Your Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Is Fake

Written by


Did you know that the Mob makes money hand over fist by selling you fake olive oil? Olive oil is a $1.5 billion industry in the United States alone. According to Tom Mueller, an intrepid journalist who wrote a scandalously revealing book on the subject, 70% of the extra virgin olive oil sold is adulterated — cut with cheaper oils. Apparently, the mob’s been at it so long, that even most so-called “experts” can’t tell a real olive oil from a fake olive oil based on taste alone.
If you were a producer of one of these fake oils, 2008 was a bad year for you. That’s the year that more than 400 Italian police officers conducted a lengthy investigation dubbed “Operation Golden Oil” which led to the arrest of 23 people and the confiscation of 85 farms. It was quickly followed up by another investigation in which more than 40 additional people were arrested for for adding chlorophyll to sunflower and soybean oil and selling it as extra virgin olive oil, both in Italy and abroad.
The prevalence of these and other similar raids actually prompted the Australian government’s standards agency to allow olive oil brands to voluntarily submit their oils for lab tests. These authentication tests allow oils to be certified pure “extra-virgin olive oil.” Thus far in 2012, every imported brand of extra-virgin olive oil has failed the test to gain certification!
Last year, researchers at UC Davis tested 124 different samples from eight major brands of extra-virgin olive oil. More than seventy percent of the imported oils failed.
After reading these news stories last year, I was utterly intrigued when Tom Mueller’s tell all book finally came out. It took me months to get around to reading it, but when I did I couldn’t put the page-turner down. And the evidence? The evidence is damning.
In Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, Mr. Mueller exposes the inner workings of the olive oil industry, which has fallen prey to hi-tech, industry-wide fraud.
Authentic extra-virgin olive oil, he says, takes a lot of time, expense, and labor to make. On the flip side, it’s quick, cheap, and easy to doctor it.
The most common form of adulteration comes from mixing extra virgin olive oil with cheaper, lower-grade oils. Sometimes, it’s an oil from an altogether different source — like canola oil or colza oil. Other times, they blend extra virgin olive oil with a poorer quality olive oil. The blended oil is then chemically deodorized, colored, and possibly even flavored and sold as “extra-virgin” oil to a producer. In other words, if you find a major brand name olive oil is fake, it probably isn’t the brand’s fault. Rather, it’s their supplier’s.
Mueller’s book is deeply engaging, reading like a typical suspense novel or crime drama rather than a news story. His engrossing way with words sucks you in from page one and doesn’t let you go until you reach the back cover.
If you want the full, gripping, true story behind the olive oil racketeering, I highly recommend you buy and read Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil.

How can you tell if your oil’s fake?

Unfortunately, you can’t simply go by taste alone. Journalist Alex Renton shares this story:
I conducted a blind tasting of extra virgin olive oils a few years ago for a national newspaper that wanted “the truth on expensive olive oil”.
We had a dozen oils, and a panel consisting of an importer, an Italian deli owner and a couple of eminent foodies: the results were so embarrassing and confusing the piece was never published. The importer went into a fugue after he was informed that he’d pronounced his own premium product “disgusting”; the deli owner chose a bottle of highly dubious “Italian extra virgin” as his favourite (it had cost £1.99 at the discount store TK Maxx); and both the foodies gave a thumbs-up to Unilever’s much-derided Bertolli brand.
(Bertolli’s scurrilous reputation among olive oil brands came from their intimate involvement with selling fraudulent olive oils.)
So, if you can’t go by taste alone, how can you tell?
First, extra-virgin olive oil ought to be comprised of mostly monounsaturated fat that solidifies when cold. If you put a real extra-virgin olive oil in the refrigerator, it ought to become thick and cloudy, if not entirely solid, as it cools completely. It should be noted, however, that this is not a fail-proof test. That’s because adulterated oils may also become thick and cloudy in the refrigerator. After all, some adulterated extra-virgin olive oils are cut with low-grade, refined olive oil. Those would still clump up. Other adulterated extra-virgin olive oils are cut with just enough of the cheaper oils that they’ll still be mostly olive oil, so they’ll have some clumping, too. If, however, the oil you put in the fridge fails to thicken at all (still appearing as clear and runny as it did at room temperature), then you know something certain: that it’s fake!
Second, extra-virgin olive oil ought to be flammable enough to keep an oil lamp burning. Again, this isn’t a fail-proof test, and for the same reasons. But, it is certain that if your so-called “extra virgin olive oil” doesn’t keep a wick burning, it isn’t extra-virgin at all, but instead contains refined oils.
Since no completely fail-proof test exists, here’s what I do to know I’m getting a good oil: I know my farmer. He’s not a mobster; he’s a friend. And his farm has been growing and producing high-quality, fully authentic olive oils for more than a hundred years.
Artisan and locally-produced olive oils (the variety you can find from domestic small family farms) have always passed every single test of authenticity. So, buy locally. Buy from a farmer you can get to know and trust, and you’ll be set.
If you don’t have any local olive growers near you, then I personally vouch for the online olive oil suppliers found here. You can buy their olive oils online and trust that you’re getting an authentic extra-virgin olive oil.

