The Benefits of Olive Oil – Your Best Choice of Oils

When you go down the aisle at your local grocery store and come to the cooking oil section, do you get confused on which oil to purchase? It seems that there are all types of vegetable oils, corn oils, peanut oils, and every other type of cooking oil you can imagine. But, out of all the different choices of cooking oils, olive oil is the healthy choice.

No matter if you use olive oil in cooking, dressings, or other meals, it has been proven to not only be safe, but healthy as well. So, if you’ve been confused about all the different cooking oils this article should help give you the information and peace of mind you need the next time you go shopping. Here are 5 facts about the benefits of using olive oil.

1. Olive oil reduces blood pressure

Very few people realize that olive oil can actually reduce your blood pressure. The Archives of Internal Medicine did a study not too long ago proving that the use of virgin olive oil provided a reduction in the amount of blood pressure medication needed by up to 50%. That’s a great benefit to using it in all of your cooking recipes.

2. Olive oil and LDL cholesterol

Cholesterol has become a major health issue as of late, especially LDL cholesterol which is the ‘bad’ cholesterol. LDL cholesterol accumulates in the arteries and hardens on the artery walls over time and eventually leads to heart disease. In a published report, the European Jounal of Clinical Nutrition found that the use of olive oil significantly reduced the levels of LDL cholesterol.

What’s even more amazing is that olive has been shown to increase your HDL, or ‘good’ cholesterol. It’s just another good reason to use it in your every day cooking.

3. Olive oil is good for your heart

The American Heart Association (AHA) has stated that olive oil provides healthy benefits to the heart. You can learn more on their website.

4. Olive oil can reduce cancer risk

The University Hospital Germans Trias Pujol in Barcelona, Spain did a fantastic study on olive oil and cancer. In their study, laboratory rats were first given a cancer causing carcinogen. Afterwards, the rats were given a diet rich with olive oil. Incredibly, the rats that had the olive oil in their diets produced fewer cancerous tumors than their counterparts who were given other types of cooking oils.

In yet another study done at Oxford University in England, it was shown that olive oil helped to prevent colon cancer. It was shown to be as good for our digestive system as eating fresh vegetables or fresh fruit. Fish has also been proven to aid against the formation of colon cancer. While researchers are not quite sure why this is happening, the theory that most subscribe to is that olive oil reduces bile acid in the stomach.

5. Olive oil is a major ingredient in major diet plans

Many diet plans such as The Mediterranean Diet advise dieters to use olive oil in every recipe that calls for the use of oil.

Olive oil also has antioxidant benefits that help reduce free radicals in the body. These free radicals are a contributing factor in the formation of cancer.

There are many other tests and studies still being done, but the benefits to date are enormous. To finally have some encouraging news in the world of food is significant. I would encourage you to look into this further and read up on the information. I think you will agree with me, olive oil seems to be the smart choice for all of your cooking needs.