Camellia Oil
Camellia oil, also known as camellia seed oil, is a pure natural high-grade edible vegetable oil extracted from the mature seeds of Camellia oleifera Abel, a plant belonging to the Camellia genus of the Theaceae family. It has a golden or pale yellow color, pure quality, clarity and transparency, a delicate fragrance and a pure taste. It is a high-quality edible oil unique to China, accounting for more than 90% of the global camellia oil production.
As early as the Qin and Han Dynasties more than 100 years BC, China began to cultivate Camellia oleifera, with a history of more than 2,000 years to date. It mainly grows in the natural and pollution-free mountainous and hilly areas in southern China, and the main producing areas are Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Anhui, Hubei and other provinces (regions) in China. Camellia oil is a pure natural woody edible vegetable oil vigorously advocated and promoted by the Chinese government, as well as the first recommended health-care vegetable edible oil by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Camellia oil is rich in more than 90% unsaturated fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K. It has multiple levels of nutritional value, health-care value and auxiliary therapeutic value for the human body. Especially for civilized diseases, affluent diseases, chronic diseases, etc., it has an auxiliary therapeutic effect of “targeted oil use”, and is particularly beneficial to women, children, students, the elderly and other groups. Some experts have given a series of “nicknames” and “alternative names” to camellia oil in their research papers, which have also been echoed and spread by many camellia oil consumers.
Alternative Name (1) – “Health Care Doctor”
The Chinese Preventive Medicine Association has concluded that camellia oil has a two-way regulating effect on human blood lipids and cholesterol: it only removes harmful blood lipids (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) while retaining beneficial ones (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). This is of great significance for ensuring the normal metabolism of the human body and preventing and treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. According to expert research, camellia oil has more than 12 therapeutic functions, such as lowering blood pressure, preventing and treating heart disease, improving atherosclerosis, preventing thrombosis, relieving migraine and dizziness, enhancing brain vitality in healthy people, preventing and treating gallstones, weight loss, beauty care, preventing and treating constipation, anti-cancer, and helping to enhance liver function. Such a wide range of therapeutic functions have made nutritionists, disease prevention experts and camellia oil consumers very happy, hence naming camellia oil “health care oil”.
Alternative Name (2) – “Olive Oil of the East”
Oil experts have found that the content of unsaturated fatty acids in camellia oil, as well as the proportion of oleic acid, linoleic acid and other components, are extremely similar to those in olive oil, so camellia oil is called “Olive Oil of the East”. Camellia oil also contains specific physiologically active substances not found in olive oil, such as camellin, camellia saponin, tea polyphenols, etc. Among them, camellin has a cardiotonic effect, camellia saponin has a thrombolytic effect and can prevent and treat various cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases caused by vascular sclerosis, while tea polyphenols have the effects of lowering cholesterol and chemically preventing tumors. Camellia oil is resistant to high temperatures: when fried at 150°C, there is no obvious fume and its components do not change significantly. In contrast, other vegetable oils will produce a lot of fume and harmful substances when fried at 120°C, and the nutrition of olive oil will be destroyed when heated above 80°C.
Alternative Name (3) – “Blood Vessel Scavenger”
Most of the ordinary oils and fats consumed daily are mainly linoleic acid, and half of the human body’s fat is obtained from edible oils. Only when the fatty acid structure of the edible oils is balanced can the human body be healthy. Usually, it is also necessary to consume some edible oils rich in linolenic acid and oleic acid. Long-term consumption of oils with a single fatty acid structure will eventually lead to high blood lipids, high blood viscosity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Due to the bad oil-eating habits of Chinese people, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases have become the number one killer of health for middle-aged and elderly people. Camellia oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acid – oleic acid, which has strong oxidation resistance and good biofilm fluidity. Therefore, it can remove fat and cholesterol from the inner wall of blood vessels, clean impurities in the blood, dredge capillaries and arteries, increase the blood transfusion cross-section of blood vessels, soften and moisturize blood vessels, restore their elasticity, and keep blood vessels in a “young state”. For this reason, the medical community calls camellia oil “blood vessel health care lotion” and “blood vessel scavenger”.
