On Sardinia off the west coast of Italy they drink wine and prepare their foods simply with olive oil, lemon and garlic. And they live to be a very healthy old age. They have 10 times as many people over the age of 100 as there are in the entire United States.
Sardinia is just one Mediterranean country where the olive is not only a fact of life, but a key to life — a long, healthy life. In fact one resident of Sardinia, at 102, told reporters she attributed her longevity to living off the land, a little bit of destino (destiny), a little red wine, and a lot of healthy oils like olive oil. Are we to believe her? Jeanne Calment, the oldest-lived woman on record, who lived to be 122, said she put olive oil on almost every food she could.
But it’s not just long life that’s granted by eating the fruit of the olive tree. We also get extraordinary good health. You already know about many of the benefits of olive oil for health, but I wanted to give you a list of just a few of the health issues you may not know can be alleviated or even prevented by ingesting a healthy amount of olive oil each day:
• Do you worry about breaking your hip as you age? I tell anyone who will listen that the Mediterranean diet could help. It builds up bone density in the femoral neck, the rounded part of your thigh bone that fits into your hip. That’s important because the femoral neck is where you usually break your hip when you have osteoporosis… the reason so many seniors end up in nursing homes.
The Mediterranean diet focuses on lean protein, but also fatty foods like olive oil play a huge part in the Mediterranean diet’s health benefits.
• The cholesterol myth is so well established and so completely accepted by doctors that any challenge to this orthodoxy is quickly and powerfully shouted down. Case in point: The British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) published an article debunking longstanding claims that saturated fat clogs arteries and pointing out that coronary disease is a chronic inflammatory condition.
The report also called for a switch in emphasis away from a “low-fat” diet to one made up of whole foods supplemented with olive oil and fatty nuts. The authors recommended the Mediterranean diet, a diet that uses one particular oil more than any other: high-quality virgin olive oil.
• Your body needs essential nutrients (ones it cannot make itself) that come in the form of vitamins and minerals. Fat-soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E and K and beta-carotene.
Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body tissues. They need the presence of fatty acids to be used efficiently by your body. To avoid depletion of fat soluble vitamins, you need to consume healthy fats like avocado and coconut, but also, olive oil.
• Essential oils are natural substances that provide an assortment of health benefits beyond their ability to fight cancer cells. Researchers have found that thyme essential oil kills up to 9 percent of the MCF-7 breast cancer cells in vitro (Latin for “in glass”).
You can use it topically, with two to four drops applied to the affected area several times a day. However, it should not be used directly on the skin without being diluted with a carrier oil. The best one we know of is olive oil.
• As you age, experiencing hearing loss becomes more likely. One in three Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 has hearing loss. That increases in those older than 75 to one in two. Because diet protects against high blood pressure, inflammation and other conditions, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital wondered whether certain dietary patterns might affect hearing. It turns out that there is a relationship between what you eat and how well you hear.
The research team used the reports of food intake to calculate scores for three healthy dietary patterns: The Alternate Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet and a blend of the two called AHEI. It didn’t matter which diet the participants were following, they all had a lower risk of moderate or worse hearing loss.
The three healthy diets all have one thing in common. Plenty of extra-virgin olive oil as an anti-inflammatory.
• Did you know if you experience fatigue, depression, weight gain, memory loss, hair loss, muscle cramps, dry skin, decreased libido, cold feet, confusion, delirium or any heart rhythm problems that you should suspect your thyroid?
If you want to relieve any or all of these conditions, the simple truth is that iodine is necessary, but the first step to improving thyroid health is to heal your gut. Leaky gut can trigger that autoimmune inflammation that we just talked about, crippling your thyroid function. To avoid this, it’s essential to avoid sugar and gluten, and consume healthy fats like those found in pure virgin olive oil.
• The food you eat has a big effect — for better or worse — on the way your brain functions. You may have even noticed how different foods can change the way you think. If I eat a great meal of fish and colorful vegetables for dinner, I wake up the next morning refreshed, energized and with a sharp mind.
If I eat a bowl of pasta, well… now you know why I rarely eat pasta. You also probably know by now that omega-3s are incredibly anti-inflammatory, and that is absolutely vital when it comes to protecting your brain from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. And the essential oil to provide them is extra-virgin olive oil. It’s full of polyphenols — antioxidants that have been shown to boost memory and even improve learning. And one more thing… olive oil has also been shown to fight proteins known as ADDLs that cause Alzheimer’s disease.
• For a simple and easy way to help combat dry skin, you can look to a common kitchen ingredient and by now I believe you know which one I mean. It’s olive oil.
The essential fatty acids in the oil are not only good for your heart, bones, thyroid, brain, and so much more, but can help seal moisture in your skin. Rub a small amount of extra-virgin olive oil on troublesome areas like your heels, hands, cuticles and elbows for a natural drench your skin will enjoy.
• Researchers from the University of Monastir and King Saud University in Saudi Arabia noted that some toxic herbicides are known to deplete antioxidants, which ultimately leads to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress contributes to many health problems.
The scientists fed olive oil to rats that were exhibiting signs of liver damage due to exposure to these toxins. In their findings, the investigators discovered that the olive oil helped to induce an increase in antioxidative activity, which in turn decreased the markers of liver damage.
• A study conducted at the University of Navarra and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria University followed more than 12,000 people for six years and found that a diet high in olive and fish oils had a much lower chance of developing depression.
Study authors said the healthier diet with olive oil resembles that of people living in the Mediterranean region, as opposed to eating patterns involving high levels of bad fats which would be more common in Western areas, like the United States.
Extra-virgin olive oil shows a unique composition of fatty acids with a higher content of antioxidants, known as polyphenols, than other edible oils. Can you still get all the benefits from olive oil if you cook with it? The answer is yes, say researchers at the University of Barcelona. Even after cooking the oil at 338°, the concentration of antioxidants still met all of the parameters set for good health.
Look for olive oil in a dark glass bottle or opaque tin, and be sure to store it in a cool, dark place since light and heat are the enemies of oil longevity.
When buying your olive oil, you should also know that it doesn’t improve with age. Olive oil is at its peak of nutritional perfection and flavor immediately after it’s pressed and packaged. It is a perishable food, so it’s best to buy in smaller volumes from a source like this where it’s guaranteed to be 100 percent fresh-pressed virgin olive oil and unadulterated. And, be sure to use the oil up while it’s fresh!
Written Bob Livingston
