橄欖油好處多，新鮮最要緊

By Allison Aubrey

David Greene （Host）： Were 1）sorting out some health food claims this morning， like 2）kombucha. Is this 3）fermented brew really good for you？ Well find out in a moment. But first， olive oil. The truth： not all oils are created equal. NPRs Allison Aubrey reports on what you need to look for to make sure youve got the good stuff.

Allison Aubrey： If you pay any attention to health trends， youve likely heard about the 4）Mediterranean diet. This is a pattern of eating that includes lots of vegetables， grains and fish—not so much meat—and generous portions of olive oil.

Mary Flynn： Olive oil is a very healthy food. I consider it more medicine than food.

Aubrey： Thats Mary Flynn. Shes an associate professor of medicine at Brown University. And she says the evidence that olive oil is good for your heart has never been more clear. She points to a big study published earlier this year in The New England Journal of Medicine， where researchers in Spain had men and women in their 50s， 60s and 70s who were at risk of heart disease follow one of three diets. Some ate a low-fat diet. Another group ate a Mediterranean diet with nuts. And a third group ate a Mediterranean diet that included nearly four 5）tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil per day.

Flynn： So， they could compare the three diets： Was it nuts， was it olive oil， or was the low fat diet as beneficial？

Aubrey： And what researchers found was that a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil cut the risk of heart attack and strokes by about 30%. Researchers even stopped the study early， since the benefits were so clear.

Tom Mueller： The fact is， there are a huge range of different health benefits of real extravirgin olive oil.

Aubrey： Thats Tom Mueller. He has spent the last six years investigating and writing about olive oil. He says olive oil is good for two reasons. Its mostly 6）unsaturated fat， and extra-virgin oil—which is the highest-grade and least-processed form of olive oil—contains a whole range of other beneficial plant compounds called 7）polyphenols. But heres the catch： Unfortunately， it turns out that more than half of the extra-virgin olive oil imported into the U.S. has been shown to be sub-standard.

Mueller： Its quite often just very low-grade olive oil that doesnt give you the health benefits and doesnt give you taste that extra-virgin should give you.

Aubrey： In fact， a study from UC Davis found that 69% of imports tested failed to meet a 8）USDA quality standard. And Mueller says， in some cases， the oil is just too old. By the time the imported olive oil reaches us， its often been shipped from place to place， and sometimes not stored well. And even if it isnt noticeably 9）rancid， many of the heart-healthy compounds have degraded or 10）fizzled out.

Mueller： Extra-virgin olive oil is fresh-squeezed olive juice. Its a fruit juice. Therefore， freshness is a critical question.

Aubrey： Mueller says the 11）FDA used to police olive oil imports to ensure producers were meeting quality and freshness standards. But those efforts have fallen off. So where does that leave those of us who want to get our hands on the healthy stuff？ Well， for starters， Mueller says look for brands that carry a harvest date on the bottle. California Olive Ranch oil—which is sold in lots of chain supermarkets nationwide—has a date clearly stamped on the back of the bottle. I met up with Gregg Kelley of California Olive Ranch at a Safeway grocery store.

Gregg Kelley： So this is a harvest date. Every single bottle produced by California Olive Ranch includes the date the olives were harvested to produce the oil in the bottle.

Aubrey： And he says the olives were pressed very quickly， so the oil is really fresh.

Kelley： The most important thing for consumers to remember when theyre purchasing extra-virgin olive oil is it is not wine. It does not get better with age. So olive oil never gets better than the day it was produced.

Aubrey： Now， as long as its properly stored， the freshness will hold in the bottle， at least for a while. Some bottles now carry an expiration date. But as soon as you open the bottle and expose the oil to oxygen and light， it will slowly start to degrade. So Tom Mueller says dont make the mistake his family made.

Mueller： I grew up with terrible oil. I grew up with a huge tin in my grandparents cabin， and that was olive oil for me. And it was moldy and 12）fusty， and it was there for years.

Aubrey： Many factors determine how quickly an olive oil goes bad. But studies suggest once youve opened it， you should consume it within four to six months.

Now， oils with the highest levels of hearthealthy compounds tend to be 13）pungent and 14）peppery. And Mueller says if the oil stings the back of your throat a little， that tells you that those beneficial polyphenols really are there. I got the chance to experience this during a tasting of fresh imported oils at Greg Bonaduccis（ph） olive oil shop in Brooklyn.

Greg Bonaducci： You ready？

Aubrey： Mm-hmm.

Bonaducci： This is an organic Coratina， and it was grown in Peru， and it was just crushed in April.

Aubrey： We did feel that 15）tickle， and it made us both cough.

Bonaducci： That pungency...（Soundbite of Coughing）

Bonaducci： This is definitely a two-cougher.（Laughter）

Aubrey： And Mueller says thats what youre looking for.

Mueller： Once you have that taste， you get used to the little bitterness and the little pungency， you never go back. Its a completely different experience.

Aubrey： And a healthy one， too.