(where to find real olive oil)

Sources
Researchers at UC Davis find problems again with purity of imported olive oil
Deborah Bogle and Tom Mueller “Losing our Virginity” The Advertiser May 12, 2012 Pg 11-14.
Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil
(photo by LexnGer)
Enhanced by Zemanta

What You Need To Know About Fresh Pressed Olive Oil

What You Need To Know About Fresh Pressed Olive Oil
A Conversation with “The Olive Oil Hunter,” T. J. Robinson
Olive Oil HunterLet me start out by saying this is a long interview but if you are into food, especially olive oil, you are going to want to read every word.
Who is The Olive Oil Hunter?
T. J. Robinson is one of the world's most respected authorities on olive oil. He travels around the world tasting and looking for the finest selections of olive oils available on the planet.
As one of the few Americans asked to serve as a judge in prestigious Italian olive oil tasting competitions, he has been described as having a "platinum palate." His specialty is knowing which specific olive varieties, growing regions, and little know estates and family-owned groves scattered throughout the Mediterranean and elsewhere produce the most heavenly, flavorful, and healthy olive oils.
It is my pleasure to introduce you to T. J. Robinson, aka "The Olive Oil Hunter".
RG: Thank you, T. J., for giving me the opportunity to share your vast knowledge of olive oil with my readers. And thanks again for sending me samples of your fresh-pressed olive oils from the Spanish harvest. They are so different—much fresher and more flavorful—than any olive oil I’ve ever tasted. What’s their secret?
TJ: As I tell all my foodie friends, if you want to experience the world’s most flavorful olive oil, there’s just one three-word secret to remember—fresher is better.
Olive oil, unlike wine, does not improve with time. Just the opposite. Olives, after all, are a fruit. And just as with fruit juice, olive oil is at its zenith of flavor and nutritional goodness immediately after it’s pressed. This is why the locals in the olive-growing regions of Italy, Spain, Greece, and other Mediterranean countries go wild—as do I—for fresh-pressed oil.
In many of these regions, the growers throw big parties at harvest time to celebrate the pressing of their new oil. The locals adore its vibrant, youthful bloom of green, fresh flavor and abundant health benefits. These marvelous qualities start to fade within three to six months after bottling. This is true of all olive oil, even the most expensive, which is why fresh-pressed oil is superior to any other olive oil you’ll ever taste.

