Olive Oil & Coconut Oil / belly fat
 

They're both good sources of medium chain fatty acids.

Information found on livingstrong.com. Search: "sources of medium chain triglycerides"

I still doubt that medium chain fatty acids can target/reduce belly fat. If you search on Wikipedia it says there are studies that favor both sides of the argument. Regardless of that, I favor extra virgin olive oil because it's rich in antioxidants. Olive oil also contains a small amount of saturated fat which the body needs for certain functions.

What about short chain fatty acids? Short chain fatty acids are said to be good for your colon. I'm not worried about this because it's synthesized by intestinal bacteria from dietary fiber. (A vegan diet provides lots of fiber.)

Here's one thing I wonder about:
 

I've been buying extra virgin olive oil in a 16.9 ounce (dark green) bottle and it takes me about 6 to 7 weeks to use one bottle. (I like buying it at Aldi's because it's only about $3.99.)

How long does it take for the oil's antioxidants to become oxidized and destroyed?

The best information I could find online is in the following link. It gives praise to extra virgin olive oil (saying that it resists oxidation) but doesn't say how long it will keep without becoming overly oxidized.

Oxidation of Fatty Acids - Olive Oil Stability - Why Olive Oil?

If you scroll down near the bottom you'll see a negative comment by Michael Bradley. He claims not all olive oils labeled "extra virgin" are extra virgin, even in Europe (Spain, Italy and elsewhere). If that's the case, what are the chances that I'm really getting "extra virgin" olive oil for only $3.99? Probably slim. Also, he says that very few companies provide the harvest date on the label. So if the oil is over a certain age, like 16 months, it can become seriously declined in quality.

He says they are working on publishing a grading system. Until that time comes, I won't be buying any more olive oil, or any oil for that matter.

Are you pulling my chain.....:1rotfl:

Try "extra virgin first cold press" olive oil from Italy or Spain. There will be a significant increase over the price you have been paying but I believe it is worth it.

"If you want to buy the best olive oil, look for organic extra virgin oil that is labeled "cold pressed" or, even better, "first cold pressed."

Cold pressed means that the oil was not heated over a certain temperature (usually 80 degrees Fahrenheit) during processing, thus retaining more nutrients and undergoing less degradation. First cold pressed, which is of even higher quality than cold pressed, means that the oil was made with the first pressing of the olives.

It's important to be careful when purchasing olive oil produced in the United States. The standards in the European Union are very strict on which oils can be labeled cold pressed or first cold pressed. The United States has no labeling regulations on olive oil, which means that any oil produced in the U.S. can be labeled "cold pressed" even if it's not, just like any oil can be labeled "extra virgin" even if it's not."

For the last couple of days I've been using various chopped nuts in soups, salads and oatmeal etc. and it seems to be just as satisfying. Nuts, like walnuts, provide good fats, protein and fiber. So I may not need olive oil.

But I'm going be looking at various brands of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) anyway. The following link gives some tips on how to tell if it's good EVOO.
And Aldi's Carlini brand did pass the test. In the past, I licked some of it off of a spoon and it was strong and bitter. Also, it usually solidifies, somewhat, in the fridge.

How to Pick Real Olive Oil | Mark's Daily Apple

All the way from Florida to NY? That would be a long chain.

Long-chain fatty acids are inflammatory. So be careful. ;)

I just learned something new today from a book titled, "Eating on the Wild Side" by Jo Robinson. The author says most people think Extra Virgin - cold pressed or first cold pressed is the best. But she says it must also be unfiltered in order to have the greatest amount of phytonutrients.
And if you hold it up to the light you shouldn't be able to see through it if it's unfiltered.

The health food store doesn't have it so I went to Fresh Market. They have brands labeled "Extra Virgin, cold pressed, unfiltered." But when I held them up to the light I could see through them very clearly. So I wonder what the heck is going on.

Unfortunately the Olive Oil industry is rife with fraud. Here is the link to an article on ABC News, or you can just type in Olive Oil Scam into google.

