The health benefits and properties of Extra Virgin Olive Oil are a topic that is talked about a lot both on the internet and on television. And although it is known and proven that EVOO is a great source of health and well-being, fashions and practices often arise that spread erroneous concepts and ideas or whose effectiveness has not been scientifically proven.
We are going to try to shed some light on each of the topics that raise the most questions among consumers about the benefits of this liquid gold.
What benefits does olive oil have on the human body?
Olive oil has multiple benefits for human health. There is a large amount of scientific research that recommends its consumption and even defends that it helps prevent multiple diseases of the body. Being considered the base pillar of the Mediterranean diet, its name is synonymous with healthy eating.
The professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Navarra, Miguel Ángel Martínez González, states in his book Salud a Ciencia Cierta that “When 15% of the daily calories come from this food, there is a reduction in cardiovascular risk, of diabetes and breast cancer.”
In addition, there are also many who highlight its properties in beauty treatments and even as a remedy for aging.
Attention! Olive oil is not a medicine.
Contrary to what can be read on some internet sites and social networks, olive oil does not cure diseases (neither Extra Virgin nor any other), but rather helps prevent them, promoting a healthier lifestyle. This is why including it in the diet can accompany the treatment of certain diseases.
Today, scientifically proven research that tells us about the beneficial properties of EVOO in our body refers to its usefulness when accompanied by a healthy diet and an active and healthy lifestyle. The only thing that cures diseases are medications and treatments administered by doctors and health professionals.
Don't believe in miracle remedies
The Internet is full of miraculous remedies for all kinds of things: pain, discomfort, losing weight, preventing aging, etc. You have to be very careful with this since most of them are completely false, and generally those that are not only end up being half true.
Olive oil, and especially Extra Virgin, is usually associated with these supposed miracle foods and there is a large amount of information without any scientific rigor that advises things like taking it raw at certain times of the day, mixing it with juices and other liquids. , and countless recurring pieces of advice that will prevent you from aging, prevent you from suffering from diseases or from growing your hair in spurts, and of course none of this is true.
Remember that Extra Virgin Olive Oil is one more complement to make your life healthier, accompany it with a healthy diet, rich in fruits and vegetables and go to the doctor and the appropriate specialist when you have a health problem and you will not need any miracle.
What is the healthiest olive oil?
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the most beneficial for human health. Of all the oils produced, it is the one that has the most good substances for our body, such as polyphenols (natural antioxidants) and oleic acid. This is because Extra Virgin Oil is pure olive juice, which has not undergone any industrial refining process and whose production, from cultivation to oil extraction, has been carried out following strict quality standards, which allow it to surpass the controls that certify it as Extra Virgin.
We can broadly say that all those benefits that are traditionally attributed to olive oil are enhanced even more in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. In addition to being of higher quality, it is also richer in substances good for our body.
Benefits of EVOO for our body
We are going to try to detail in this list those benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil that have been scientifically proven or that are beginning to be discovered in recent research.
1-Extra Virgin Olive Oil helps our immune system.
It seems that Extra Virgin Oil has the ability to boost our immune system thanks to monounsaturated fatty acids. At least this is what a study carried out by scientists from the University of Jaén states. According to this research, the regular consumption of this type of fat is showing signs that it helps our body defend itself against harmful viruses and bacteria, and that our defenses are more prepared for all types of external attacks.
As if this were not enough, it contains vitamins A , D , E and K , which in themselves serve to strengthen our body's defenses. For example, vitamin D helps stimulate the functioning of immune cells and vitamin A protects against infectious diseases that can enter our body through mucous membranes.
Here is the link where you can access the published research: Benefits for the immune system .
2-EVOO helps reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol, being beneficial for cardiovascular health.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the best for lowering levels of bad cholesterol (LDL), which lodges in the walls of our arteries and can cause cardiovascular problems. Likewise, it also increases the levels of good cholesterol (HDL), whose function is precisely to eliminate bad cholesterol, thus helping to have adequate blood pressure. The main protagonist of this fact is oleic acid, which, being a monounsaturated fatty acid, its consumption helps us prevent heart diseases.
There are numerous investigations that have addressed this particular topic, the most famous and considered to be of greater scientific rigor is the Predimed Project , in which 2,543 patients followed the guidelines of a Mediterranean diet with olive oil, compared to 2,450 who They did not consume said oil. After five years, a 30% reduction in the risk of suffering from cardiovascular problems was observed in the former.
Here is the link with more information about the research: Benefits for cardiovascular health .
3-Reduces joint inflammation, being a great ally against arthritis.
According to a study by the Experimental Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy research group of the University of Seville , Extra Virgin Olive Oil reduces joint inflammation caused by rheumatoid arthritis.
The study even opens the door to considering Extra Virgin as a possible preventive treatment for this disease (after future research that corroborates it), having detected that adequate consumption in quantity on a regular basis can greatly attenuate the development of the disease.
Here you have the link to the study: Benefits in reducing joint inflammation .
4-Reduces cellular oxidation, acting preventively against cancer.
There is research that suggests that the polyphenols present in olive oil help prevent cellular oxidation related to different types of cancer. Because Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the richest in polyphenols , there are multiple studies that suggest that its regular consumption, accompanied by other factors typical of a healthy lifestyle (varied diet, playing sports, etc.) helps the prevention against different types of cancer.
An example of this type of research would be that carried out by the Department of Health Sciences of the University of Jaén, which indicates that diets high in fat with Extra Virgin Olive Oil cause a change in the intestinal bacterial flora. which is related to the prevention of colorectal cancer. You can read more about this research in this article: Colorectal cancer prevention .
