Just how healthy is extra virgin olive oil?

We've all read about the health perks of extra virgin olive oil, but it turns out this tasty fat is good for more than just heart health. Did you know olives and olive oil are a good source of vitamin E and contain vitamin A and K, iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium? They're also a great source of amino acids! Thanks to all the vitamins, and minerals, olives, and their oil, are great for eye, skin, bone, and cell health as well as immune function. 

Olive oil is good for more than just heart health

Some interesting facts!

• The olive is made up of 15 to 20 percent oil

• Approximately 75 percent of that oil is heart healthy mono-unsaturated fatty acid

• Olive oil facilitates overall digestion and absorption of nutrients, including crucial fat-soluble vitamins (so bypass those supermarket dressing next time!)

• Olive oil is naturally cholesterol, sodium, and carbohydrate-free

• Colour is not a factor. Greener oils comes from green olives (black olives yield pale oil)

• 98 percent of the world’s olive oil production comes from just 17 countries

• Olive oil coats, rather than penetrates, so foods fried in olive oil are less greasy than foods dried in other oil varieties