Hardie French and his wife Laura opened Old Metairie Olive Oils and Vinegars last year because they love the fresh, complex flavor of high-quality olive oil. When their favorite New Orleans olive oil purveyor closed during the pandemic, the couple found themselves making regular trips to Mississippi.
“We would do these road trips on our days off and pick up bottles and bottles of olive oil for our friends and co-workers,” French remembered, “and one day Laura said, ‘Hey, should we just try to open a store here?’ So we did.”
Their shop carries more than 50 flavors of olive oil — fresh, fruity, bitter, peppery — as well as vinegar from around the globe.
But it’s not just the taste that draws customers to the store. For many of French’s customers, olive oil is all about the health benefits.
“People take it for circulation, anti-inflammation, protection from Alzheimer’s, help with arthritis, heart health and even more regular bowel movements,” French said. “We have customers who come in regularly and take their two tablespoons each day.”
The health benefits of olive oil are well known and are increasingly studied. But some health experts say that all olive oils are not created equal, and that certain production methods which allow for cheaper varieties could be stripping the oil of its health-related qualities.
French said the public is not fully aware of these differences, but that as more customers are educated, they are drawn to shops like his.
“Our prices are comparable to some of the better brands at the supermarket, but of course you can always get cheaper options,” he said. “But it’s not going to taste as good, and it’s not going to be as good for you.”
Differences in processing
One large difference in the quality of olive oil is in its method of production. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), which is thought of as the gold standard in olive oil quality, is produced by a method known as first cold-pressed. “First” refers to the fact that the olives will be pressed only a single time, ensuring only the purest oil is extracted. Meanwhile, “cold-pressed” ensures that the temperature during olive crushing and processing will not exceed 86 degrees Fahrenheit, protecting the oil’s flavor, antioxidants and nutrients.
Refined olive oil, on the other hand, is treated with heat or chemical solvents to remove impurities while creating a more neutral flavor and color. Refined olive oil also uses lower quality, overripe and damaged olives which, when combined with the higher yield produced by multiple “presses” per olive, also means that refined olive oil is less expensive than EVOO.
But, while there are certainly some differences in the health qualities associated with EVOO compared to refined olive oil, Amal Kaddoumi, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Augusta, said consuming even refined olive oil has many benefits.
Kaddoumi co-founded Oleolive, a biotechnology company in Shreveport that has worked to extract components from olive oil to combat diseases such as breast cancer and dementia.
“In one clinical trial we took humans classified with a mild cognitive impairment, which is the step that can sometimes precede Alzheimer’s disease,” Kaddoumi said. “We split the subjects into two groups and gave one group daily doses of extra virgin olive oil for six months while the other group was given refined olive oil for six months.”
“At the end of the trial,” she continued, “we retested the subjects for memory function and took new blood samples that measure biomarkers for Alzheimer’s, and do you know what we found? Both groups had enhanced memory, and both groups had reduced biomarkers for Alzheimer’s, regardless of the olive oil they consumed during the test.”
Comparing health benefits
According to Kaddoumi, one primary benefit that refined olive oil shares with EVOO is the presence of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that supports cardiovascular health, improves blood lipid profiles — which can lower your risk of heart disease, stroke and arterial damage — and reduces LDL cholesterol, commonly known as “bad” cholesterol.
“Olive oil contributes to a healthy gut microbiome and has a potential to improve insulin sensitivity which helps convert blood sugar into energy,” Kaddoumi said. “It also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. All of this together has associated olive consumption with reductions in cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s.”
Kaddoumi and other experts have noted, however, that there are certain benefits present in EVOO that refined olive oils lack.
For example, in the clinical trial referenced above, while memory was increased and biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease were reduced in both groups, only the group given EVOO experienced improved brain vascularity, which refers to the dense network of blood vessels that supply blood, oxygen and glucose to the brain while removing metabolic waste that can lead to dementia.
Mary Catherine Frances, a dietitian in Covington, said refined olive oil is good but EVOO is better.
“What we’re seeing is that the consumption of olive oil — five to seven teaspoons each day — can improve heart and brain health in many interconnected ways,” she said, “and extra virgin olive oil adds some new and important ways that refined olive oils lack.”
Those include increased levels of vitamins E and K. But perhaps most important, Frances said, are polyphenols, which are almost completely stripped away in the production of refined olive oil.
Polyphenols are a naturally occurring plant compound that functions as powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, which can protect cells from oxidative stress and lower the risk of chronic disease.
“There are countless ways our body comes under stress each day,” Frances explained, “and when it does it produces these atoms or molecules called ‘free radicals’ that wreak havoc on the body and produce oxidative stress that can cause injury to our cells, systemic inflammation and even accelerate aging and disease.”
“The polyphenols found in extra virgin olive oil can protect us by helping to stabilize those free radicals.”
What to look for when purchasing olive oil?
Guidelines from the American Heart Association recommend swapping solid saturated fats found in butter, lard and tropical oils such as coconut and palm for liquid plant oils such as olive oil. Using even refined olive oil can be a good investment in your health.
Refined olive oil is not only a less expensive option compared to EVOO, but it can also be better for cooking due its more neutral flavor and higher smoke point. When EVOO reaches its smoke point between 375 to 410 degrees, its nutritional qualities will break down and cause a change in taste and smell.
French said there are other tips to look for, as well.
“It’s important to understand how to navigate an olive oil label,” he said. “You want to make sure what you’re buying is pure olive oil, because some companies try to mix it with other types of non-olive oil without us noticing.”
French also said the olive oil should be protected from light and that it is important to look for the “crush date,” which gives the exact month and year when the olives were milled and pressed into oil. Many grocery store brands don’t include this information on their labels.
“You definitely want oil that is within two years of its crush date and you should consume it within six months or so after opening,” he said. “As olive oil gets older, it loses its flavor and all of these nutritional qualities we’ve been talking about. It doesn’t get better with age like wine.”
Labels at French’s Old Metairie Olive Oils and Vinegars also include polyphenol count for health-conscious shoppers.
Of course, this amount of information and attention to detail can be more expensive.
“Companies willing to put this information on their labels do it because they are proud of their product,” French said. “Rather than hide things, we want you to make informed decisions. And we’re able to keep our prices about the same as the grocery stores so you can protect your health and your bank account at the same time.”