fresh pressed olive oil
RG: Why don’t the oils in my gourmet store or supermarket taste this fresh?
TJ: The big problem for us in America is that only a precious trickle of fresh-pressed olive oil ever makes it to our shores. The vast majority of olive oil that finds its way to the U.S. gets shipped months—maybe even a year—after pressing, and travels here by slow cargo ship. As a result, the oil’s fresh, bright flavor is already on a downward spiral by the time it is unloaded at our docks. And then it may languish additional months on store shelves, losing more flavor and growing more stale.
This is why most olive oil companies don’t put a harvest date on their bottles. They may put a “best used by” date, but not a harvest date. They don’t want you to know how old the oil is. Savvy olive oil lovers know that if an olive oil is already nine months or older when they buy it - as most oils are—its healthy polyphenols and antioxidants, and above all, its fresh flavor, are already degraded or largely destroyed.
By contrast, my unique mission is to race our hand-picked estate and artisanal oils “from tree to table in 30 days or less” —that’s our motto—at the peak of their harvest-fresh flavor.
olive oils
RG: Please go on - you were talking about the problems with store-bought oils here in the U.S.
TJ: The overall problem is that for years America has been a dumping ground for some of the world’s worst oils. Unfortunately, many international producers believe that American consumers will buy anything as long as it has a fancy label, a pretty bottle, or a well-known brand name.
RG: What’s wrong with the oil inside many of those pretty bottles?
TJ: I’ve already mentioned there’s a universal lack of freshness, which means the oils are at best quite dull when compared with fresh-pressed oil. At worse, the oils are so stale that they’re even turning rancid, which means you’ve lost out not only on taste but also on the oil’s health benefits. Rancid oil is one of the unhealthiest foods you can put into your body. There are other problems, as well.
RG: Such as?
TJ: Many oils available here—especially those labeled “light”—have actually been chemically stripped to eradicate any defects that would normally disqualify them from being labeled “extra virgin.”
Also, many of the large olive oil companies, because they require so much oil for the mass market in the U.S., collect their olives from hundreds or even thousands of growers. Then they transport the oils pressed from this amorphous mass mixture, devoid of singular character or taste, via container ships. These ships often travel from port to port for a long time while the oils slosh around in hulls that are not temperature controlled. Heat and cold damage olive oil’s flavor and nutritive value.
Adding insult to injury, when these oils eventually hit the supermarket and gourmet stores, again they are often stored at less-than-optimum temperatures, which only hastens their deterioration. Once on the shelves, they are exposed to fluorescent lighting all day long. Light is murder on olive oil and takes a heavy toll on taste.
This is why you should always store olive oil in a cool, dark place and should never buy olive oil in a clear bottle! Another problem, though not as common, is dilution with less expensive oils. I’m sure you’ve read about the adulteration scandal in the Italian olive oil industry.
Olive oils destined for the American market, in many cases, have been found to contain oils other than olive—rapeseed, for example, or cheap nut oils from other countries. To its credit, the Italian government has taken steps to curb fraud in its olive oil industry, but the problems are still widespread. It’s easy to understand why. On one hand, the popularity of olive oil and the Mediterranean diet are soaring worldwide.
On the other hand, the money that unscrupulous producers can make by diluting olive oil with cheaper oils can be huge. Because of the vast quantities involved, authorities say that the counterfeiting of olive oil can actually be more lucrative than the drug trade. It’s much easier to get away with, the risk of getting caught is low, and the criminal penalties are relatively minor.
RG: How do you avoid these evils with the oils you import?
TJ: Let’s take them one at a time. First, freshness. Our oils are insanely bright, green and flavorful, which you can taste for yourself.
RG: Yes indeed!
TJ: This is because we race them here by jet straight from the harvest. We completely bypass the usual months-long distribution channel that other oils must navigate—from olive grove to the pressing mill, then to overseas warehouses, then to ships, then across the oceans, then to U.S. warehouses, then to regional distribution centers where they may languish additional months while stores sell off old inventories. Store owners are loath to throw out expensive olive oils, so they keep them on the shelves until they sell. Only then do they reorder.
extra virgin olive oilIn contrast, our custom-selected oils are raced, as soon as they are pressed, from the mill to a waiting jet plane that whisks them to the U.S., where they are transferred to rapid delivery trucks and rushed to our Club members’ doorsteps. As for our other quality controls, I am a fanatic, a certifiably neurotic perfectionist about every stage of our Club’s selection process. It helps enormously that, unlike the mass marketers of olive oil, our Club is so small and exclusive.
We represent a relatively tiny number of highly discriminating olive oil lovers. Since we don’t need massive quantities of oil, we have the luxury of handpicking our oils from the finest boutique producers and traditional family-owned estates around the world. From my many contacts in the industry and years of globetrotting, I know who the highest-quality artisanal producers are. These artisans and families are fiercely proud and protective of their names and reputations.
They wouldn’t dream of dishonoring their good names with inferior oil. Even so, I don’t take chances. I personally visit these premier growers during their harvest to personally inspect and taste their latest offerings. I also run spot-check lab analyses to confirm absolute purity. But believe it or not, the human palate—and I’ve got a well-trained one—is still the most reliable way to assure purity and extraordinary taste.
Also, while I taste for myself every oil under consideration, I also bring other highly trained independent tasters with me to verify my impressions. Moreover, many of the oils I select are the top award winners in their regional olive oil competitions, independently acclaimed as the best that a given region has to offer. Almost all of these award-winning artisanal olive oils are of such limited vintage that they are never shipped to America, with the sole exception of our Club.
On my recent trip to Spain, one of the growers said, “T. J., nobody does what you do!” I asked him what he meant. He said, “The other olive oil buyers in America never visit us and taste each oil before making their selections. They do everything by email and phone from the States.” He admired my fanatical dedication and confided that it inspired him and his local artisanal competitors to vie with each other to give me their very finest and most flavorful blends, as they know that I am their toughest judge and the one American buyer who would most appreciate their best oils.
They also know that we deal with some of America’s most discriminating olive oil lovers, including well-known chefs, prominent restaurateurs, and influential food writers, and they want their oils to reach and impress such people. After I’ve selected my favorites from the many exceptional oils offered, I have them bottled on the spot and shipped by jet to our fulfillment center in America. When they land, we run a series of tests once again to be sure the oils we selected are indeed the ones that have arrived.
Once we’re totally satisfied, we race these treasures to our members by rush delivery so they can experience the extraordinary fresh-pressed flavors with their family and friends. Because I am so hands-on at every step, and because I deal exclusively with boutique artisanal producers and respected family estates who are fiercely proud of their heritage and reputation, our members get to enjoy the finest, most flavorful olive oils on the planet, oils that suffer none of the multiple indignities heaped upon mass-market olive oil.
RG: Let me now ask about you, T. J. How did you come to be doing this? Surely as a child you didn’t look in the mirror and say, “When I grow up I want to be ‘The Olive Oil Hunter.’”
TJ: No, not exactly. But I’ve always been extremely passionate about all things edible. I grew up running around my grandparents’ garden barefoot, plucking the ripest and tastiest heirloom cherry tomatoes I could find. Later, after dropping out of what I called “real” college, I went to culinary school to further my passion for wonderful food. I excelled quickly and in spite of my young age became the chef at the Biltmore Estate Winery in Asheville, North Carolina, in the town where I was born.
While at the Biltmore, I met visiting Food Network celeb and über-talented food and wine journalist David Rosengarten. After working together over the weekend, he invited me to New York City to become his assistant. Moving to New York to work with David was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I spent most of my seven years with Rosengarten tasting the very best in food and wine, in New York and around the world. I’ve visited close to forty countries in my search for the absolute best gastronomic experiences.
Along the way I got to enjoy items that were completely unavailable in America. One item I discovered in Sicily was fresh-pressed olive oil. With one sniff, I fell madly in love and could not imagine living without it all year round. So I worked diligently and creatively to bring fresh-pressed olive oil to America on a regular basis.
RG: What exactly are your qualifications to be “The Olive Oil Hunter”?
olive oil bottlesTJ: I would say the most important qualifications are a passion for great olive oil, a well-trained palate, and a love of adventure. I seem to have been born with all three. First, I truly have a passion for great food. And since I have devoted my life to finding the world’s most flavorful olive oils, my passion for fresh-pressed olive oil has grown into a glorious obsession.
I’m thrilled and grateful to be able to work at something that makes me happy, and I’m proud to share my discoveries with fellow foodies and friends. As for my palate, I was born with a good one. As my food mentor David Rosengarten would describe it, I seem to be a natural-born “super taster,” someone who experiences the sense of taste with far greater intensity than average. But I have also worked hard to train my palate to detect the fine points of olive oil appreciation.
As part of my training, I’ve taken olive oil appreciation classes in California at UC Davis. And when we first formed the Club, I hired a highly respected olive oil expert, the British writer Judy Ridgway, to travel with me and teach me the ropes. Judy taught me the secrets of what to look for and how to taste like a professional when selecting the very best, freshest olive oil.
Finally, as for the love for adventure, my suitcases are always packed and I’m ready to vagabond over mountains, oceans, and whole continents to find the freshest and most flavorful olive oils on the planet for my Club members, whether in rural Tasmania or along the Israeli border.
RG: I’m sure many of my readers are thinking how great it must be to travel the globe sampling the world’s best olive oils, but I’m sure there is a lot of work involved and it isn’t as glamorous as it sounds. Can you speak on that subject?
TJ: The worst parts are the jet lag, challenging flight schedules, and amazing meals I must endure while visiting world-class producers around the world (wink, wink.) Being in the fresh-pressed olive oil business is my life’s work, my passion and pleasure, but there are many stresses, especially due to the unique way I do it.
