41 Virgin Olive Oil Benefits The most important sources of saturated fats are usually meats and derivatives and dairy products (cream, cheese, butter). Cholesterol consumption in a healthy adult should not exceed 300 mg/day (Figure 1.4a). Nevertheless, we now know that the main risk factor for having high blood cholesterol levels is not the cholesterol present in food (exogenous cholesterol), but the endogenous cholesterol which is generated to excess in the body due to a metabolism failure. From a nutritional point of view, although not all fats are equals, there are no good or bad ones but rather an excessive consumption within the framework of a non-balanced diet. The same occurs with carbohydrates whose over-consumption, especially sugars, is as negative as that of fats. A concept that, to some extent, can also be also applied to proteins. 1.2. NUTRITIONAL AND DIETETIC PROPERTIES OF EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL Characteristics and types of olive oil From the olives, the fruit of the olive tree, the oil with the best nutritional and also gastronomic properties is obtained. High quality olive oils are produced by pressure which allows the preservation of a large number of compounds such as pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids), vitamins, antioxidants (polyphenols), and aromatic substances. Extra virgin olive oil is yellowish green and should be clean and transparent. The degree of acidity (the percentage of free fatty acids expressed as oleic acid), which should be as low as possible, is an indicative parameter of its nutritional and commercial value. Virgin olive oil has an acidity lower than or equal to 2 degrees, whereas extra virgin olive oil has one lower than or equal to 0.8 degrees. As virgin olive oil is obtained by mechanical or physical procedures its nature remains unaltered. It has not been refined, and has only undergone such procedures as washing, decantation, centrifugation, and filtering without any contact with solvents or other chemical compounds. It preserves the taste, the flavour, the vitamins, the antioxidants and other compounds of the olive. Virgin olive oil can be considered a “fatty fruit juice”. In fact, the Spanish word for oil, “aceite”, comes from the Jewish word “az-zeit” (olive juice).
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