Olive oil has long been considered the healthiest butter. The Greek poet Homer called him “liquid gold” and Hippocrates the father of medicine, called him the “great healer”.
However, not all olive oils are made the same way. The known health benefits associated with olive oil belong to a category called Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO).
Without the hot and powerful petrochemical solvents used in the production of refined olive oil and other edible oils, the extra virgin olive oil is produced only mechanically. As a result, Extra Virgin Olive Oil has many health benefits.
Thousands of studies have been published on the use of extra virgin olive oil and its heart-healthy properties, for example, increasing testosterone in underweight men.
But why is extra virgin olive oil better than other oils? Why is Homer’s “liquid gold” right for you?
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Monounsaturated fats promote heart health
For thousands of years, people in the Mediterranean have used olive oil as the main source of fat in their diet.
Convincing evidence suggests that they live longer and healthier lives in the North and Atlantic than their lean neighbors.
In 1958, Angel Casey, a physiologist at the University of Minnesota, suggested a link between the human diet and coronary heart disease.
Major surveys of seven countries on key figures show that primary cooking oils are unequal.
Studies have shown that Greeks have low heart rates, even though olive oil is the main source of fat.
Other countries that follow a fat-free diet are more likely to suffer from heart disease, indicating changes in the type of fat they eat. The results have led to the popularity and popularity of non-Mediterranean diets.
73% of olive oil is unsaturated. The remaining 25% are saturated fats (14%) and polyenes saturated fats (11%).
Unsaturated fats are fat molecules that contain some hydrogen in carbon lattices and carbon double bonds that liquefy at room temperature.
All fats, from saturated to saturated and polyunsaturated, are necessary for the body to absorb vitamins and minerals, form cell membranes and blood vessels, move muscles, and cause inflammation.
Converting monounsaturated fats to saturated and trans fats helps reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as “bad cholesterol,” reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
In short, the type of fat contained in extra virgin olive oil is good for your heart health.
Polyphenols are the powerful antioxidants that make EVOO superior
The unsaturated fat in olive oil is one of the main drivers of heart health, but it has many other benefits due to its phenolic content.
According to Nasir Malik, USDA research services and plant physiologist, the health benefits of olive oil are 99% polyphenols.
Polyphenols are a group of biochemicals found in various plants and act as powerful antioxidants. More than 8,000 polyphenols were found, and EVOO contained 25 polyphenols.
Hundreds of years of research have shown that polyphenols are responsible for a variety of benefits, from reducing the effects of prostate and breast cancer to reducing the effects of dementia.
Extra virgin olive oil and cardiovascular disease
According to the World Health Organization, heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide.
In 2019 alone, 17.9 million people died from cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. According to the World Health Organization, heart disease is responsible for a third of all deaths that year.
However, a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in April 2020 concluded that eating half a tablespoon (8.8 ml) of olive oil daily can reduce the risk of heart disease by 14%. The researchers concluded that 93,000 adults had health and nutritional data over a 24-year period.
The researchers told The Times that the participants were unaware of what level of olive oil they ate (such as cleansing, virgin, extra virgin), but that most of the benefits came from the extra virgin olive oil.
Eating extra virgin olive oil helps reduce the risk of heart disease.