The top ten ten benefits of olive oil

According to Greek mythology, the first olive tree was created by Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, as a result of her competition with the powerful Poseidon. Scientifically speaking, olive trees can have a mind-blowing life span of up to 2000 years, outlasting all civilizations ever in existence. On average, they can live for 300 to 600 years, which is still impressive.

Ancient Olympic athletes were known to use olive oil for massage, hoping to have the wisdom and stamina of Athena. Nowadays, we can enjoy other good things about olive oil. Here are the top ten best things about this tasty liquid gold. But remember those benefits can only be found in extra virgin olive oil, such as Ilias and Sons products. They are rich in polyphenols, organic compounds extremely good for your health. Their benefits are:

1. Healthy monounsaturated fats

Crash course about fats: monounsaturated fats are the good guy while saturated ones are evil. Popular cooking oils such as coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil are high in unhealthy saturated fats. Meanwhile extra virgin extra virgin olive oil has a lot of monounsaturated fats which have multiple health benefits, like weight loss and bad cholesterol reduction.

2. High Levels of antioxidants

Antioxidants are compounds capable of decreasing the aging and death rate of your cells. They boost your immune system and strengthen your body’s ability to fight diseases. With extra virgin olive oil, you’re more likely to resist sickness, from common illnesses to chronic ones, especially cancer – the top modern killer.

3. Nemesis of cancer

The antioxidants that extra virgin olive oil is brimming with have anti-cancer properties. It is indicated by many studies that extra virgin olive oil is effective at preventing and reducing cancerous growth. In reality, there is a lower risk of some cancers in in Mediterranean countries, a region with high consumption of extra virgin olive oil.

4. Weight gain and obesity control

It goes without saying that unhealthy diets are a leading cause of obesity, and a bad diet is characterized by high amount of fats. But if the fats come from extra virgin olive oil, it will be a different story. As mentioned above, monounsaturated fats in extra virgin olive oil provide your body with just as much energy as any fatty food without resulting in extra weight. In fact, many researchers agree that consuming a moderate amount of extra virgin olive oil can help you get into better shape.

5. Excellent natural beauty care

Throughout history, olive oil is an indispensable ingredient of many beauty care recipes. Instead of making your way to the shop to buy a possibly chemical-based beauty product, you can just go the original stuff. Extra virgin olive oil contains large amount of vitamin E vital to skin health. At the same time, its antioxidants have the power the delay the aging process of human body, making your appearance actually younger if you use the oil in the long term.

6. Boon to bone health

Some studies find out that a moderate intake of extra virgin olive oil reduces the risk of bone loss in old people. A possible reason for this is that olive oil can promote absorption of calcium and other minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium and zinc.

7. Protector of hearts

Eating a small amount of extra virgin olive oil every day can help stabilize your blood pressure and decrease the chances of cardiovascular diseases. One common cause of heart attacks and other heart conditions is LDL cholesterol, the bad type of cholesterol (there is good and bad cholesterol as well, the good one is HDL cholesterol). Monounsaturated fats, plus the powerful antioxidants, in extra virgin olive oil help lower LDL cholesterol, preventing blood clotting and improving the overall of your health. 

8. Stroke prevention

Once again monounsaturated fats save the day. Stroke is the second most common cause of death in many developed countries. It is in turn brought about by blood clots which disturb the flow of blood to the brain (bleeding can cause the same disorder but it’s beyond the scope of this post). Extra olive oil with nothing but healthy fats can put a stop to it.

9. Alzheimer’s disease prevention

What if one day you woke up and realize that you were gradually what and who you cared most about? The silent terror of dementia has brought much suffering to many people who painfully watch their loved ones slowly turn into the shell of their former self. Luckily a daily diet with extra virgin olive oil can help prevent this scenario. Actually, the judgement isn’t entirely conclusive but olive oil can help remove beta amyloid plaques from brain cells. Those plagues are thought to be the underlying root of Alzheimer’s disease. Generally speaking, olive oil can help boost the performance of your brain and nervous system.

10. Anti-inflammatory properties: a long life ahead for you

This is rather like a paraphrase of the benefits mentioned above. Chronic inflammation has a strong correlation with many diseases, from cancer to heart disease and Alzheimer’s or even obesity. As extra virgin olive oil can reduce inflammation, it in turn becomes very effective at lessening those conditions as well. So it’s no wonder that people with olive oil – added diets are likely to have higher life expectancy than those without.

Does it sound incredible to you? We have undeniable evidence to back it up, which is, well, ourselves. Longevity is on average between 96-105 in our family, thanks largely for our daily consumption of extra virgin olive oil. Maria Giannakos, my grandmother, even lived to 110 years old. You can read more about it here.

To sum up, you will have a longer life, a better heart, a fitter body, stronger bones, smoother skin and more chances of skipping serious illnesses just by adding a spoonful of olive oil to your food. But you have to do it every day and use only extra virgin olive oil.  Welcome to a long and healthy life!

Sources:

https://www.oliveoilsource.com/article/mythology-101-greatest-gift#:~:text=The%20olive%20tree%20was%20associated,would%20be%20bestowed%20upon%20them.

https://marbellainstyle.com/blog/10-facts-you-never-knew-about-olive-oil/

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/types-of-fat/#:~:text=Saturated%20fat%20is%20mainly%20found,oil%2C%20and%20palm%20kernel%20oil.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-benefits-of-olive-oil#TOC_TITLE_HDR_11

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/oils/health-benefits-of-olive-oil.html

https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/amazing-benefits-of-olive-oil-that-you-never-knew/#AidsWeightLoss