In addition to gallivanting all over the world, I’m often up all hours of the night making sure our producers are on track with our order. Leaving nothing to chance, I personally shepherd every aspect of the oil's rush delivery to America, including booking the jet service, transportation to the airport, clearance through customs and red tape, and so on. From the moment our prized olive oil flows from the press, it’s a race against the clock to get it into my members’ hands and on to their tables for enjoyment.
We strive to deliver the oil “from tree to table in 30 days or less,” while the oil is at its peak of freshness and flavor. That puts pressure on me during our shipping cycle. By the way, this peak of freshness and flavor for the oils we ship will last from three to six months, after which even the best olive oil starts to decline.
RG: What makes a great olive oil?
TJ: I taste mostly for three things: fruitiness, bitterness, and pepperiness. Actually, the most important part of my selection process is screening out what I don’t want. I’m always looking for telltale defects. When I taste, I “listen” with my palate and the olive oil always tells me its story.
It tells me with honesty and openness if the olives were plucked from their tree early, late, or at the right moment of the harvest.
It tells me if the olives were plucked tenderly by hand or brutishly by machine, resulting in damage to the fruit.
It tells me if the olives were rushed to the mill at their peak of freshness or if they had to sit and wait too long before the pressing, causing some off-tasting fermentation to set in.
It tells me if the equipment the olives were pressed on was pristinely clean or not.
Letting the olive oil privately confess its story to me, including any and all flaws, is akin to how a trained wine critic listens to the wine. In tasting, I focus not only on detecting subtle defects, but also on what I and most foodies, chefs, and olive oil connoisseurs look for.
That is, we want olive oils that are “ALIVE” and have an aroma reminiscent of rolling around in a field planted with green grass and culinary herbs. I like my oils to be well-balanced and light in viscosity with pleasing flavors that linger and make me swoon.
RG: When I first tasted the Castillo De Canena and Portico Dela Villa that you gave me, I was surprised at how incredibly fresh they tasted. I was struck by their greenness and their smell of sweet hay or grass. To be honest, I was at first confused by their flavor because I’m not used to such youthful olive oil. I’m wondering if this is a common reaction from people you meet who are not accustomed to fresh-pressed olive oil?
TJ: Yes, it is a common reaction from people who have never had fresh olive oil. Some people, once they’ve had their first taste, describe it as an epiphany. It’s as if they’d been cooking with dried herbs their whole lives, and then suddenly replaced them with fresh herbs!
The truth is, people often hold preferences for familiar flavors—their mother’s chicken soup, for example—or even poor quality olive oil, oil that’s dull and past its prime. Sometimes the bitterness or pepperiness associated with really fresh olive oils and high polyphenol levels surprises their palates, as do the flavor nuances like hay or grass that you mentioned. But their palates quickly grow accustomed to this awakening, this explosion of freshness and flavor. And then they crave it. From then on, they find they cannot go back to consuming inferior oils. They become addicted!
RG: For those first-time tasters who may be startled by the freshness and the lush herbal nose, what would you tell them?
TJ: Sometimes people ask if our early harvest oils are “infused” because they’re so green and flavorful. I have to explain that the only thing in the bottle is fresh olive juice. Like wine grapes, olive varieties have different flavor profiles which can be influenced by soil, climate, date of harvest, etc. And like wine, there is a certain vocabulary that has evolved to describe those flavors. One oil might be reminiscent of culinary herbs or green tomatoes, while another might be more fruity or buttery. We also look for balance and a good mouthfeel or viscosity.
RG: After tasting the two oils straight off the back of my hand, I decided to sample them with some roasted potatoes and tomatoes we were having with dinner. The vegetables cut the bitterness and all I could taste was pure olive flavor. The oil seemed to bring my vegetables to life and gave them a whole new unique taste. Can you speak a little about how fresh-pressed oils bring out food’s flavor?
TJ: We humans are conditioned to crave fats—we love oil-rich dressings on our salads, butter on our potatoes, and where I’m from—the South—bacon with everything! I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Fat equals flavor.” And it’s true. Olive oil is a flavor carrier, and when it’s exquisitely fresh, it’s a seasoning in its own right. It’s the perfect “mother sauce” for food.
A bold oil, for example, is sensational when splashed on a char-grilled steak. It emphasizes the steak’s meatiness and tones down the bitterness of the char.
A more delicate oil can be the perfect complement to roasted or steamed vegetables, mild fish, white beans, rice, or potatoes.
When the oils are as fresh as these with flavors at their peak, they can be used just like a condiment. When we send our Club members their fresh-pressed oils, we include suggestions for flavor-enhancing ways to pair them with foods and use them in traditional recipes.
RG: I’ve experienced how these fresh-pressed olive oils can be perfect for dipping and finishing dishes, but can I cook with them?
TJ: Absolutely. I cook with fresh-pressed olive oil almost every day. I cook my morning eggs in it, drizzle it over toast, mash potatoes with it, and marinate meats in it. Cut it with a little fresh lemon juice, and it’s perfect over salads or roasted vegetables. You can even bake with it. The only thing I would not use it for is high-heat frying or sautéing. It has a lower smoking point than peanut or other vegetable oil, and the heat breaks down the flavor and healthy qualities of olive oil.
RG: A question on terminology: Does “fresh-pressed” olive oil have to be “extra virgin” olive oil or is there such a thing as fresh-pressed “virgin” olive oil?
TJ: Any olive oil, regardless of quality, can be described as “fresh-pressed.” The term is not a formal classification. Only oils that are free of defects and that satisfy the quality markers established by the International Olive Council can be called “extra virgin.” We would never consider oils for our Club members that didn’t meet the high standards of the IOC. Our fresh-pressed oils are exclusively extra-virgin, meaning we deliver to our members the freshest, most flavorful, and highest-quality extra-virgin oils available on earth.
RG: When you are at an olive oil grand tasting, what specifically are you looking for? Please describe your procedure for tasting olive oil and how home cooks can follow the same approach when judging their own oils.
TJ: First, I’m looking for a glorious “nose”—an aroma that leaps out of the glass. The oil should smell fresh and green. I shouldn’t detect any indication of defects either on the nose or the palate, signs the olives were mishandled at some point. Mustiness would be a red flag, for example, as would a “winey” smell.
On the tongue, I’m looking for a bouquet of harmonious flavors and nuances. Is it fruity? Well-balanced? Too bitter? Peppery? Earthy? Does it have a lingering, interesting finish? A pleasant mouth feel? Some olive oils taste too heavy and, well, oily.
Everything has to come together as in a great wine that just knocks your socks off. Contrary to popular belief, color has very little to do with an oil’s flavor profile. A yellowish oil, for example, does not mean the flavor will be buttery. In fact, professional tasters use special olive oil tasting glasses—blue or brown—to mask the oils’ hue and prevent judgments based on color.
Members of the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club receive instructions for hosting an olive oil tasting party with each shipment. But tasting oils at home needn’t be a complicated process. Simply pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a brandy snifter, cover the top with one hand, cup the bowl in the other, and swirl the oil to warm it and aerate it. Then remove your hand from the top of the glass and immediately smell the oil.
What associations does it trigger? Then taste the oil, letting it reach all parts of your tongue and taste receptors. Record your impressions, if desired. Professional tasters usually cleanse their palates between tastings by drinking water and eating wedges of green apple. But I also like to try the oils with simply prepared foods—bread, cheese, a green salad, potatoes, or roast chicken. You will be surprised at how the oils change when paired with food!
RG: You mentioned color. With wine I can look at the color and know if it is young or old. Is there a way to tell the age of olive oil by looking at it?
TJ: Unfortunately, there is no definitive way to tell the age of an oil by looking at it, although a greener oil may be an indication of olives that were harvested early. Some unscrupulous producers even add chlorophyll to their olive oil to make it greener, tricking consumers into believing they are buying a young, polyphenol-rich olive oil.
RG: What about smell? Is there a distinctive bouquet associated with fresh-pressed olive oil that is different from oils that are six to nine months old or even older?
TJ: Definitely. The oil should smell fresh and bright and should evoke associations with newly mown grass or freshly cut hay or even green tomatoes—all indicators of fresh oil and high polyphenol levels. Older oils might smell rancid or musty or even vinegary—meaning what’s in the bottle is sure to disappoint. Most of the oils on American store shelves have been warehoused for months in tanks, then sent to the U.S. via cargo ship, meaning they can be “elderly” even before the price stickers are slapped on.
RG: Once I open one of these fresh pressed olive oils, how much time do I have before it loses its exquisite qualities? Or, phrased differently, how soon do I have to use it up?
TJ: Unlike wine, olive oil does not age gracefully. Fresh olive oils have high antioxidant and polyphenol levels, which help protect them from degrading. That’s why they are so healthy for us! These are Mother Nature’s healthiest preservatives and they help to “preserve” us in good health as well! Ideally, you would use the oils within three months of receiving them.
We send three bottles per quarter. Some Club members open one bottle at a time, because oxygen, like heat and light, is an enemy of flavor. I usually advise people to open the most delicate oil first, as indicated by the tasting notes that accompany the shipment. However, many members cannot resist opening all three bottles at once in order to compare their unique qualities. I cannot blame them because I do this myself. I love comparing the different flavors.
RG: I hear foodies talk about different olive oils going better with different foods. They say some are better for dipping while others are better for drizzling and yet others are better for vinaigrettes. What’s your opinion on this subject and how do you recommend pairing food and olive oil?
TJ: I usually have several oils in my pantry —
a bold, assertive one for bitter greens or char-grilled meats or tuna.
Then I have a medium one for beans, potatoes, and pasta.
Finally, a delicate one for foods that require a lighter touch, like eggs, tender lettuces, soups, mild fish, or roast chicken.
Generally, my advice is to use what you enjoy. Olive oil is similar to wine in that there is great latitude in using and consuming it. No rights, no wrongs.


