If you’re a kitchen novice, and usually opt for the cheapest bottle of olive oil on the supermarket shelf, it might pay to take your time perusing your purchase. While foodies might argue that there’s a difference in taste, (or snobbery), opting for that extra virgin olive oil could help you drop those stubborn pounds as well as improve your health. So what ways will a drizzle of that pricier oil benefit your body? Research by Livestrong has proven that the higher grade olive oil releases 30 polyphenols which act as antioxidants in the body. How will this affect your body? Not only do anti-oxidants reduce inflammation, they can help improve your immune system as well as reduce the effects of wrinkles and ageing. If you’re looking to shape up for Christmas, dieticians recommend adding three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a Mediterranean style diet daily. According to US nutritionist Dr Mary Flynn, the weight-loss effect of the oil kicks in when combined with a diet of vegetables, fruit, legumes and whole grains, moderate in dairy and low in meat (about three serves of white meat or fish a week for women, and red meat only once or twice a month). Explaining the reasoning behind this helping hand, Flynn adds: “This way of eating essentially takes the calories you’d normally be consuming with meat and gives them to vegetables and olive oil.” So if you’re branching into clean-eating, and you’re sick of coconut flavoured oil, an extra olive option might be just the key ingredient you need to feeling healthier.