Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Discover All Its Nutritional Values

Extra virgin olive oil improves our dishes and our health — to consume it mindfully, it's good to know its nutritional values and the beneficial properties that make it an essential condiment in our daily diet.It's the star ingredient of the Mediterranean diet and appears on our tables every day. It's a healthy food that can contribute to our physical wellbeing. But what are its nutritional values?Dieticians and nutritionists recommend consuming a maximum of four spoonfuls a day (a total of 20 g), preferably raw, but it's worth remembering that, having a high smoke point, extra virgin olive oil manages to keep its properties unchanged even when cooked.In a 100 g serving of the product there are 99 g of fat, but these are vegetable, unsaturated fats: our body absorbs and metabolizes them quickly. Unlike saturated fats, they promote the formation of HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol, which is not a source of danger to the body.At the same time, oleic acid reduces bad cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular problems. The high fat content makes it a calorie-rich food: every 100 g contains 882 calories. These are calories that, precisely thanks to the properties of unsaturated fats, are good for our body. For this reason, it shouldn't be eliminated from our diet even when dieting: consuming extra virgin olive oil helps the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K.Using a quality oil whose provenance is certain allows a restaurateur to save money over time, since the fragrance, aromas and viscosity of the product mean that much less of it is needed in the kitchen compared to a flat oil lacking any of the components — vitamins, tocopherols, phenolic compounds and carotenoids — that make the composition of extra virgin olive oil particularly interesting.Furthermore, recent research shows that cooked and fried foods retain their nutrients better if the oils used in the kitchen are rich in natural antioxidants, as only quality oils of certain provenance are. The greater or lesser lightness and digestibility of cooked foods depends largely on the method used and the cooking temperature, but above all on the type and quality of the oil used.Our extra virgin olive oil, thanks to its content of monounsaturated fatty acids, resists heat better and keeps its structure and properties substantially unchanged.