Those who lead a healthy or "fit" lifestyle (as it is often called) follow a Mediterranean diet because one of the essential ingredients is extra virgin olive oil.

To recognize extra virgin olive oil, it is important to read the description on the packaging in detail to be well informed. You might think it is easy because you just have to read the description, but in reality, you need to know much more.

You have to analyze the type of oil you are buying very carefully; for that reason, we will tell you the characteristics of extra virgin olive oil.

You must keep in mind that:

• The juice must have been extracted at a temperature below 27°C
• Its acidity cannot exceed 0.8°; the lower it is, the better its quality

If it meets these characteristics, you can use it for salads as well as any other type of dish. Real olive oil is the best dressing used in the kitchen.

It is always recommended to keep extra virgin olive oil in a cool and dry place (with low humidity) and to maintain a more or less constant temperature between 16 and 24 degrees (although some specialists always recommend keeping it below 20 degrees).

In addition to being healthy due to its properties and benefits, it helps prevent overweight.

Do not believe that every green-yellow bottled olive oil is authentic, because many of those in the supermarket are refined and contain preservatives. Their price is too cheap because they are made with chemicals; another factor is that they do not have a high percentage of olives, but are instead diluted with other ingredients that affect the product.

Refined olive oils are made at high temperatures and contain hexane, which is considered an organic solvent that alters and harms health.

What does refined oil contain?

• Synthetic vitamin E
• Bleaching agents
• Synthetic tocopherols
• High temperature
• Phosphoric acid
• Chemical antioxidants, such as E-320 (BHA), E-321 (BHT)
• Organic solvents
• Soda as a neutralizing agent

This is what they claim to call "pure" oil because it has a long shelf life and is resistant to air and light. Therefore, this type of refined oil is packaged in plastic bottles. What is even more worrying is its price; being so cheap, many prefer to buy it without thinking about the side effects it generates for their health.

Refined oil is one of the main causes of cancer in the body.

Supermarkets tend to sell more refined oil because of its profitability. Is refined olive oil a blend? Yes, it is a mixture of virgin olive oil with a large percentage of ingredients from refined oil and other types of vegetable oils.

It is also used for oils such as:

• Sunflower
• Lard
• Margarine

But well, in this article, the main focus is the authentic and real extra virgin olive oil, so it is necessary to know the essential conditions that define it.

The acidity index indicates the amount of free fat it contains. How does it happen? It turns out that these acids release and eliminate the chemicals that were used to protect the olives during pest control. Keep in mind that this does not determine its quality.