Enhanced by Zemanta

10 Most Overhyped Health Products on the Market

Posted by Staff Writers on Apr 11, 2012
hand sanitizerHealth products are notorious for making bold claims that are often bold-faced lies, but it doesn't take much for a person to get swept up in the hype of these popular products. Effective marketing strategies, like customer testimonials and word of mouth, help spread the hype and increase sales, but is it well deserved? So many of the health products we've come to trust and love have proven to be, well, pointless, and they may end up costing you more money and worries in the long run. Check out the 10 most overhyped health products on the market.
  1. Multivitamins

    Did you take your vitamins today? Are you pregnant? Do you have a vitamin deficiency? Those who fall into one of these categories may benefit more from taking a multivitamin versus a healthy person with a well-balanced diet. The truth is we don't know a whole lot about multivitamin supplements, but we do know that they aren't miracle pills. Multivitamins are extremely overhyped and may not be worth your money in the long run. Experts agree that it's far better to get your daily intake of vitamins and minerals through food, but if your diet isn't balanced, taking a multivitamin may not be a bad choice. Just know that multivitamins may not prevent you from having a heart attack or getting cancer, and they sure don't replace the need for exercise and a healthy diet.
  2. Antibacterial soap

Read The Rest Click Here

Two glasses of wine a day for middle-aged adults 'makes your life better'

Drinking a couple of glasses of wine each day improves your quality of life, researchers say.

They found that those who drink in moderation had better scores in an index that measures factors including dexterity, emotion, mobility and the ability to understand than those who abstained completely.

U.S. researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine studied 5,404 people at the age of 50, and continued to observe them over a follow-up period.
Those who drink in moderation scored better for dexterity, emotion and mobility, according to research
Those who drink in moderation scored better for dexterity, emotion and mobility, according to research


Most showed a stable pattern of alcohol consumption and ‘persistent moderate drinkers’ were identified.

They found that these regular moderate drinkers – those who consumed no more than 14 drinks a week and no more than three a day for women and four a day for men – scored highest in each section of the Health Utilities Index.

