olive oil is the best olive oil you can buy and how polyphenols deliver the many health benefits of olive oil.
Updated September 30th 2021
Hippocrates extolled the virtue of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Summary
Extra virgin olive oil is very healthy. In fact, it is the healthiest of all olive oils and provides a range of benefits. Before we get into the specifics of olive oil and healthiness let’s get some background about at what extra virgin olive oil is, how it is produced before getting on to the reasons why it is so good for you and its specific health benefits.
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”
Hippocrates : father of modern medicine
Introduction
What Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil? – Extra virgin olive oil is a wholly natural, unrefined oil and the highest quality olive oil you can buy. How the fruit was grown, harvested and transported, how it was pressed into oil, and how the oil was packaged and bottled all contribute to ensure extra virgin olive oil like Morocco Gold is the best quality extra virgin olive oil.
What Makes Extra Virgin Olive Oil So Healthy? – The biggest thing that makes extra virgin olive oil so healthy and beneficial is its unique disease-fighting component, polyphenols. Polyphenols are a potent antioxidant; the amount of polyphenols found in extra virgin olive oil is truly amazing!
What Makes Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil So Special? – Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil is high in polyphenols. The high polyphenol content is dependent on three factors. First is the variety of the olive, secondly the climate and terroire of the growing region and thirdly the actual time in the growing season that the crop is harvested.
Our latest harvest has produced a low acidity level of 0.2% together with the highest level of polyphenols yet seen in our extra virgin olive oil of 644mg/kg.
The Health Benefits Of Extra Virgin Olive Oil – There are a number of different types of polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil, including oleuropein, tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol, oleocanthal and oleacein. Each are considered extremely strong antioxidants, and are linked to a number of different health benefits, including:
Maintenance of normal blood pressure
Keeping the upper respiratory tract healthy
Protecting proteins in the brain that are involved in memory, learning and thinking
Helping to keep blood sugar under control
Treating the symptoms of and/or preventing type 2 diabetes
Protecting blood lipids from oxidative damage
Acting as an anti-inflamatory
Extra Virgin Olive Oil May Help Protect Against Covid – As reported in the Olive Oil Times , extra virgin olive oil has been shown to reduce levels of cytokine in the body, which in turn can reduce both the symptoms associated with COVID-19 and their severity.
First Of All – What Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
Not all olive oil is the same. There are different grades of olive oil according to its level of acidity, or level of free oleic acid within the olive oil. The amount of free oleic acid in olive oil indicates the extent to which fat has broken down into fatty acids.
Extra virgin olive oil is a wholly natural, unrefined oil and the highest quality olive oil you can buy. Genuine extra virgin olive oil is rare and as a result is slightly more expensive. The definition of extra virgin olive oil is very precise regards production methods, taste and chemical composition.
To qualify as extra virgin olive oil, it is an olive oil of less than 0.8% acidity and has no taste defects. In practice, the very best extra virgin olive oils have acidity levels much lower. Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil is consistently below 0.5%, normally around 0.25% to 0.3% depending on the weather conditions throughout the growing season.
Extra virgin olive oil is completely natural. It is not treated with chemicals or altered by temperature. It is typically has a golden-green colour, with a distinctive fresh, green flavour and a light peppery finish.
How the fruit was grown, harvested and transported, how it was pressed into oil, and how the oil was packaged and bottled all contribute to ensure extra virgin olive oil like Morocco Gold is the best quality olive oil you can buy.
The best extra virgin olive oils are produced when the olives are young and green. They are hand-picked and handled with care and attention throughout the harvesting process. The olives are pressed using solely mechanical means within 24 hours of picking at temperature of below 28 º C.
Why Choose Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
There are many reasons why people choose extra virgin olive oil like Morocco Gold over other types of oils. Whether this is extra virgin olive oil as part of a healthy diet, extra virgin olive oil for its delicious taste or extra virgin oil because of its now well-researched and documented health benefits. Extra virgin olive oil is probably the most extensively researched foodstuff on the planet and the health benefits are evidence based.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil For Health & Wellbeing
We all know that Extra Virgin Olive Oil is great for drizzling over salads and creating that perfect bruschetta however not too much is known about the qualities of olive oil on health. It is, unquestionably the most flavoursome, aromatic and healthy of all the olive oils. But most people in the USA and UK don’t really know the extent of the health benefits of this masterful and original superfood creation. In fact they actually consume less than a tenth of what is consumed by people in other Mediterranean countries, which means they could be missing out on a simple and effective way to improve health and wellbeing.