戴維·格林（主持人）：今天上午我們會整理一些號稱是健康食品的食物，比如康普茶。這些發酵飲料真的對你有好處嗎？我們遲些會找出真相。首先我們來說說橄欖油。事實上，并不是所有的橄欖油都是“生而平等”。NPR的記者阿利森·奧布里在報道中告訴你需要注意什么才能得到優質的食品。

阿利森·奧布里：如果你有關注健康趨勢，你很可能已經聽說過地中海飲食。這種飲食模式包括食用大量蔬菜、五谷雜糧和魚類——不那么多的肉類——還有分量十足的橄欖油。

瑪麗·弗林：橄欖油是一種非常健康的食品。我認為它是食物，更是藥物。

奧布里：那是瑪麗·弗林，她是布朗大學藥物助理教授。她說有證據表明橄欖油有利于人的心臟是毫無疑問的，她指出今年年初刊登在《新英格蘭醫學雜志》一個大型研究，該研究的西班牙研究員讓處于心臟病發病風險的50、60和70多歲的男女中老年人遵循三種飲食當中的其中一種。有些食用低脂肪食品，另一組采用地中海飲食方式加堅果，第三組采用地中海飲食方式，還包括每天將近四大湯匙特純橄欖油。

弗林：那么，他們就可以比較這三種飲食方式：是堅果，還是橄欖油，或是低脂肪飲食對身體更有益？

奧布里：而研究人員發現地中海飲食加上豐富的橄欖油，降低了患心臟病和中風大概30%的風險。研究人員甚至提前結束研究，因為（橄欖油）的好處已經很顯而易見了。

湯姆·穆勒：事實上，真正的特純橄欖油在很大范圍內對健康有不同的好處。

奧布里：那是湯姆·穆勒，過去六年他都在研究和撰寫有關橄欖油的文章，他說，橄欖油有益源于兩方面原因。它的主要成分是不飽和脂肪酸，而特純橄欖油，那是頂級的，加工過程最少的橄欖油，它含有大量叫做多酚的有益植物化合物。然而問題是：很不幸，結果顯示進口到美國的過半特純橄欖油都低于標準水平。

穆勒：很低級別的橄欖油通常不會像特純橄欖油那樣給予你健康好處和應有的口感。

奧布里：事實上，加州大學戴維斯分校的研究發現，69%的進口橄欖油檢測都達不到美國農業部的質量標準。穆勒說，在某些情況下，橄欖油就是放太久。進口橄欖油到我們手里之前，它通常要從一個地方運到另一個地方，有時候儲藏得不好。就算沒有明顯的腐臭味，許多對心臟有益的化合物已經大打折扣或者毫無作用。

穆勒：特純橄欖油是鮮榨橄欖汁，因為是果汁，所以新鮮是個關鍵問題。

奧布里：穆勒說食品和藥物管理局過去常常監管橄欖油進口，以確保生產者達到質量和新鮮的標準，但是那些措施已經減少。那么我們這些想得到健康食品的人該怎么辦呢？首先，穆勒說找瓶子上印有采摘日期的品牌，加利福尼亞橄欖牧場的橄欖油在全國很多連鎖超市都有售，他們會在瓶子的背面清楚印有日期。我曾在西夫韋百貨店遇見過加利福尼亞橄欖牧場的格雷格·凱利。

格雷格·凱利：這是采摘日期，由加利福尼亞橄欖牧場生產的每一個瓶子都印有日期，這個日期包括橄欖采摘到生產入瓶的時間。

奧布里：他還說橄欖都是被快速壓榨的，所以橄欖油很新鮮。

凱利：購買特純橄欖油的時候，消費者要記住最重要的事情是：橄欖油不是酒，不會隨著年歲變得更純，所以橄欖油永遠不會比生產的那天更好。

奧布里：如今只要保存得當，新鮮會保存在瓶子里，至少能保存一陣子。雖然現在有些瓶子印有保質期，但是你一旦打開了瓶子，橄欖油就暴露在空氣和光照中，開始慢慢被腐蝕。所以湯姆·穆勒說不要犯他家人犯過的同樣錯誤。

穆勒：我吃劣質油長大，我在爺爺奶奶的小屋里長大，那里有個巨大的鐵罐子，里面裝著給我吃的橄欖油，那些油放了很多年，已經變質腐臭。

奧布里：很多因素決定橄欖油以多快的速度變質，但是研究建議你一旦打開了瓶子，應該在四到六個月內吃完。

現在，含有對心臟有益的化合物的頂級油一般具有刺激性和辛辣味。穆勒說如果橄欖油有點刺激你的喉嚨，證明那些有益的多酚真的還在。在布魯克林格雷格·博納杜奇的橄欖油商店里，我有機會嘗試新鮮的進口橄欖油，體驗了這種口感。

格雷格·博納杜奇：你準備好了嗎？

奧布里：嗯。

博納杜奇：這是有機科拉蒂橄欖品種（譯者注：該橄欖品種原產意大利，是世界聞名的油、果兩用品種），生長于秘魯，剛在四月份壓榨。

奧布里：我們確實有一種喉嚨發癢的感覺，讓我們都咳起來了。

博納杜奇：那辛辣味……（咳嗽聲）

博納杜奇：（新鮮得）會讓你咳兩次。（笑聲）

奧布里：穆勒說那正是你要找的。

穆勒：你一旦熟悉了這個味道，就會習慣那一點點的苦澀和辛辣，這樣你就不會再喜歡以前的味道，那是全然不同的體驗。

奧布里：而且也是健康的體驗。