EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: a healthy fruit juice!

Olive oil is one of the very few foods – maybe the only one – that removes the need for the consumer to choose between taste and health, flavour and fitness, pleasure and a balanced diet!
Extra virgin olive oil, combines satisfying the taste buds with good nutrition, because its superb flavour is entirely consistent with a balanced diet.

We call it oil, but really extra virgin olive oil is an olive fruit juice, squeezed without the use of chemicals; it is a concentrate of unique tastes and incomparable flavours that will enhance any dish.

The oil is composed almost exclusively of triglycerides comprising a high percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid) and a limited amount of saturated fats, as well as a suitable content of polyunsaturates - essential for the human body, which is unable to synthesize them.

Extra virgin olive oil is not only easily digestible but it also stimulates the digestion because it promotes production of bile from the liver.
The calorie content of extra virgin olive oil is 9 Kcal per gram, and there are no differences in oils from a merely calorie-related standpoint.
It should also be pointed out that extra virgin olive oil, because of its rich aroma and taste, can be used sparingly, and therefore you can reduce the calorie content of the food you prepare.

The most important feature of extra virgin olive oil is perhaps its active and scientifically proven role in preventing cardio-circulatory diseases and in maintaining a good state of health.
It has been shown that a Mediterranean-type diet, rich in extra virgin olive oil, can lower LDL (bad cholesterol) levels in the blood and raise HDL (good cholesterol) levels, with remarkable benefits for the whole circulatory system. The presence of vitamin E and polyhydric phenols means that regular consumption of extra virgin olive oil has an antioxidant effect as it acts on the harmful activity of free radicals, thus slowing down the ageing process of our cells and reducing the appearance of tumours in the digestive system.
Extra virgin olive oil is essential in a correct daily diet, since it contributes to building cell structures by carrying vitamins A, D, E and K and playing a part in the composition of sexual hormones.