What Makes Extra Virgin Olive Oil So Healthy?
Extra virgin olive oil, sunflower oil and canola oil are high in monounsaturated fat (the healthy-for-you kind of fat). So what would put extra virgin olive oil above the others if their fat make-up so similar? It’s not just about the kind of fat molecules that they are made up of, extra virgin olive oil has some extra magic. The biggest thing that makes extra virgin olive oil so healthy is its unique disease-fighting component.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is probably the most extensively researched foodstuff on the planet and the health benefits are evidence based. Thanks to the recent spotlight on the Mediterranean Diet, extensive research has been done on the phytonutrient composition of olive oil. What has been discovered is an extensive list of phytonutrients; one of the most praised is its polyphenols. The amount of polyphenols found in extra virgin olive oil is truly amazing!
What Are Polyphenols?
Polyphenols are a group of over 500 phytochemicals, which are naturally occurring micronutrients in plants. These compounds give a plant its colour and can help to protect it from various dangers. When you eat plants with polyphenols, you reap the health benefits as well.
They also protect the olive oil from oxidative damage and contribute to its superior longevity and shelf life. They also affect the taste of extra virgin olive oil and give it its distinctive bitter flavour.
Polyphenols are a potent antioxidant – one that can decommission a nasty molecule in your body called free radicals. Free radicals can ricochet around inside your body and harm good cells. Antioxidants, such as the polyphenols found in extra virgin olive oil, work to neutralize free radicals; protecting the body from their harmful antics.
In fact the European Food Safety Agency has now approved health claims for extra virgin olive oils with polyphenol content of more than 250mg / kg. Morocco Gold contains polyphenols well above this level. So here are some of the ways that Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil can improve everyday health and well-being.
What Makes Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil So Special?
The high polyphenol content of Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil is dependent on three factors. First is the variety of the olive, secondly the climate and terroire of the growing region and thirdly the actual time in the growing season that the crop is harvested.
Morocco Gold is pressed from the Picholine Marocaine, the only type of olive to go into Morocco Gold. Oil from this variety is renowned for it’s high polyphenol count, oxidative stability and longevity.
Beni Mellal Region Olive Trees Harvested
Our olives are grown in a valley that is about 2,000 feet above sea level. This helps to create the additional climatic challenges that encourage polyphenol uptake within the olive tree. It is also an area with naturally occurring high phenols in the soil itself.
In soils, phenols are released over extended period of time from decomposing plant materials. This causes complex organic compounds to be slowly oxidized or to break down into simpler forms of sugars, amino sugars, aliphatic and phenolic organic acids. These are further transformed into microbial biomass or are reorganized, and further oxidized, into humic assemblages (fulvic and humic acids), which bind to clay minerals.
There has been a long debate about the ability of plants to uptake humic substances through their root systems and to metabolize them. There is now a consensus about how humus plays a hormonal role rather than simply a nutritional role in plant physiology. Olive trees grown in ‘challenging’ conditions encourage the uptake of naturally occurring phenols in the soil. This in turn aids the circulatory system within the olive tree, with the phenols eventually finding their way to the olive fruit itself.
Thirdly, our olives are picked when the fruit is young and green. As the olives age on the tree, the colour of the olive changes to red and then black, the size of the olive increases thus producing more oil, but the polyphenol level decreases. There is a great deal of expertise within the farming community where we source our oil to ensure that the harvest is collected at the optimum time to maximise the polyphenol level.
Types Of Polyphenols
There are a number of different types of polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil, including oleuropein, tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol, oleocanthal and oleacein. Each are considered extremely strong antioxidants, and are linked to a number of different health benefits, including:
Maintenance of normal blood pressure
Keeping the upper respiratory tract healthy
Protecting proteins in the brain that are involved in memory, learning and thinking
Helping to keep blood sugar under control
Treating the symptoms of and/or preventing type 2 diabetes
Protecting blood lipids from oxidative damage
Acting as an anti-inflamatory
Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil Is High In Polyphenols
Polyphenol content in Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil
What Conditions Can Extra Virgin Olive Help To Alleviate?
The following illustrates the range of chronic conditions where research into these polyphenols oil has demonstrated positive effects.
Health Benefits And Polyphenols
In fact the European Food Safety Authority has now approved health claims for extra virgin olive oils with polyphenol content of more than 250mg / kg. Morocco Gold contains polyphenols well above this level. So here are some of the ways that Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil can improve everyday health and well-being.
