Does Olive Oil Truly Help With Weight Loss?

Of the many things that olive oil consists of, it is known to have a large quantity of monounsaturated fatty acids in it. Apart from this, it also consists of medium-chain triglycerides. Both these components have a ton of potential health benefits to offer, when one includes them in their daily diet.

The Basic of Weight Loss With Olive Oil

Yes, olive oil has come to be used as one of the many things that aid with the weight loss journey of a person. But it has also been determined that olive oil is more effective in this regard, when it is used in certain quantities or in particular ways.  

Let us take one example first! If you do a bit of research or have already done your research you will see many topics related to olive oil for weight loss. One of these methods calls for massages done with olive oil. However, this method finds no support from most folks! On the contrary, it was also seen that preterm babies ended up gaining weight when they were massaged with olive oil.  

There is another method however that is quite popular. This method involves a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice, claiming that it can help promote weight loss! One of the reasons for this could be the fact the olive oil and lemon juice method is used as a cleanse for the body. When done regularly, this cleanses results in the loss of fat as well as muscle.

When olive oil is incorporated with a constant healthy diet, the story, however, is different!

So How Does Olive Oil Truly Help?

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids:

It is a known fact that olive oil is high in monounsaturated fatty acids or MUFAs. Several types of research have now shown that any food product that has more monounsaturated fats in it, happens to be a better ally in the weight loss journey that you’re pursuing.

Other researches have also shown that diets rich in monounsaturated fatty acids or MUFAs are better at preventing the accumulation of fats in the body and thus preventing weight gain. They also help maintain the current body weight.

Fat Burning Thanks to Medium-Chain Triglycerides:

Another brilliant compound present in olive oil are medium-chain triglycerides. These components happen to be extremely easy to break down in the body and are easily absorbed in the liver as well. There, then uses the absorbed triglycerides to produce energy for the body.

You might have heard about MCT oils? Well,  MCTs actually do play an extremely huge role in helping people maintain healthy body weight. Studies also came across the effect of  MCTs on certain hormones. MCTs are responsible for producing more appetite-regulating hormones. As a result of this any person, who is looking to use MCT oil in their diet, can expect to feel fuller, for longer, helping control their bingeing urges.

If that was not all, then the multi-chain triglycerides are also known to speed up the fat-burning process too.

● Healthy Diet: Better Chances of Weight Loss

A good balanced diet should always essentially contain a whole lot of variety.

From delicious fruit & veggies to pulses, seeds and nuts all are included in the Mediterranean diet

If you are still thinking about how one gets to shed their share of fat with the help of a good diet, then there is but one name; olive oil. Since healthy fat is important in a diet, olive oil is able to land the healthy aspect to 'fat'. Apart from olive oil however, the Mediterranean diet also consists of fish, so that also turns out to be a good source of fat. Olive oil is also known as cholesterol free oil.

Two things that are supposed to be consumed in less amounts are red meats and sweet treats. But the Mediterranean diet is not just about preventing weight gain or enabling weight loss. It also helps with managing stress levels to a create extent.

As you can see, the reason to opt for olive oil cooking is without a doubt some of the best you can find. So what are you still waiting for?

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Olive Oil For Cooking: Do's And Don'ts

There are many oils available to us in the market, but none comes close to the benefits olive oil has for our health.  One can easily use it to season salads and make dips. This is all apart from being able to cook with it as well. However, to ensure that you are able to make the best of the oil itself, it is important to follow a few rules and tips!

Listed below are some of the tips and tricks and do’s and dont’s that will help you cook better with this amazing oil!

Storage:

Just brought your first bottle of olive oil home? Once done with cooking we are sure you are thinking of putting it in the back of your pantry, aren’t you? This just is one of the most common mistakes that olive oil users make; to store it in the wrong way! Storing olive oil in the right manner is crucial to help it maintain its nutrient content and lend it to the consumer. Seeing as olive oil is one of the best oil for cooking, you need to remember one simple thing; when any kind of olive oil is exposed to heat, no matter how little, can actually end up affecting the nutrient composition of the oil itself.

Finding a cool dark place to store the oil can be difficult in warmer countries, but in such cases buying a can of oil or buying a dark coloured bottle will be helpful.   

When exposed to sunlight the ultraviolet rays from the sun can essentially break down the nutrient composition in the oil over time. But the issue does not stop there. Sunlight, apart from making the olive oil go rancid, thanks to the heat exposure, the light too ends up deteriorating the quality as well as the amount of antioxidants present in the olive oil. You need to remember to store olive oil in a temperature of 15 degree celsius to 30 degree celsius at most to ensure that the quality of the olive oil is maintained.