Olive Oil Fraud Rampant, Trade Agency Finds - ABC News

There is a brand mentioned in an article on the scam that is trustworthy. It is called California Olive Ranch, and Publix carries it.

While unfiltered oil may be slightly more beneficial than filtered (it's only slightly), the resulting pulp and pit fragments left in the oil will rot and cause the oil to spoil, unless consumed quickly.

According to the book I'm reading, "Eating On The Wild Side", the difference between filtered and unfiltered is more than slight. She says "clarifying" filters out half of the bionutrients. Squalene is mentioned as one of the important compounds needed to help fight cancer and protect the skin from sun damage.

Also, unfiltered oil, according to the author, doesn't cause the oil to rot and spoil faster. In fact it's just the opposite: The higher level of antioxidants in unfiltered oil protects the oil from oxidizing and going rancid. She says it retains its nutritional value for three months longer when it's unfiltered.

If you're buying unfiltered olive oil at $3.99 for 16 ounces, and you believe it's for real, you should do some more reading on the olive oil fraud.

Here's a good article for you to read. They were mentioned as trustworthy olive oil producers in the article on the fraud, along with other companies, and you can get their oil at Publix. They don't filter any of their oils.
http://consumers.californiaoliveranc...he-difference/

It is a decent price for the real thing, and you get what you paid for, plus excellent taste as well. We use it, and it holds up a long time, as long as you say it takes for you to finish yours. Really, VPL, give it a look-see. I was sold on only oil from Italy till I read the article about the fraud that mentioned this as one of the trustworthy companies.

Buyer beware. :shocked:

The brand I bought at Aldi's was Carlini. It didn't say unfiltered. But it did pass the taste test and the fridge test. Often, it got so thick in the fridge it wouldn't pour. I'd have to let it warm up before it would come out of the bottle.

If they don't filter any of their oils, why doesn't it say "unfiltered" on the label? I just read your link and I see why, it's done by "spinning" and then gravity. It seems to me that if you remove all of the pulp, you're removing the best part. It's like the difference between eating a whole orange and drinking orange juice. But for them it's good because they can keep it longer until such time as it is all sold and shipped.

I already bought it from Publix this past Saturday. I didn't say anything because I was waiting to see if it would pass the fridge test but so far it hasn't thickened up. It just shows a slight haziness. Maybe it takes more time? We'll see. It does taste like olive oil but it's not as strong as the Aldi brand. When you taste good (unfiltered) olive oil straight from the spoon, it should be much stronger and somewhat bitter.

If you like the taste of your oil from Aldi's and it passes the test, stick with it. As for the taste, there are many different olive oil tastes, depending on soil conditions, type of oil and country of origin. I use a fruity Olive oil in salad dressings, a more pungent, grassy oil as a finishing oil, and a more bitter finish oil for dipping. But that's just my taste.

As for solidifying in the fridge, this is from an article on same, from the question and answer, as to why fridge test is not reliable.

Paul: No, you can’t. Some olive oils can have as little as 55% monounsaturated fat, and lots of linoleic acid (a polyunsaturated fat), similar to soybean oil: olive oils made from the Arbequina (a popular one for California oils), Chemlali, or Chétoui cultivars (the later two being the dominant ones in Tunisia) are especially prone to low monounsaturated fat levels. Unless they also have a lot of waxes, these oils probably wouldn’t freeze up. And a friend of mine in the olive oil business recently did an experiment where she put a very high-oleic-acid (83%) oil into the fridge, and it didn’t freeze up, for reasons not known: maybe the very low level of saturates, maybe a very low level

Olive oil is a natural product, made from >700 different varieties of olives, each with their own characteristics, grown under different conditions, picked at different levels of ripeness, and processed differently. There are just too many variables affecting waxes, fatty acid ratios, and the distribution of these into triglyceride structure to make the fridge test reliable as a positive or negative screen for authenticity (let alone quality).

Butter is a natural product too. And so is lard.