Cardiovascular diseases are the top cause of death in the industrialised world. A host of studies have documented that arteriosclerosis is closely linked to eating habits and lifestyle. Extra virgin olive oil helps heart health.
“… The lowest rates of death from coronary heart disease are currently recorded in the countries where olive oil is virtually the only fat consumed.”
Olive oil produces a small amount of secretion by the pancreas, making this organ “work” little, but efficiently and enough to carry out all its digestive functions. It stimulates the absorption of various nutrients (calcium, Iron, magnesium, etc.).
Olive oil, therefore, is a fat that is digested and absorbed really well. It has choice properties and a mild laxative effect that helps to combat constipation and bad breath.
Olive oil reduces the risk of the flow or reflux of food and gastric juice up from the stomach to the oesophagus, the gastric content of the stomach is released more slowly and gradually into the duodenum, giving a greater sensation of “fullness”.
Certain foods can raise blood pressure besides having an effect on body weight. Along with high blood cholesterol, cigarette smoking, obesity and diabetes, it is one of the main health problems of the developed world.
One in every four adults is hypertensive. This increases the risk of early death because of the damage to the body’s arteries, especially the arteries that supply blood to the heart, kidneys, brain and eyes. Addition of olive oil to a diet has a clear lowering effect on blood pressure. Regular consumption of olive oil decreases both systolic (maximum) and diastolic (minimum) blood pressure.
Phenols and polyphenols serve as the core substances that give extra virgin olive oil its unique anti-inflammatory properties. Researchers have determined that small amounts of extra virgin olive oil, as low as one tablespoon per day, can lower inflammatory signalling in our body, including levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha).
Interestingly, in Mediterranean-type diets that include daily intake of extra virgin olive oil, not only is there less production of signalling molecules like TNF-alpha, but there is also less activity by the cell receptors for these pro-inflammatory molecules. (This decreased receptor activity has been shown for tumour necrosis factor receptor 60 (TNFR 60) and tumour necrosis factor receptor 80 (TNFR 80). Levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) have also been show to decrease with daily intake of extra virgin olive oil.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance contained in foods of animal origin. Diets containing a large amount of animal fats raise blood cholesterol level, which is one of the chief risk factors of cardiovascular disease.
Olive oil lowers the levels of total blood cholesterol, LdL-cholesterol and triglycerides. At the same time it does not alter the levels of HbL-cholesterol (and may even raise them), which plays a protective role and prevents the formation of fatty patches and recurrent heart disease.
An Olive Oil rich diet is not only a good alternative in the treatment of diabetes, it may also help to prevent or delay the onset of the disease. How it does so is by preventing insulin resistance lowering triglycerides and ensuring better blood sugar level control and lower blood pressure.
Osteoporosis is a reduction in bone tissue mass that increases the risk of fractures. There are two types. Type I occurs in middle-aged, post-menopausal women and type II in the elderly. Olive oil appears to have a favourable effect on bone calcification, and bone mineralisation is better the more olive oil is consumed. It helps calcium absorption, thereby playing an important part during the period of growth and in the prevention of osteoporosis.
Two polyphenols from extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), oleocanthal (OLC) and ligstroside aglycone (LA), plus a chemically modified acetylated ligstroside aglycone (A-LA), and two marine polyunsaturated fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), were examined as potential anti-inflammatory agents for OA.
Acetylated ligstroside showed the most promising results for implementation in treating OA as it reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory genes such as inducible nitric oxide (iNOS), matrix metalloprotease-13 (MMP13) and interleukin-1β (IL1B) at both RNA and protein levels; decreased nitric oxide (NO) levels from cartilage explants and also reduced proteoglycan (PG) losses in human osteoarthritic cartilage explants and chondrocytes.
These results substantiate the role of polyphenols in OA with implications for therapeutic intervention and our understanding of OA pathophysiology.
A recent study by researchers at the National Research Council’s Institute of Food Sciences and the University of Salerno has shown that polyphenols from three different olive oil varieties have an inhibitory effect against several bacterial strains.
The tests were performed using 2.5 and 4.9 micrograms of the three polyphenol extracts against different pathogens. The results showed that the minimum concentration necessary to inhibit the growth of the pathogenic tester strains was low for all the polyphenolic extracts. This confirmed their general capacity to inhibit the growth of pathogenic or unwanted microorganisms.
