7 Outstanding Health Benefits of Olive Oil

Olive oil is not only great for cooking but for our health as well, with potential benefits to blood sugar, heart health, metabolic syndrome, depression, and more. Read on to learn how to take advantage of this Mediterranean superfood.

What is Olive Oil?

Olive oil is fat from the olive, a traditional tree harvest of the Mediterranean Basin. The oil is made by pressing entire olives. 

Along with its culinary and religious uses, it also has many health benefits. The phenols from the petroleum contain the majority of the beneficial properties.

Olive oil is also the primary fat source from the Mediterranean diet, a dietary strategy increasingly utilized to boost brain and heart health. 

Health Benefits of Olive Oi

Olive oil is safe to eat as food, but has not yet been approved by the FDA for medical usage. Regulations set manufacturing standards for them but don't guarantee that they're safe or effective. Speak with your doctor before supplementing.

Possibly Effective For

Olive Oil Is Great For Diabetes

The Mediterranean diet uses olive oil as its main source of fat. The ADA recommends utilizing this diet to enhance blood sugar control. By following this diet, there is a 20%-23% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

11 obese and diabetic patients added olive oil into their dietplan, which significantly reduced fasting blood sugar. Daily intake can also enhance metabolic control in obese type 2 diabetes patients.

Older adults who have been at risk of losing their eyesight due to diabetes were set to a diet containing olive oil. They were not as likely to lose their eyesight in comparison to those who did not increase their olive oil intake.

Heart Disease

165 patients that were at high risk for heart disease went to a diet containing olive oil. Those patients had decreased blood pressure, total cholesterol, low-density cholesterol, and triglycerides.

Tomato sauce enriched with olive oil has a greater effect on heart risk factors than just raw tomato sauce.

Olive oil enhanced the cholesterol-lowering properties of high-density lipids and protected cells from oxidative stress.

In non-smoking women, olive oil decreased blood glucose as well as endothelin-1. This explains the effect of olive oil decreasing blood pressure among hypertensive women,

Olive oil increases lipid cholesterol. It also reduces the oxidative damage to lipids, decreases inflammation and improves tissue function,

Insufficient Proof For

The following purported benefits are just supported by restricted, low-quality clinical studies. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of olive oil for any of the below-listed uses. Don't forget to speak with a doctor before taking using olive oil for medical reasons, and never use it in place of something that your doctor recommends or prescribes.

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors that increase the risk of heart issues, stroke, obesity, and diabetes.

A diet enriched with olive oil enhanced the bloodstream antioxidant capabilities.

In women, an oil-rich diet reduced the risk of metabolic syndrome as well as heart disease.

A combination of olive and fish oil have a synergistic effect on lipid metabolism and oxidative stress in patients.

Additionally, it is likely to cause the reversion of this illness.

Depression

Depressed patients were given a diet that included olive oil and evaluated over the period of time. They revealed a decrease in depression scores.

Olive consumption is inversely associated with melancholy risks and improved depressive symptoms.

Animal Research (Lacking Evidence)

No clinical evidence supports the use of olive oil for any of the conditions listed in this part. Below is a summary of the existing animal and cell-based research, which ought to direct further investigational efforts. On the other hand, the research listed below shouldn't be interpreted as encouraging of any health benefit.

Alzheimer's Disease

Mice that had memory loss had olive oil included in their diet for 2 weeks. Their memory improved, and there was a significant response in the cortex to promote the formation of new cells from the brain.

Alzheimer's is characterized by the accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) and tau proteins in the brain. In mice, the petroleum leads to an up-regulation of Aβ degrading enzymes, which helps prevents Alzheimer's.

Osteoporosis

Olive oil reduced bone loss in ovariectomized rats.

Additionally, it increased osteoblast cell formation.

Oil with vitamins may be beneficial to include in the diet of girls to assist for bone security and against oxidative stress.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Helps With Wound Healing

Scientists treated mice (who had induced migraines ) with either water or olive oil to help them heal. The petroleum helped heal pressure ulcers and improved skin health.

Linear incisions and circular excisions wound versions were created in the buccal mucosa of rats to determine the healing effect of olive oil on the wounds. The oil has healing effects in both incisions and excisions as well as anti-inflammatory effects.

Cancer Research and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

One of the main phenols in olive oil, hydroxytyrosol, possesses antitumor effects due to pro-oxidant properties, the capacity to inhibit the growth of cells, and the promotion of cell death. Hydroxytyrosol treatment reduced thyroid cancer cells by promoting programmed cell death in those cells.

Higher olive oil intake may be a protective factor against breast cancer.

Another polyphenol, oleuropein, can cause programmed cell death in breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and thyroid cancer.

Olive oil diets also influenced the expression of age-related changes. Diets can regulate the different susceptibility to chemical exposure leading to breast cancer.