The Spanish Society of Senology and Breast Pathology (SESPM), assures in this publication on its website that there are currently reasons to affirm that there is sufficient evidence of the involvement of some types of polyphenols, such as pinoresinol, in slowing the development of breast cancer. cancer cells in breast cancer. Here is the link to the article: Breast cancer prevention .
5-Helps prevent and treat kidney stones.
It has been claimed for a long time that taking olive oil on an empty stomach helps people who suffer from kidney stones, and that its effectiveness is even greater if it is accompanied by lemon juice. At this point what we can highlight is the existence of two investigations that have studied the effects of Olive Oil in people who suffer from kidney stones.
On the one hand, the study published by scientists from the Complutense University of Madrid and the University of Castilla la Mancha on nutritional control in this type of ailments points to the benefits of oleic acid in their treatment.
On the other hand, the journal of the Spanish Society of Nephrology has published a study in which the effectiveness of a coupage or mixture of different types of olive oil in patients with chronic kidney disease was investigated. Link to the study published in the magazine .
6-Properties of Extra Virgin Olive Oil against diabetes.
There are studies that affirm that daily consumption of Extra Virgin Oil helps reduce problems derived from diabetes. In this sense, researchers from the University of Malaga have determined that hydroxytyrosol, a type of polyphenol present in EVOO (again our friends the polyphenols), reduces the vascular problems of diabetes mellitus.
Another research carried out by the University of Sapienza, in Italy, defends that oleouropein, a substance present in EVOO , helps reduce blood glucose levels after meals. Link to the research publication .
Regarding the prevention of diabetes, it has been the Predimed study (which we talked about previously), which has come to point out that diets based on olive oil are much more effective in preventing diabetes than those based on other foods. Link to the Predimed project website .
7-Helps preserve memory and prevent Alzheimer's.
One of the most unknown properties of olive oil until now was its ability to improve some aspects of our cognitive function. A recent study claims that it helps preserve memory and improve learning ability. This is because its effects reduce the formation of amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, classic markers of Alzheimer's disease.
This research, carried out by specialists at Temple University, in Philadelphia, United States, has also discovered that olive oil reduces brain inflammation and is capable of activating a process known as autophagy, by which cells break down and eliminate intracellular debris and toxins, such as amyloid plaques and phosphorylated tau, present in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's and frontotemporal dementia. Link to the article on the Temple University website .
8-Benefits of EVOO on the skin.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is used in a multitude of cosmetics for its properties to combat skin aging. Most of these treatments are based on the antioxidant capacity of polyphenols, as well as the multiple vitamins it has, which would provide its regenerating qualities and improve elasticity.
How to take advantage of the health benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
How should Extra Virgin Olive Oil be consumed?
The best way to consume Extra Virgin Oil is raw. Adding it to fresh foods (salads) or already cooked foods (bread or other foods) is the healthiest way to eat it, since it preserves all its original nutrients, some of which begin to be lost when we heat it while cooking.
Despite this, the healthiest ingredient that can be used for cooking is Extra Virgin Olive Oil . As it has high resistance, it maintains a large amount of its nutrients during cooking and contributes flavor to all our preparations. A diet rich in vegetables and legumes, with fresh dishes seasoned with Extra Virgin and others cooked with this same liquid gold will be synonymous with a healthy lifestyle.
What is the best oil to consume raw?
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the best oil to consume raw. This is because it is the olive oil that provides the most nutrients, since it is pure 100% natural olive juice. In addition, the aroma and flavor of an Extra Virgin are unsurpassed by other oils, so it will enrich any dish to which we add it.
To enjoy it raw, we recommend early harvest oils, which in addition to nutrients, preserve the flavors and aromas with natural nuances and an intense green color, the result of the first olives collected in each harvest. Discover the Early Harvest Extra Virgin Oils here.
How many tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil should you take per day?
The recommended daily intake of Extra Virgin Oil should be around 40 milliliters, equivalent to about 4 tablespoons distributed between the main meals of the day. This is the figure recommended by the Predimed study, on the effect of the Mediterranean diet based on olive oil on our body.
There are many people who ask if it is better to take olive oil directly by the spoonful without mixing it with food. The answer we can give from here is that we do not know of any studies that defend that taking it alone is better than adding it to food. The nutritional effects are the same, but without a doubt the best way to introduce it into our diet on a regular basis is to add it to food.
Is it good to drink olive oil on an empty stomach?
Although much has been written about the benefits of ingesting a tablespoon of olive oil on an empty stomach in the morning when we wake up, we currently do not have any scientific study that defends that taking olive oil on an empty stomach is beneficial for health, nor that it will provide us with no type of improvement for our body than if we take it by adding it to meals and ingesting it throughout the day.
In the world's largest database of scientific research, Pubmed , there is no publication that affirms the benefits attributed to ingesting olive oil on an empty stomach. If you are reading these lines and know of any research on the matter or any scientific publication that defends it, or if you have practiced it yourself and verified its effects, tell us below in the comments, we will be happy to read your recommendation.
Conclusion: Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a fundamental ingredient for a healthy lifestyle.
After all that has been said, what we can firmly say is that if you are interested in leading a healthy lifestyle, EVOO will be a fundamental ally for your diet. Combine it with a diet rich in vegetables and fruits, practice sports and an active life, and let its wonderful properties have their effect on your health.
And the most important! : Don't forget to consume quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil , like the one you can purchase directly from the producing oil mills. Likewise, try the different varieties and types that exist, and you will realize that they provide very different flavors and that it is not a monotonous and boring product, but rather that each variety and each area offers you different flavors and aromas. Here you can see all the Extra Virgin Oils of the Picual variety that we offer.
We hope we have been useful to you and that you have enjoyed this article. You already know that in our store you can find the best Extra Virgin Oils . For any questions, do not hesitate to write us a comment or send us an email to info@virgenextraencasa.com