In particular, all three extracts were effective in inhibiting the growth of Escherichia coli, a bacterium that is one of the causes of urinary tract infections. The three extracts also were found to be capable of inhibiting the growth of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, a well-known pathogen that is responsible for the formation of biofilms.
Research on the antibacterial activity of olive varieties grown in southern Italy have also now shown promise for natural treatments against E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
As few as 1–2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil per day have been associated with decreased risk of breast, respiratory tract, and digestive tract cancers. In the case of the digestive tract, reduced risk seems more likely in the upper tract (stomach and small intestine) than in the lower digestive tract (large intestine, including the colon).
Scientists have looked at several different mechanisms that might allow extra virgin olive oil to provide these anti-cancer effects. One group of studies have focused on the secoiridoids, oleuropein and decarboxylmethyl oleuropein, and determined that these extra virgin olive oil phytonutrients help shift some of our metabolic pathways in the direction of better stress resistance. In addition, the overall phenolic content of extra virgin olive oil has been associated with a decreased ability of cancer cells to regenerate. At least some of this effect involves the ability of two phenols in extra virgin olive oil—tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol—to block activity of an enzyme called matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MM-2).
Extra Virgin Olive Oil May Help Protect Against Covid
A common feature for many patients that get severe COVID is serious lung damage caused by an overly vigorous immune response. This is characterised by the creation of lots of inflammatory products called cytokines – the so-called cytokine storm.
As reported in the Olive Oil Times , extra virgin olive oil has been shown to reduce levels of cytokine in the body, which in turn can reduce both the symptoms associated with COVID-19 and their severity. Cytokines are small proteins that are crucial in controlling the growth and activity of other immune system cells and blood cells. When released, they signal the immune system to do its job. Cytokines affect the growth of all blood cells and other cells that help the body’s immune and inflammation responses.
Although cytokines are an important component of our immune system, too many of these can lead to what is known as a ‘cytokine storm’. This is essentially an overreaction of our immune system which can have a seriously detrimental impact on COVID-19 sufferers and, in some cases, lead to fatality. This is because cytokine storms reduce the amount of oxygen circulating in our blood, causing fluid build-up in the lungs and lead to life-threatening breathing difficulties.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Benefits Your Immune System
Regular consumption of extra virgin olive oil as part of a balanced Mediterranean Diet is one of eight recommended steps to help support a healthy immune system. But why, exactly, does the best quality extra virgin olive oil have such a beneficial effect on our immune system?
According to Ahmad Alkhatib, a researcher at Teesside University Center for Public Health: “Olive oil, especially extra virgin olive oil, contains monounsaturated fatty acids and several polyphenols including oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol. These have several antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, which can be linked with significant antiviral and antibacterial potential.”
“Oleuropein has shown potential antiviral activity against the respiratory syncytial virus, a common upper respiratory infection virus. This effect has been attributed to the antioxidative property of elenolic acid, the main fragment in oleuropein.”
Extra virgin olive oil is identified as one of the key foods in the Mediterranean diet with excellent antiviral superpowers. Vegetables, fish, nuts, herbs and seeds are all known to produce similar effects. This is due to the presence of polyphenols, flavonoids, sterols and unsaturated fatty acids – all of which contribute to these powerful properties.
Healthy Compounds In Extra Virgin Olive Oil Still Present After Exposure To Heat
New research confirms the key components in extra virgin olive oil survive temperature. The most healthy compounds found in extra virgin olive oil do not disappear when the oil is used for cooking, according to new research published in the scientific journal, Antioxidants. The implication may have an impact on future nutritional guidelines.
Researchers from the University of Barcelona focused on evaluating how the attributes of olive oil change when it is used for sautéing in a household kitchen. After cooking at a moderate temperature, (polyphenols and antioxidants) were still in the oil and in concentrations high enough to meet the E.U. parameters, meaning this oil should be used for cooking.– Julián Lozano Castellón, project coordinator
European Food Safety Authorty
Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to polyphenols in olive and protection of LDL particles from oxidative damage (ID 1333, 1638, 1639, 1696, 2865), maintenance of normal blood HDL cholesterol concentrations (ID 1639), maintenance of normal blood pressure (ID 3781), “anti-inflammatory properties” (ID 1882), “contributes to the upper respiratory tract health” (ID 3468), “can help to maintain a normal function of gastrointestinal tract” (3779), and “contributes to body defences against external agents” (ID 3467) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006
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