Difference Between Olive Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

When it is time to try a new diet or nutritional plan, generally one of the first type of foods to enter the trash are refined foods such as canola oil or margarine.

A handful of diet books support using coconut oil or Olive Oil to cook with since both have been demonstrated to have a variety of health benefits like:

Lowering bad cholesterol
Increasing good cholesterol
Stabilizing blood sugar
Providing healthy antioxidants

Next time you visit the store and see an assortment of options and variety of Olive Oils, how do you know which one you should choose?

For beginners, you can eliminate everything that doesn't have a"Extra Virgin" or"Virgin" label because those young olives taste the very best and have the most health benefits.

Olive Oil is just the oil that is extracted from the olives as they are picked off the trees. The clear differences begin with the sort of olive that is chosen and how the oil is extracted.

Unfortunately, we also have to worry about the additives used as well or other olives that are mixed by which is why our Olive Oil Experts suggest that we always support organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil to guarantee quality.

Once an olive is picked and the oil is extracted, it is either refined or unrefined which usually means that it is not treated and has a stronger flavor as a result. However, there is a trade off, while refined oils are processed, they contain no bitterness but also do not have as much of an olive aroma, flavor or color. Ultimately, it really becomes consumer reliant.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is always unrefined Olive Oil. In order to fulfill the standards of"extra virgin", the olives must have the classic olive taste and it has to contain all the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants discovered in olives. Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the not treated with chemicals or pesticides.

Virgin Olive Oil is one step lower in quality and it is also unrefined and produced very similar to Extra Virgin Olive Oil but is sometimes difficult to find on the internet or in stores.

Next there is traditional Olive Oil which is refined and treated with chemicals and additives and lower quality than Extra Virgin Olive Oil. If you want the true benefits from Olive Oil, we highly recommend that you choose organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.