If you are trying to figure out how to make your diet much healthier, you need to consider the health benefits of olive oil in your diet. There are several benefits to virgin olive oil and including it as part of your diet can allow you to feel healthier overall.
The specific ingredient in Virgin Olive Oil that has one of the most beneficial effects is oleic acid. This is an antioxidant rich monounsaturated fat that is almost considered to be a miracle ingredient. Any compound which is rich in antioxidants all help prevent damage from occurring to the body on a cellular level. When cells oxidize in the body, they are damaged and if these cells reproduce they can form tumors so reducing cellular damage can help reduce the chance of growing tumors as well.
Although reducing the chance of developing tumors is critical, it is also important to keep your cardiovascular health as high as possible. Because olive oil can regulate cholesterol levels it can significantly reduce your chances of having a heart attack or suffering a stroke. The blood contains two types of cholesterol which are known as HDL and LDL (HDL is the one that is dangerous to the cardiovascular system). You want to keep both of these within certain levels and in proportion to each other. LDL cholesterol can, however, oxidize in the body and become less beneficial but using virgin olive oil can keep the LDL cholesterol in your body from oxidizing in the first place.
You may wonder why virgin olive oil is preferable to regular olive oil. When olive oil is given the “virgin” definition, it is the second pressing from the olives that is used. As a result, it contains higher levels of beneficial compounds than more highly processed oils. The only olive oil that contains higher levels of beneficial compounds is extra virgin olive oil, which is made from the first pressings of the oils.
Many people may be concerned that using virgin olive oil in cooking will be difficult but this is not the case. The easiest method is to simply substitute olive oil instead of the butter and animal fats that you may currently be using. Because virgin olive oil can be quite flavorful it can be an excellent way to lightly dress salads or use as a healthy dip for bread and can replace fattening alternatives this way as well. If you are choosing to use virgin olive oil, try using it in areas where it does not need to be heated as much since it can allow more of the flavor to come through in the foods you are making.
If you want even more proof that olive oil can be of great benefit to your diet, look at the Mediterranean diet. People who eat olive oil on a daily basis are proven to have much lower levels of heart disease and cancer. If nothing else, this should help convince you of the truth of the matter.
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