Alternative Name (4) – “Confinement Oil”
In Taiwan and Fujian, women must eat camellia oil when they are pregnant and give birth, and Taiwanese people call camellia oil “confinement treasure”. Pregnant women eating easily digestible and high-nutrition alpine camellia oil can reduce the burden on the digestive system, promote human metabolism, maintain the normal function of the mother-child cardiovascular system, and fully supplement the high-quality oil nutrition needed by both mother and child during pregnancy. Practice has proved that maternal consumption of camellia oil can help them recover their physical fitness quickly after childbirth, have fewer stretch marks, and significantly improve post-partum weight gain.
Alternative Name (5) – “Women’s Oil”
First, the high-content unsaturated fatty acids in camellia oil are called “beauty acids” and have significant beauty effects. Long-term consumption of camellia oil by women can make the skin smooth, firm and moisturized. Second, some women experience abdominal colic before or during menstruation, which is related to an inflammatory substance called prostaglandin E2. The omega-3 in camellia oil can prevent the production of prostaglandin E2, so women who consume camellia oil for a long time are less likely to suffer from dysmenorrhea. Third, vitamin E is effective in treating menopausal discomfort symptoms and infertility. Since camellia oil not only cares for pregnant women and parturients but also provides many benefits for women, it is called “women’s oil”.
Alternative Name (6) – “Parent-Child Oil”
Due to its rich unique nutrients, camellia oil is particularly beneficial to fetuses, infants, primary and secondary school students. Consumption of camellia oil by pregnant women is very beneficial to the brain development of the fetus; camellia oil is the natural fat closest to human milk, and infants can grow healthily by eating it; students eating camellia oil can enhance thinking ability and memory. An epidemiological survey in Beijing showed that arteriosclerosis has begun to occur in primary school students, so people call for health care to start from an early age. Letting children eat camellia oil is one of the measures for children’s health care. For this reason, some people call camellia oil “parent-child oil”.
Alternative Name (7) – “Smart Oil”
Nowadays, students are under great pressure and most of them are “study maniacs”. Their brains need much more nutrition and blood oxygen than usual. Even when the circulatory system is normal, the heart is under heavy load; if the circulatory system is abnormal, the heart will be overwhelmed. In the long run, not only will the learning effect be poor, but the brain and heart will also develop lesions. Eating one or two taels of camellia oil every day can ensure 3-4 hours of high-intensity mental work. For students and mental workers, improving learning and work efficiency by eating camellia oil is a good method.
Furthermore, medical research shows that linolenic acid in camellia oil can be converted into DHA and EPA in the human body, which are commonly known as brain gold. They play an important role in promoting the brain development, vision development and intellectual growth of adolescents and children. Therefore, people directly call it “smart oil”.
Alternative Name (8) – “Weight Loss Oil”
A considerable part of modern obesity, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and affluent diseases are caused by overeating and excessive consumption of oils with high saturated fat content. Camellia oil is not an ordinary vegetable oil. The about 90% unsaturated fatty acids it contains have the characteristic of “no fat accumulation” and are easily absorbed by the human body. Cooking with camellia oil is not greasy. Camellia oil not only does not deposit in the internal organs and under the skin itself but also can prevent fat deposition. Therefore, eating an appropriate amount of camellia oil can avoid weight gain. Camellia oil can be said to be a veritable “weight loss oil”.
Alternative Name (9) – “Longevity Oil”
The aging of people is mainly due to the aging of blood vessels, and camellia oil can help people maintain blood vessels well and keep them in a “young state”. Experts have reached an astonishing conclusion through research: among people who eat camellia oil, the proportion of centenarians is significantly higher. In its research on modern diets, the American Heart Association found that the mortality rate of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases among residents in Bama, Guangxi and Wuyuan, Jiangxi in southern China is very low, and these areas have been known as longevity towns in history. Modern medicine has proved that camellia oil can prevent atherosclerosis and its complications, hypertension, heart disease, heart failure, cerebral hemorrhage, etc. Therefore, in the eyes of many experts, there is a clear equation: camellia oil = “longevity oil”.