Hey guys, Dr. Axe here, founder of DrAxe.com and doctor of natural medicine.
Today I want to answer the question, is olive oil healthy and talk about the many health
benefits of olive oil.
And I might surprise you in this video to let you know, olive oil can be an incredible
super food.
The problem is 98% of olive oil today is not true extra virgin olive oil.
And because of it, much of our olive oil today is fake and it can actually have some negative
health benefits.
So in this video as well, I'm going to teach you and show you at the end how to pick out
some real quality olive oil.
My wife and I, Dr. Chelsea a few years ago went to Tuscany and we were in an area there
called Cinque Terre and I had some of their pesto and their olive oil and I remember holding
up the olive oil and smelling it.
It smelled and tasted like fresh herbs were exploding in my mouth at such a strong and
potent scent.
And I said to my wife, I said, "Wow.
This is the best olive oil I've ever had."
I said, "It's unlike anything I've had in the U.S."
And one of the things I started doing a lot of research during the trip and once I got
back from the trip and found out that the majority of olive oil today is laced with
other oils like soy bean oil, canola oil.
So it's actually not good for you, it's actually toxic to the body.
And I really started learning over there as we did some cheese tasting, olive oil tasting
and wine tasting tours, really seeing the process that they go through in caring for
and really creating amazing quality olive oil.
And so first thing when buying olive oil, you want to make sure that it is first pressed
and cold pressed.
I'll talk about more of that about the end.
But if you're buying quality olive oil, some of the things you're going to find in there,
number one it is packed with polyphenols.
And polyphenols are a type of anti-oxidant that really help support both the brain as
well as the heart.
And so if you're looking to lower cholesterol, if you're looking to lower blood pressure,
if you're looking to support your brain and focus and even prevent long term diseases
like Alzheimer's and Parkinson, we know that olive oil is a great super food because of
those polyphenols, those fat soluble anti-oxidants.
Also we know olive oil is full of what are known as mono and saturated fatty acids as
well as oleic acids.
And these types of fatty acids are very good for the heart.
They also support balancing hormones and help lubricate your joints.
And so again olive oil, an amazing super food for all of those internal systems within your
body.
And last and not least, olive oil is also packed with vitamin E. Vitamin E is crucial
for heart health, vitamin E is crucial for having healthy glowing skin.
So gain vitamin E another very important fat soluble anti-oxidant that is found in great
amounts in extra virgin olive oil.
So again, if you want to improve the health of your brain, your heart, as well as your
joints and your hormones, olive oil is a must have in your diet.
And its a key element of the Mediterranean diet.
We've seen through medical studies that those who were following a Mediterranean diet which
is high in olive oil and wild caught fish, so a lot of healthy fats, have lower incidences
of cardio-vascular disease.
So again olive oil, amazing super food for that.
Now here's the flip end of this.
Most olive oil today is not true olive oil.
It is loaded with . . . it's either watered down with soy bean oil, in fact there's a
great article and study out there talking about, is your olive oil fake?
In fact you can do an online search to find my article on it and just look up Dr. Axe
olive oil fake.
If you do that Google search will find my long form article with every detail about
. . . Even my five step program on how to pick the best olive oil and the olive oil
I personally recommend.
So again just Dr. Axe, Olive oil fake on Google and you'll find it on there.
But again, here's is what you want to do to find good and real olive.
Well let me say this.
The fake olive oil out there, because it has soy bean oil and genetically modified canola
oil, it's going to cause heart disease, it's going to be highly inflammatory.
Whereas, the Mediterranean diet in olive oil is anti-inflammatory and help can reverse
disease.
This other fake olive oil is going to be causing major health problems.
So here's what you want to look and here's how you know if you're getting good quality
olive oil.
Number one, now you can't always be doing when buying it but once you get it at home,
smell it.
I mean I'm smelling with this olive oil, I'm smelling pepper, I'm smelling fresh herbs,
I'm smelling olives.
I mean I have a really, it is a very distinct strong aroma and smell that should be with
your olive oil.
Your olive oil should always come in a dark glass bottle, whether it's dark brown or green.
Again, there should be a dark bottle there.
The other thing is if you put your olive oil in the refrigerator, it should turn a little
white and cloudy there as well.
So it should harden up a little bit or at least get cloudy there if you have the right
olive oil.
So again putting it in the fridge you know right away, opening it, you're smelling it.
Another thing you want the dark bottle that's number three.
Number four, you want to look for extra virgin olive oil.
Now, that's not the only thing you want to look for, but you wanted to look for extra
virgin and a few other things to look for, I try and buy sometimes certified or organic
or at least a company that doesn't use chemicals.
And also you want to look at the harvest season.
On this bottle here it says, Italian harvest season 2014.
And often at times it has a specific date.
In fact, this olive oil specifically, again the 2014, the fall season there.
And it even says the lot number, so this is like red wine.
I mean they have it in barrels, they have it in certain areas.
This is lot 14L5.
I mean we're talking about very specific things.
So when you're buying olive oil, you want it again, dark glass bottle, you want it to
be extra virgin olive oil, you want it to have that smell, you want to put it in the
refrigerator and it actually turns cloudy.
Or hardens slightly and then also you want to be able to see the harvest date on there,
and the expiration date there on the bottle.
Those are key elements in finding olive oil.
So to answer your question, is olive oil healthy?
Absolutely.
Olive oil has tremendous health benefits, it's one of the healthiest foods in the world.
It's great for your heart, your brain, your hormones, but it has to be real, unadulterated
true, extra virgin olive oil.
And if you want to learn more about the health benefits of olive oil, again check out my
articles on DrAxe.com.
D-R-A-X-E.com.
By the way, I've got some great healthy recipes and I've got a pesto recipe on my website
using true olive oil that you would love.
Just again go to DrAxe.com or search Dr. Axe pesto and you'll find my recipe there online.
And hey, if you've enjoyed this video and want to learn more about healing foods, make
sure you subscribe here to my YouTube channel.
Thanks for watching guys.
This has been me, Dr. Axe talking about, the many health benefits of olive oil.