Health Benefits of Cooking with Olive Oil
Author: Maurice Savaryego
It has scientifically been proven and universally recognized that the Mediterranean diet (and more specifically the Cretan diet) is the healthiest in the world. The main characteristic of this diet is that it is largely based on olive oil. Even though olive oil has been part of the Mediterranean people's diet for millenniums, it is only recently that the western world recognized its benefits and embraced it both for gastronomic and health reasons. Nowadays, more and more people in Europe and North America are switching to olive oil for the majority of their cooking. So what are the health benefits of cooking with olive oil?
In recent years, scientists have studied the virtues of the Mediterranean diet and particularly the health benefits of cooking with olive oil. It has been found that monounsaturated fats like those found in olive oil are better than polyunsaturated fats because they reduce the LDL or bad cholesterol, without affecting the HDL or good cholesterol which are protective. Besides the beneficial effect of olive oil in reducing bad cholesterol, the oleic acid found in olive oil is
also known to prevent blood clots in the arteries.
Reserach also revealed that olive oil is not just a source of monounsaturated fat, but that it is also a rich source of antioxidants.
Antioxidants help prevent damage to body tissues by certain molecules called free radicals.
The body produces free radicals because it needs oxygen, and their quantity increases gradually as we age. Free radicals have been implicated in heart disease, cancer and aging. Although our body produces its own antioxidants, the food we ingest can also be a good source. The oil obtained from the olive fruit contains a wide range of valuable antioxidants not found in other oils, and therefore it helps prevent harm to our body tissues by the free radicals.
The effect of antioxidants on the arteries has been shown to be very important. The LDL known also as bad cholesterol become harmful to our health only when they are oxidized. When this happens, particles are formed which eventually thicken and become artery blocking plaque. Olive oil, as a natural antioxidant, helps prevent this oxidation.
The virtues of olive oil go beyond the protection against cardiovascular disease. Some antioxidants called polyphenols, found in olive oil, are able to destroy substances that govern the proliferation of cancer cells. Further research is needed to explain this protective behavior, but the facts are there: in the Mediterranean countries the rate of breast cancer occurrence in women is much less than in the U.S. or Australia, where their rate is high.
Many vegetables also produce important quantities of antioxidants. But in the western world people don't like to eat their vegetables because they are often simply boiled and do not taste very good. Mediterranean cooking makes vegetables taste good thanks to the use of aromatic ingredients such as olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and herbs. This explains why in the Mediterranean countries, people have always enjoyed consuming large quantities of vegetables every day and enjoyed the health benefits of cooking with olive oil.
Olive oil plays also an important role in diabetes, and science has shown that people who use olive oil in their diet control much better their diabetes and have lower rates of certain types of fats in the blood.
Finally, it can safely be asserted that the health benefits of cooking with olive oil are numerous and far reaching. They include an undisputed protective effect on our metabolism, arteries,
and digestive system, promoting growth during childhood, and extending the life expectancy of the elderly.
About the author: The author, Maurice Savaryego, lives in Montreal, Canada and contributes regularly to health, family and cooking related tribunes. For more information on Olive Oils and for his recommendations please visit The Finest Olive Oils. You are also welcome to visit his blog Living It Up Today!
