to answer the question, is olive oil healthy and talk about the many health benefits of

olive oil. And I might surprise you in this video to let you know, olive oil can be an

incredible super food. The problem is 98% of olive oil today is not true extra virgin

olive oil. And because of it, much of our olive oil today is fake and it can actually

have some negative health benefits. So in this video as well, I'm going to teach you

and show you at the end how to pick out some real quality olive oil.

My wife and I, Dr. Chelsea a few years ago went to Tuscany and we were in an area there

called Cinque Terre and I had some of their pesto and their olive oil and I remember holding

up the olive oil and smelling it. It smelled and tasted like fresh herbs were exploding

in my mouth at such a strong and potent scent. And I said to my wife, I said, "Wow. This

is the best olive oil I've ever had." I said, "It's unlike anything I've had in the U.S."

And one of the things I started doing a lot of research during the trip and once I got

back from the trip and found out that the majority of olive oil today is laced with

other oils like soy bean oil, canola oil. So it's actually not good for you, it's actually

toxic to the body. And I really started learning over there as we did some cheese tasting,

olive oil tasting and wine tasting tours, really seeing the process that they go through

in caring for and really creating amazing quality olive oil.

And so first thing when buying olive oil, you want to make sure that it is first pressed

and cold pressed. I'll talk about more of that about the end. But if you're buying quality

olive oil, some of the things you're going to find in there, number one it is packed

with polyphenols. And polyphenols are a type of anti-oxidant that really help support both

the brain as well as the heart. And so if you're looking to lower cholesterol, if you're

looking to lower blood pressure, if you're looking to support your brain and focus and

even prevent long term diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson, we know that olive oil is a

great super food because of those polyphenols, those fat soluble anti-oxidants.

Also we know olive oil is full of what are known as mono and saturated fatty acids as

well as oleic acids. And these types of fatty acids are very good for the heart. They also

support balancing hormones and help lubricate your joints. And so again olive oil, an amazing

super food for all of those internal systems within your body.

And last and not least, olive oil is also packed with vitamin E. Vitamin E is crucial

for heart health, vitamin E is crucial for having healthy glowing skin. So gain vitamin

E another very important fat soluble anti-oxidant that is found in great amounts in extra virgin

olive oil. So again, if you want to improve the health of your brain, your heart, as well

as your joints and your hormones, olive oil is a must have in your diet.

And its a key element of the Mediterranean diet. We've seen through medical studies that

those who were following a Mediterranean diet which is high in olive oil and wild caught

fish, so a lot of healthy fats, have lower incidences of cardio-vascular disease. So

again olive oil, amazing super food for that.

Now here's the flip end of this. Most olive oil today is not true olive oil. It is loaded

with . . . it's either watered down with soy bean oil, in fact there's a great article

and study out there talking about, is your olive oil fake? In fact you can do an online

search to find my article on it and just look up Dr. Axe olive oil fake. If you do that

Google search will find my long form article with every detail about . . . Even my five

step program on how to pick the best olive oil and the olive oil I personally recommend.

So again just Dr. Axe, Olive oil fake on Google and you'll find it on there.

But again, here's is what you want to do to find good and real olive. Well let me say

this. The fake olive oil out there, because it has soy bean oil and genetically modified

canola oil, it's going to cause heart disease, it's going to be highly inflammatory. Whereas,

the Mediterranean diet in olive oil is anti-inflammatory and help can reverse disease. This other fake

olive oil is going to be causing major health problems. So here's what you want to look

and here's how you know if you're getting good quality olive oil.

Number one, now you can't always be doing when buying it but once you get it at home,

smell it. I mean I'm smelling with this olive oil, I'm smelling pepper, I'm smelling fresh

herbs, I'm smelling olives. I mean I have a really, it is a very distinct strong aroma

and smell that should be with your olive oil. Your olive oil should always come in a dark

glass bottle, whether it's dark brown or green. Again, there should be a dark bottle there.

The other thing is if you put your olive oil in the refrigerator, it should turn a little

white and cloudy there as well. So it should harden up a little bit or at least get cloudy

there if you have the right olive oil. So again putting it in the fridge you know right

away, opening it, you're smelling it. Another thing you want the dark bottle that's number

three. Number four, you want to look for extra virgin olive oil. Now, that's not the only

thing you want to look for, but you wanted to look for extra virgin and a few other things

to look for, I try and buy sometimes certified or organic or at least a company that doesn't

use chemicals.

And also you want to look at the harvest season. On this bottle here it says, Italian harvest

season 2014. And often at times it has a specific date. In fact, this olive oil specifically,

again the 2014, the fall season there. And it even says the lot number, so this is like

red wine. I mean they have it in barrels, they have it in certain areas. This is lot

14L5. I mean we're talking about very specific things.

So when you're buying olive oil, you want it again, dark glass bottle, you want it to

be extra virgin olive oil, you want it to have that smell, you want to put it in the

refrigerator and it actually turns cloudy. Or hardens slightly and then also you want

to be able to see the harvest date on there, and the expiration date there on the bottle.

Those are key elements in finding olive oil.

So to answer your question, is olive oil healthy? Absolutely. Olive oil has tremendous health

benefits, it's one of the healthiest foods in the world. It's great for your heart, your

brain, your hormones, but it has to be real, unadulterated true, extra virgin olive oil.

And if you want to learn more about the health benefits of olive oil, again check out my

articles on DrAxe.com. D-R-A-X-E.com.

By the way, I've got some great healthy recipes and I've got a pesto recipe on my website

using true olive oil that you would love. Just again go to DrAxe.com or search Dr. Axe

pesto and you'll find my recipe there online. And hey, if you've enjoyed this video and

want to learn more about healing foods, make sure you subscribe here to my YouTube channel.

Thanks for watching guys. This has been me, Dr. Axe talking about, the many health benefits

of olive oil.