Want to know the best way to integrate Olive Oil into your diet and garner its many health benefits?
Understanding How Olive Oil Fits Into The Food Pyramid
The Harvard pyramid is based on the Mediterranean diet. Its structure was created from the diets of the inhabitants of Crete and Southern Italy in the 1960’s. The study was presented in 1993 by Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health at the International Conference on the Mediterranean Diet held in Cambridge Massachusetts.
According to the Harvard Medical School Food Pyramid, the total amount of fat you eat, whether high or low, is not really connected with disease. What really matters is the type of fat you eat.
The "bad" fats -- saturated and trans fats -- increase the risk for certain diseases.
The "good" fats – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats –- such as those found in Olive Oil, help lower disease risk. The key to a healthy diet is to substitute good fats for bad fats, and to get away from consuming trans fats.
Olive Oil and The Mediterranean Diet
Olive Oil is a fundamental part of the "Mediterranean diet" which is associated with sensible tasty, savory portions and slower, more enjoyable eating. Individuals who center their diet around the "Mediterranean diet" have been shown to have a remarkable amount of health benefits.
The Olive Oil in the Mediterranean diet can quickly help fulfill hunger and lead to fewer total calories consumed at mealtime. It is uncertain if any single component of this diet is responsible for these health benefits or if it’s the total combination of Olive Oil and a diet high in vegetables, fruit and fish.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is one of the rare oils that can be eaten without chemical processing.
Fresh pressed Olive Oil can be eaten almost instantly and retains the natural flavors, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other healthy products of the ripe olive fruit.
A high percentage of doctors recommend lowering total fat and calories in your diet, and substituting butter, margarine and tropical oils with healthy fats such as Olive Oil.
