The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved on the labels of extra virgin olive oil a statement that advise consumers to eat two tablespoons per day to reduce the risk of coronary damage, often due to an excess of saturated fats.
In no country in the world has been authorized warning of this kind and, indeed, European and Italian regulations explicitly forbid to report on food labels terms which refer to therapeutic properties.
Italian extra virgin olive oil grants health benefits thanks to its polyphenols, which give the characteristic flavor of oil; the more there are and the more spicy and fruity the oil is.

Polyphenols are a family of chemical compounds strongly reassessed because:
– Antioxidants fight “free radicals” organism capable of activating forms of cancer and other diseases;
– Reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) circulating in the blood, which thus remains smoother and with less risk of heart attacks.
Italian olives, especially those in the south-central, generally contain more polyphenols. Apulia, Umbria, Tuscany, Marche, Lazio and Sicily, provide almost 95% of the production of he Country. The most common olives belong to the families of Coratina, Frantoio and Leccino.

Among other things, the polyphenols, with their antioxidant action, lengthen the life of the oil, whose alteration is due, in fact, mainly to the action of oxygen.
The other components of the extra virgin olive oil are the unsaturated fatty mono-unsaturated acids (oleic acid): about 70% of the oil per liter. The oleic acid can be defined as the “guardian” of the arteries as it binds to cholesterol in the blood dragging via.
It also proved that the oleic acid makes extra virgin olive oil more assimilable also facilitating the transport of vitamins contained herein.
However, it is not advisable to drink a large quantity of oil per day because it would increase the level of triglycerides.

Written and posted by Giovanni Belia