my favorite olive oil

We all know that olive oil is good for us, but have you ever really tasted it?

Last year we went to Napa and stopped at the Olive Press ( http://www.theolivepress.com/ ) for an olive oil tasting (sounds gross I know). Until that point I thought all olive oil tasted the same...boy was I wrong. We tasted all their oils and vinegars and ended up bringing enough home to last me until the other night. So last night when we had some french bread with dinner and we used plain old olive oil from the store to dip it in I was disappointed. You could totally taste the difference! I had to call and order some today. I swear that once you try it you'll never go back..and if you have the chance to visit I highly recommend it. The olives in our olive oil had been picked and processed right their at the winery just a couple months earlier. Our favorite is the Arbequina. I sent some to my mom and got her hooked on it too.

Anyway, enough promotion...why is olive oil better than others?

Olive oil is the highest oil in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). When monounsaturated fats replace saturated fats in the diet it will lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (bad), and triglycerides with little effect on HDL cholesterol (good). If MUFA replaces carbohydrates there is little change in the above numbers.

Other oils such as safflower, sunflower, and soybean are higher in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which if replacing saturated fat will lower LDL and HDL cholesterol. Most people don't want to lower their HDL levels because this helps to prevent heart disease. However, if you are replacing carbohydrates with PUFA you will lower LDL and raise HDL cholesterol (both desirable).

Here's a comparison of oils and their ratio's of different types of fat. Check it out...and try to choose the oils lower in saturated fats.

http://www.exrx.net/Nutrition/FatComparison.html