Subsequent changes in quality of life past 50 were similar in all groups, except for those who cut down on drinking from moderate levels – and these showed signs of decline.
Enhanced by Zemanta

A drink a day for pregnant women 'will NOT harm unborn baby's development'

Drinking alcohol while trying to conceive or in early pregnancy – even the occasional binge – will not harm the baby’s development, research has claimed.

It also shows moderate drinking, around one a day, does not affect the child’s IQ and other brain functions.


However, high levels of consumption – nine or more drinks a week – were linked to a lower attention span at the age of five.

The findings contradict official guidance, which says alcohol is best avoided in pregnancy and when trying to conceive.


Previous research has suggested the odd tipple does not affect intellectual or behavioural development, but this is the first significant evidence that occasional binge drinking in the early weeks of pregnancy is unlikely to irrevocably harm the baby.

Danish doctors behind the research said the findings should not be taken as a green light for pregnant women to binge drink, defined as having five or more drinks on one occasion.

Joint author Professor Ulrik Kesmodel, of Aarhus University Hospital, said it was clear that heavy, continuous drinking was detrimental to the unborn child.
Heavy drinking in pregnancy is linked to Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in children, which can cause physical, mental and behavioural problems. Newly pregnant women were often concerned their baby had been conceived at a time when they may have been binge drinking, said Prof Kesmodel.
 
But he added: ‘These findings, which were unexpected, should bring some comfort to women if they were drinking before they realised they were pregnant.’ A total of 1,628 women, aged 31 on average, were recruited for the research at their first antenatal visit.

Their weekly drinking habits were recorded, with low consumption defined as one to four drinks, moderate as five to eight and high levels as nine or more. Women who did not drink during pregnancy were included for comparison. In Denmark, one standard drink is equal to 12 grams of pure alcohol, compared with a unit of 7.9g in the UK.


Five studies published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology looked at the effects of alcohol on IQ, attention span, and functions such as planning, organisation and self-control in five-year-old children.
The study by Danish researchers contradicts the official advice warning pregnant women to stop drinking
The study by Danish researchers contradicts the official advice warning pregnant women to stop drinking


They showed occasional binge drinking, or low to moderate weekly drinking, in early pregnancy had no significant effect on the neurodevelopment of children aged five.


No differences in IQ and other tests were found between children whose mothers had up to eight drinks a week in pregnancy compared with those abstaining.

There was also no effect on a child’s selective attention and sustained attention in children of mothers drinking up to eight drinks a week. However, nine or more drinks a week were associated with a lower attention span among five-year-olds.

Prof Kesmodel, a consultant gynaecologist who carried out the studies with Erik Lykke Mortensen at the University of Copenhagen, said: ‘We were not so surprised to find no effects from lower levels of drinking, as previous research suggested this, but we didn’t even find subtle effects caused by low to moderate and binge drinking.

‘But the key message is that drinking during pregnancy is not beneficial and additional studies should be undertaken.’


The Department of Health said: ‘Our advice remains that women who are trying to conceive or are pregnant should avoid alcohol.’

4 cups of coffee a day 'cuts risk' of diabetes

(DAILYMAIL) — Drinking coffee may cut the risk of diabetes, say researchers.

Moderate consumption of coffee – four to five cups of coffee a day – may lower the chances of developing type 2 diabetes compared with those drinking it occasionally or not at all.

A new study suggests a cut in risk of around 30 per cent from regular consumption of coffee – whether it was caffeinated or decaffeinated.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Three cups of tea a day ‘protects against heart problems and diabetes’

Drinking just three cups of tea a day may protect against heart attacks and type 2 diabetes, claim researchers.

A review shows regular drinking of black tea, with or without milk, can reduce the risk of heart problems by cutting levels of bad cholesterol and blood sugar.
Experts say the benefits of tea are largely due to the flavonoid content – antioxidant ingredients that counteract cardiovascular disease.
Benefits: Researchers claim that drinking just three cups of tea a day may protect against heart attacks and type 2 diabetes
Benefits: Researchers claim that drinking just three cups of tea a day may protect against heart attacks and type 2 diabetes


One cup of tea provides 150-200mg of flavonoids and it is the best source of antioxidants in the nation’s diet. In terms of the delivery of antioxidants, two cups of tea is equivalent to five portions of vegetables.

A review in the journal Nutrition Bulletin found drinking three or more cups of black tea a day protects against heart disease and two or more cups a day may protect against type 2 diabetes.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Living to see 100 is just luck, not lifestyle

Those who are lucky enough to qualify for a telegram from the Queen have simply been dealt a good genetic hand at birth, the study indicates.
Academics studied almost 500 people between 95 and 109 and compared them with over 3,000 others born during the same period.
They found those who lived extremely long lives ate just as badly, drank and smoked just as much, took just as little exercise and were just as likely to be overweight as their long-gone friends.
The study was carried out by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who interviewed 477 very long lived Ashkenazi Jews.
Prof Nir Barzilai, director of the college's Institute of Ageing Research, said previous studies of this group had identified certain genes which protected them from the effects of a normal Western lifestyle.
MORE>>>>>>>

The War on Soy: Why the 'Miracle Food' May Be a Health Risk and Environmental Nightmare

Vegetarians aren't the only ones who should be concerned; there's soy in just about everything you eat these days -- including hamburgers, mac 'n cheese and salad dressing.

These days, you can get soy versions of just about any meat -- from hot dogs to buffalo wings. If you're lactose-intolerant you can still enjoy soy ice-cream and soy milk on your cereal. If you're out for a hike and need a quick boost of energy, you can nibble on soy candy bars.

Soy is a lucrative industry. According to Soyfoods Association of North America, from 1992 to 2008, sales of soy foods have increased from $300 million to $4 billion. From sales numbers to medical endorsements, it would seem that soy has reached a kind of miracle food status.

