YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Summer 2017 | Page 5

CATHERINE SAXELBY, APD
Catherine is an Accredited Practising Dieitian who helps busy
women eat right, lose weight and boost their energy through her
business Foodwatch. To learn about Catherine visit
www.foodwatch.com.au or www.n4foodandhealth.com

ALL ABOUT
OLIVE OIL
Nutrition expert Catherine Saxelby helps you understand olive oil.
live oil is a key ingredient of
the famed Mediterranean diet.
It has been credited with
reduced cholesterol; lower rates of
heart and artery disease; lower rates of
certain cancers; and a slowing of the
ageing process.

O

What’s so special about
olive oil?
Olive oil is renowned for its low levels of
saturated fat (less than 15 per cent) and
high levels of monounsaturated fat in the
form of oleic acid (close to 70 per cent)
along with interesting greenish and
golden natural plant compounds. The big
question is, do you have to spend your
money on the expensive extra virgin
cold-pressed types or can any standard
olive oil do the job? Extra-virgin coldpressed olive oils are the preferred oil as
they have the least processing and retain
more of the olive’s natural polyphenol
antioxidants. In contrast, a standard olive
oil is more processed ie refined with less
antioxidants. These days, we can buy
good extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oils
at the supermarket for very reasonable
prices, but remember when looking,
choose one that is grown in Australia as it
will be local with less food miles.

The quality of an olive oil is generally measured as its ‘free’ fatty acid or ‘free
acidity’ level. This has nothing to do with the oil tasting acidic or sour. It simply
describes the uncoupling of the oil’s chemical structure so a lab can analyse for the
single fatty acids, which aren’t normally on their own in an oil. The technical
standards for olive oil reflect this. They require a true extra virgin olive oil to have no
more than 0.8 per cent free acid, which is very low.
A high level of free acid means the oil has been extracted carelessly and/or from
poor quality or bruised fruit; alternatively it tells you that there were delays between
harvesting and extraction. Perhaps the fruit was hit by a fruit fungus, or the picked
olives were stored too long before
pressing, or they were stored in tall
silos where they got squashed.
Whatever the cause, the free acidity
gives you a direct measure of the quality
of the oil, and reflects the care taken right
from blossoming and fruit-set to the
eventual sale and consumption of the oil.
The take home message is – low acidity
means high quality and a premium price,
so buy Australian-grown, and buy the
freshest you can as soon after harvest.
Look for the small triangle symbol on
the back of the label as your
guarantee. Some 95 per cent of all
olive oil now grown here is extra
virgin olive oil so we’re in a good
position.

Olive oil grading
Olive oil is graded
according to the pressing
from which it comes, as
well as on its flavour and
acidity (not
sourness but a low
level of free fatty
acid).

SUMMER 2017 YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE

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