Farm Extra Virgin Olive Oil is an excellent choice to include in your healthy diet or weight-loss plan. It inhibits the accumulation of fat around the belly. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the highest-quality olive oil available and quite possibly also the healthiest fat. A cold-pressing process extracts the oil from unblemished olives immediately after harvesting. The oil's free oleic acid content must be 0,8 percent or less to receive the ExtraVirgin Olive Oil classification. This makes the oil more flavorful.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil has an high content of healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, or MUFAs. According to Mayo Clinic preventive medicine specialist Donald Hensrud, M.D., a diet rich in MUFAs appears to reduce your risk of heart disease and may also help regulate blood sugar and insulin levels.
Evidence from epidemiological studies also suggests that a higher proportion of monounsaturated fats in the diet is linked with a reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease. This is significant because extra virgin olive oil is considerably rich in monounsaturated fats, most notably oleic acid.
There is a large body of clinical data to show that consumption of Extra Virgin Olive Oil can provide heart health benefits such as favourable effects on cholesterol regulation and LDL cholesterol oxidation, and that it exerts antiinflamatory, antithrombotic, antihypertensive as well as vasodilatory effects both in animals and in humans. Additionally, Extra Virgin Olive Oil protects against heart disease as it controls the "bad" levels of LDL cholesterol and raises levels of the "good" cholesterol (HDL).
Another health benefit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil seems to be its property to displace omega-6 fatty acids, while not having any impact on omega-3 fatty acids. This way, olive oil helps to build a more healthy balance between omega-6 fats and omega-3 fats.
Unlike saturated fats, extra virgin olive oil lowers total cholesterol and LDL levels in the blood. It is also known to lower blood sugar levels and blood pressure.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil contains antioxidants such as vitamin E and carotenoids, and oleuropein, a chemical that may help prevent the oxidation of LDL particles.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil contains a wide variety of valuable antioxidants that are not found in other oils. It contains a group of related natural products, called natural phenols, with potent antioxidant properties that give Extra Virgin Olive Oil (unprocessed) its bitter and pungent taste and are esters of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, including oleocanthal and oleuropein. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a source of at least 30 phenolic compounds.
There are many health benefits attributed to phenolic composition.
Hydroxytyrosol (2-(3,4-Di-hydroxyphenyl)-ethanol or DHPE) is a phenolic component of extra-virgin olive oil and is thought to be the main antioxidant compound in olives, and believed to play a significant role in the many health benefits attributed to Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
An Extra Virgin Olive Oil fraction containing DHPE can inhibit platelet aggregation and eicosanoid (thromboxane B2) formation in vitro.
According to an article published in the March 2008 issue of "Electrophoresis." Phenolic compounds appear to provide protection from oxidative-damage diseases including cancer, stroke and heart disease, according to Ray Sahelian, M.D. A study reported in the August 2011 issue of "Chemosphere" outlines the protective effects on human health of hydroxytyrosol, one of the phenolic compounds found in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Other phenolic constituents include aldehydic secoiridoids, flavonoids and lignans (acetoxypinoresinol, pinoresinol).The latter two compounds are only present in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Epidemiological studies suggest that Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a protective effect against certain malignant tumours in the breast, prostate, endometrium and digestive tract. Research has revealed that the type rather than the quantity of fat seems to have more implications for cancer incidence.
According to a study published in the April 2011 issue of the "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition," Extra Virgin Olive Oil causes an anti-inflammatory response in humans. This conclusion supports the results of previous studies, including research reported in the September 2005 issue of "Nature." Scientists found that freshly pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil contains a high concentration of oleocanthal. Oleocanthal produces a strong anti-inflammatory effect similar to that of ibuprofen, a common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication. It has been suggested that long-term consumption of small quantities of this compound from olive oil may be responsible in part for the low incidence of heart disease associated with a Mediterranean diet.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil's antimicrobial capabilities proved effective against three strains of disease-causing bacteria found in foods, reports the July 2010 issue of the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry." Extra Virgin Olive Oil also shows potential as an antibacterial, plaque-fighting agent in toothpaste, says the July 2003 issue of the "Journal of Dentistry."
Additionally, Extra Virgin Olive Oil applied externally may help alleviate fungal skin conditions, according to the September 2006 issue of "Phytomedicine."
U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests that you limit yourself to ingesting 2 tbsp. of extra Virgin Olive Oil per day to potentially reduce your risk of coronary heart disease, replacing unhealthy saturated fats in your diet with extra virgin olive oil.
Some of those health benefits are: lowering cholesterol, heart health, blood pressure control and even controlling rheumatoid arthritis. Some consume olive oil for the health benefits while others just enjoy this oil on just about anything.
In the United States, producers of Extra Virgin Olive Oil may place the following health claim on product labels:
In addition to the internal health benefits of Olive Oil, topical application is quite popular with fans of natural health remedies. Extra virgin Olive Oil is the preferred grade for moisturizing the skin, especially when used in the oil cleansing method (OCM). OCM is a method of cleansing and moisturizing the face with a mixture of Extra virgin Olive Oil, castor oil (or another suitable carrier oil) and a select blend of essential oils. Extra Virgin Olive Oil has been known for generations not only for its healing qualities but also as a natural, deep penetration moisturizer, regenerating skin cells and softening the tissue.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is also used by some to reduce ear wax buildup.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil can be used as an effective shaving oil to shave facial and other body hair.
Studies on mice showed that application of Extra Virgin Olive Oil immediately following exposure to UVB rays has a preventive effect on the formation of tumors and skin cancer.
It is also widely used in cosmetics and soaps, and are immensely beneficial in adding smoothness and softness to dry scaly skin, especially during the winter.
