Yes, there are more than a few health conspiracies afoot when it comes to nutrition.
What’s hard is you can spend all of your time learning and following cutting edge health advice and still end up fighting an uphill battle.
Take for instance the advice to use olive oil.
Studies have shown that the fats in olive oil are extremely good for you.
In fact, olive oil has been shown in numerous research studies to help with the following conditions.
As reported by Dr. Wiggy:
- Improving Cholesterol:
- One of the benefits of Olive oil is it has antioxidant properties. Because of this it can help to protect healthy LDL cholesterol from succumbing to oxidization which
will help prevent heart disease.
- Protects Blood Vessels:
Olive oil is known to promote endothelial function. It improves the lining of the blood vessels (endothelium) which allows for the improvement of blood flow, and promotes cardiovascular health.
- Can Lower Blood Pressure: Another study done by the Archives of Internal Medicine noted the inclusion of olive oil in the diet reduced blood pressure and was influential in helping up to 48% of test subjects kick their blood pressure meds.
- Fights Cancer: Since olive oil is high in antioxidants, and antioxidants are shown to help reduce the chance of cancer, scientists have studied the ability of olive oil to fight cancer. They’ve found that at the molecular level, it really does work, and can help fight the onset of cancer.
And that’s good advice to follow.
The good news is none of the scientific research surrounding olive oil has been perverted. Olive oil really can help improve your health in those ways.
No, the true problem comes from the olive oil manufacturers themselves.
You see, for the most part, the olive oil you buy in stores is anything but olive oil.
The problem is so pervasive a book has even been written on the subject.
And as ABC news reports, it’s a big, big problem.
They write:
The evidence on olive oil has been piling up for several years. A 2011 study of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) by the Olive Center at the University of California at Davis found that 73 percent of the five best-selling imported brands failed to meet the standards of taste and smell established for that grade of olive oil set by European regulators.
In a 2012 taste test, Consumer Reports found that only 9 out of 23 extra virgin olive oils tested met the tasting panel’s standards. The two it rated “excellent” both came from the U.S.
So how are they doing it, how do they get away with this fraud?
Many times the olive oil you’re buying has been mixed with inferior oils so companies can skimp out on paying for more expensive olive oil. Essentially it’s been diluted so they can stretch their supply. Apparently it’s an ancient practice, but now it’s being exposed.
Not only is this a problem because you’re paying more for a cheaper product, this can actually have some pretty harmful health effects.
When companies participate in this devious practice they will use oils like soy, canola, peanut oil. And some people are highly allergic to these oils.
Plus, the health benefits provided by olive oil cannot be reproduced by the other oils. In fact, these oils are proven time and time again actually hurt the body. So there’s nothing good that comes from this.
So how do you find out if your olive oil is good or not?
This video does a good job of explaining how to determine the quality of your oil.
Pretty interesting wouldn’t you agree?