In 2000 the American Heart Association gave soy the thumbs up and the FDA proclaimed: "Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease." Over the course of the last decade medical professionals have touted its benefits in fighting not just cardiovascular disease, but cancers, osteoporosis and diabetes.

But soy's glory days may be coming to an end. New research is questioning its health benefits and even pointing out some potential risks. Although definitive evidence may be many years down the road, the American Heart Association has quietly withdrawn its support. And some groups are waging an all-out war, warning that soy can lead to certain kinds of cancers, lowered testosterone levels, and early-onset puberty in girls.

Most of the soy eaten today is also genetically modified, which may pose another set of health risks. The environmental implications of soy production, including massive deforestation, increased use of pesticides and threats to water and soil, are providing more fodder for soy's detractors.

All of this has many people wondering if they should even be eating it at all. And you are most likely eating it. Even if you're not a vegetarian or an avid tofu fan, there is a good chance you're still eating soy. Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved, explains that soy is now an ingredient in three-quarters of processed food on the market and just about everything you'd find in a fast food restaurant. It's used as filler in hamburgers, as vegetable oil and an emulsifier. It's in salad dressing, macaroni and cheese, and chicken nuggets.

"Even if you read every label and avoid cardboard boxes, you are likely to find soy in your supplements and vitamins (look out for vitamin E derived from soy oil), in foods such as canned tuna, soups, sauces, breads, meats (injected under poultry skin), and chocolate, and in pet food and body-care products," wrote Mary Vance for Terrain Magazine. "It hides in tofu dogs under aliases such as textured vegetable protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and lecithin--which is troubling, since the processing required to hydrolyze soy protein into vegetable protein produces excitotoxins such as glutamate (think MSG) and aspartate (a component of aspartame), which cause brain-cell death."

Health Risks or Rewards?
"I grew up in Houston on po' boys and the Wall Street Journal," said Robyn O'Brien. "I trusted our food system." But all that changed when one of her kids developed a food allergy and O'Brien began doing research to find out what's actually in our food and the companies behind it.

Her work led to the book,The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It, and she's become an incredible crusader on multiple fronts when it comes to food. She's also been educating consumers about soy's double-edged sword.

To understand why, it helps to know a little history about soy. It's been cultivated, starting in China, for 3,000 years. While Asian diets have generally included soy it has been in small amounts eaten fermented -- primarily via miso, natto and tempeh. "Fermenting soy creates health-promoting probiotics, the good bacteria our bodies need to maintain digestive and overall wellness," wrote Vance. "By contrast, in the United States, processed soy food snacks or shakes can contain over 20 grams of nonfermented soy protein in one serving."

It's not that all soy is bad; in fact, eating it in small doses can be quite healthy, if it's fermented. But when it's not, that's where the problems begin. Soy is a legume, which contains high amounts of phytic acid. Phytic acid binds to minerals (like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc), interfering with the body's ability to absorb them (which is usually a bad thing). Soy is also known to contain "antinutrients," among them enzyme inhibitors that interfere with protein digestion. The Chinese figured out about 2,000 years ago that antinutrients and phytic acid could be deactivated during fermentation, but in the processed-food laden land of the West, we've chosen cultural ignorance in favor of quick and cheap. Most of the soy we eat is unfermented.

Another issue with soy is its high amounts of isoflavones, which can be good and bad (hence the double-edged sword). Isoflavones are a powerful antioxidant, writes Robyn O'Brien in her book, that can help boost immunity. They also impact estrogen levels and have been shown to have positive effects on easing symptoms of menopause. "But that plus can also be a minus," writes O'Brien, "because isoflavones' very ability to boost estrogen production can also pose hazards to our health. For example, the FDA scientists point out, during pregnancy, isoflavones could boost estrogen levels even higher, 'which could be a risk factor for abnormal brain and reproductive tract development.'" There is also a risk of breast and other reproductive cancers for women and the potential for testicular cancer and infertility in men.

While there was much news about the American Heart Association endorsing soy in 2000, there was little attention given when the AHA changed its mind and quietly withdrew its pro-soy claims in 2006, O'Brien points out. She also learned that they were not the only ones who expressed concerned about soy. A study in the British medical journal Lancet in 1996 warned of the effects of soy in infant formula. The study found babies had levels of isoflavones that were five to 10 times higher than women taking soy supplements for menopause. The effects in girls could be early-onset puberty, obesity, breast and reproductive cancers. Boys could face testicular cancer, undescended testicles and infertility. Additionally, O'Brien says, a 2003 British study conducted by Gideon Lack of St. Mary's Hospital at Imperial College London followed 14,000 children from the womb through age 6 and found that kids who had been given soy formula as infants seemed almost three times as likely to develop a peanut allergy later on.

As if all this weren't disturbing enough, there's also another reason to be alarmed -- most of the soy we eat is genetically modified to withstand increasing doses of weed-killing herbicides, and really, we have no idea what the long-term affects of that might be. So, what's a person to do? Stay away from soy as much as possible, which also means avoiding processed foods. And, even if we choose not to eat those things, some of us may end up getting them anyway. "There are different sales channels that these companies are using to sell soy with little regard for the cost to people down the road," said O'Brien. "Soy that is not used in grocery stores, in restaurants, or consumed by livestock, is disposed of in school lunch programs, hospitals, and prisons."

One organization, the Weston A. Price Foundation, is actually engaged in a lawsuit on behalf of Illinois state prisoners who say they're eating a diet made of largely soy protein. "In their letters, the prisoners have described deliberate indifference to a myriad of serious health problems caused by the large amounts of soy in the diet," the WAP Foundation writes. "Complaints include chronic and painful constipation alternating with debilitating diarrhea, vomiting after eating, sharp pains in the digestive tract after consuming soy, passing out after soy-based meals, heart palpitations, rashes, acne, insomnia, panic attacks, depression and symptoms of hypothyroidism, such as low body temperature (feeling cold all the time), brain fog, fatigue, weight gain, frequent infections and an enlarged thyroid gland."

