Michi’s
Ladder – Tier
1: Olive
Oil
When choosing fats,
olive oil is a healthy choice. Olive oil contains monounsaturated
fat, a healthier type of fat that can lower your risk of
heart disease by reducing the total and low-density lipoprotein
(LDL, or "bad") cholesterol levels in your blood.
In contrast, saturated
and Trans fats — such as butter, animal fats, tropical
oils and partially hydrogenated oils — increase your
risk of heart disease by increasing your total and LDL
cholesterol levels.
According to the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA), consuming about 2 tablespoons
(23 grams) of olive oil a day may reduce your risk of heart
disease. You can get the most benefit by substituting olive
oil for saturated fats rather than just adding more olive
oil to your diet.
All types of olive oil
contain monounsaturated fat, but "extra-virgin" or "virgin" olive
oils are the least processed forms, so they're the most
heart healthy. Those types contain the highest levels of
polyphenols, a powerful antioxidant that also can promote
heart health.
The
History of Olives
The olive was native
to Asia Minor and spread from Iran, Syria and Palestine
to the rest of the Mediterranean basin 6,000 years ago.
It is among the oldest known cultivated trees in the world
- being grown before the written language was invented.
It was being grown on Crete by 3,000 BC and may have been
the source of the wealth of the Minoan kingdom. The Phoenicians
spread the olive to the Mediterranean shores of Africa
and Southern Europe. Olives have been found in Egyptian
tombs from 2,000 years BC. The olive culture was spread
to the early Greeks then Romans. As the Romans extended
their domain they brought the olive with them.
1,400 years ago the
Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, advised his followers to apply
olive oil to their bodies, and himself used oil on his
head. The use of oil is found in many religions and cultures.
It has been used during special ceremonies as well as a
general health measure. During baptism in the Christian
church, holy oil, which is often olive oil, may be used
for anointment. At the Christmas mass, olive oil blessed
by the bishop, "chrism", is used in the ceremony.
Like the grape, the Christian missionaries brought the
olive tree with them to California for food but also for
ceremonial use. Olive oil was used to anoint the early
kings of the Greeks and Jews. The Greeks anointed winning
athletes. Olive oil has also been used to anoint the dead
in many cultures.
The olive trees on the
Mount of Olives in Jerusalem are reputed to be over 2000
years old, still relative newcomers considering the long
domestication of the olive. We don't know the exact variety
of the trees on the Mount. Man has manipulated the olive
tree for so many thousands of years that it is unclear
what varieties came from which other varieties. Varieties
in one country have been found to be identical to differently
named varieties in another. Some research is now being
done using gene mapping techniques to figure out the olive
family tree. Shrub-like "feral" olives still
exist in the Middle East and represent the original stock
from which all other olives are descended.
In the past several
hundred years the olive has spread to North and South America,
Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