While the soy industry has profited from the widespread adoption of its products here in the United States, other developed countries have taken a more precautionary approach and not allowed soy to become as pervasive in their food supplies in an effort to protect the health of their citizens, says O'Brien. But it's not just people who are at risk. The deleterious effects of soy can start with the seed.

Goodbye Rainforests, Hello Roundup
Glenn Beck recently chastised Al Gore about his meat eating, telling him that if he really cared about the planet he should put down his burger and pick up some Tofurkey. But unfortunately, it's not that simple. Increasing evidence is showing that soy production is also catastrophic for the environment. Just like a beef burger, a soy-based veggie patty may also be leading to deforestation, water depletion, and pesticide pollution. But it's also important to note that the vast majority of soy produced globally isn't used for tofu and veggie sausage -- it's actually used to fatten livestock and create biofuels (so, yeah, you may still want to put down the burger).

"Soy is a really sexy crop; it's fantastic. It's nitrogen fixing, it's full of protein; it's very rich and flexible," Raj Patel said in an interview with New America Media. "The tragedy is that the way we grow it today has turned a blessing into a curse because the way that soy agriculture works is monocultural, which means it takes over large parts of land. In Brazil, that means the Cerrado and the rainforest in the Amazon, and they are draining the water that is beneath that land. There are even some soy and biofuel plantations in Brazil where the International Labor Organization says there are 40,000 slaves working today. Slaves! In Brazil, producing biofuels and soy."

Brazil is one of the leading soy producers in the world, second only to the U.S. and poised to quickly move to the top spot. And overall, the growth of the world market is huge, with global production doubling over the past 20 years and 210 million tons produced a year.

But it has also led to problems. Countries across Latin America, including Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia, are experiencing environmental problems similar to Brazil's. Rainforests are cleared, carbon emissions increase, indigenous and small farmers are displaced, aquifers are sucked dry, roads are built through sensitive ecosystems, and heavy pesticide use threatens waterways, soils and the health of locals. And as with all industrial monocultural farming, the rich (Monsanto, Cargill, and Bunge) get richer and the poor get poorer.

"The soy 'gold rush' has attracted fierce competition for land, leading to violence and murder," Marianne Betterly summarized in Mariri Magazine. "Hundreds of acres of rainforest are being cleared everyday, often by slave 'debt' laborers, to make room for more soy plantations."
So, we may get our cheap burgers and a deluge of soy-infused foods, but at great cost.
Adding to all these environmental problems with soy is the fact that much of the world's soy (and 85 percent of the U.S crop) is genetically engineered. Since the early '90s farmers in the United States (and now across the world) have been using Monsanto's Roundup Ready soy that is genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup, which is liberally sprayed on the crop to kill weeds.

Much of the promise of GE crops was that they'd lead to the use of less pesticides and herbicides, which threaten both human and environmental health. But that hasn't actually panned out. "Because herbicide-tolerant crops are designed to withstand application of weed killers, farmers can apply large amounts of pesticides without fear of harming their crops. The U.S. has seen more than a 15-fold increase in the use of glyphosate, or Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, on major crops from 1994 to 2005," Co-Op America reported.

And more damning evidence has just been released. A new study that just came out this week funded by a coalition of non-governmental organizations including the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Center for Food Safety, the Cornerstone Campaign, Californians for GE-Free Agriculture, Greenpeace International and Rural Advancement Fund International USA, found that GE corn, soybean and cotton crops have increased the use of weed-killing herbicides in the U.S. by 383 million pounds from 1996 to 2008.

The study will surely be accompanied by more alarms bells set off by small farmers, environmentalists and organic supporters. And it will be one more battle in the war against soy that's being fought on both health and environmental fronts. Perhaps it will make people think twice before eating soy products, processed food and even most meat.

Low-carb diet may be beneficial in type 2 diabetes

By Megan Rauscher
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Restricted-carbohydrate diets seem to improve blood sugar control and reduce harmful triglyceride levels in adults with type 2 diabetes, but it is unclear whether these diets aid in weight control or weight loss, new research suggests.
"Many patients with diabetes are looking for ways to lower blood sugar, and they are often confused about which meal plan would be best for them to follow," Dr. Julienne K. Kirk from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, noted in an email to Reuters Health.

"Even health professionals -- aware that carbohydrate foods have the largest impact on blood sugar -- are sometimes uncertain what type of diet to suggest to their patients," she added.

Kirk and colleagues pooled data from 13 studies that evaluated restricted-carbohydrate diets in type 2 diabetic patients.  "We included studies with a wide range of dietary carbohydrate content in this meta-analysis, from 4 percent to 45 percent of calories, to try to determine if there is a moderately restricted carbohydrate amount that would impact diabetes-related outcomes," they point out in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

The results showed that even moderate decreases in carbohydrates can be beneficial in treating type 2 diabetes, not only leading to improved blood sugar control but also to positive changes in lipid levels.

For example, a decrease in dietary carbohydrates from 65 percent to 35 percent could be expected to lead to about a 23 percent fall in triglycerides, the investigators report.

However, the overall effect of restricted-carbohydrate diets on body weight was equivocal.
Kirk noted that there is currently insufficient evidence to recommend low or very low carbohydrate diets (that is, less than 130 grams per day) in patients with diabetes "since long-term effects have not been fully investigated."

As a point of reference, 130 grams of carbohydrates equals 43 percent of calories in a 1,200-calorie diet, 30 percent of calories in a 1,700-calorie diet, and 24 percent of calories in a 2,200-calorie diet.

"While restriction of carbohydrate content is a necessary part of most meal plans, it must be achieved without sacrificing essential nutrients," Kirk said.  "The key, as in many aspects of diet and health, may lie in moderation."

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, January 2008.