Usage Quantity:

We know that most good quality of the best cooking oils turn out to be more expensive, but rightly so. We also know that you probably would be thinking that you will not use the oil more than a few drops or a splash here or there at a time. This, in the long run, could very well end up causing problems. How you ask? Well, if you end up taking out only a little amount at a time, the chances of the oil getting spoilt and going rancid are high since every bottle has a particular shelf life that you need to keep in mind.  

We obviously are not telling you to end up using a whole bottle or half of it in one go, but it is important that you use olive oil generously in order to make sure that simply by lying in the pantry too, the bottle does not end up getting spoilt. Think about this the next time you decide to just use a dash of the olive oil in your cooking.

No Bulk Buying

If you have ever talked or interacted with an olive oil producer, you will agree that most of them will always advise that you consume an opened bottle of olive oil in 6 weeks or at the most 8 weeks time. Essentially what happens when you keep an opened bottle of olive oil as is, you end up exposing it to more and more oxygen. During this course of time, when it gets exposed to oxygen frequently, the oil gets oxidized. This in turn ends up making it lose close to all of its flavours. Hence say no to hoarding large bottles or tins of olive oil in order to save a few bucks. Instead opt for buying and using smaller bottles.

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How to Cook Better with Olive Oil?

Olive oil, just as the name sounds, is extracted from the fleshy part of the ripened olive fruit. The colour of the olive oil can vary from region to region depending on a number of factors. From clear yellow to golden, olive oil can truly be an enigma to decipher. If olive oil is extracted from an unripe olive, the oil could also look green. But these are merely some of the facts that you get to know about olive oil. T is important to know how to cook well with the oil in order to derive its true benefits. Read on to know more.

Olive oil might just be one of the most versatile oils that you will ever come across without a doubt. Seldom was there any oil that could even be compared to the wonders and versatility that olive oil offers to its consumers? The one thing that a lot of people do however when cooking with olive oil, is to make a few mistakes that they ought to stop doing in order to ensure that one is able to derive the greatest number of benefits from this miracle oil. So here are a few things to remember when you are using this oil on a daily basis. 

 

Storage:

Ok so you have brought your first bottle of olive oil home and you have finished cooking with it. What follows is you pushing the bottle to the back of the pantry without making sure about how the temperature of that particular location is! Of the many mistakes that people make when it comes to cooking with olive oil, not storing it correctly might just be the most common one! It is of the utmost importance that you store olive oil properly to ensure that the shelf life of your olive oil is a long and healthy one. Seeing as olive oil is one of the best oil for cooking, you need to remember one simple thing; when any kind of olive oil is exposed to even a little amount of heat, it ends up deteriorating over the course of a few months.

What if we told you that olive oil could easily go bad in a few days when it is kept on a window sill where sunlight streams? The same goes for keeping it near an oven. We understand that sometimes it can be hard to find a cool dark place to store your olive oils, especially in the households of a tropical country like India. In such cases, one can always end up buying olive oils that come in tin boxes or dark bottles. However, this is NOT a long-term solution. 

You see, the spoilage due to the exposure to sunlight is basically due to the fact that the ultraviolet rays from the sunlight essentially breaks down the composition of the olive oil over an extended amount of time. But the issue does not stop there. Sunlight, apart from making the olive oil go rancid, thanks to the heat exposure, light ends up deteriorating the quality as well as the number of antioxidants present in the olive oil as well. You need to remember to store olive oil at a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees celsius at most to ensure that the quality of the olive oil is maintained.

Usage quantity:

Though using that expensive bottle of olive oil in generous doses might seem more expensive than you had bargained for, trust us when we tell you that this will only prove to be beneficial for both your health as well as that bottle of olive oil. You see, if you end up using the oil only a few times a month drop by drop, then it might all just prove to be counterproductive to say the least.

Did you know that your olive oil could end up becoming rancid, to say the least, if you end up using it in such little amounts? This is precisely why using the oil generously and not in a miserly fashion will help benefit both you and the bottle itself.

Say no to hoarding

Most of the producers of olive oil will always tell you that it is best to consume an opened bottle of olive oil within a span of 6 weeks or at max, 8 weeks. So when one comes to think about the time that it will take to consume a whole tin or 4L drum of olive oil for cooking, you can look at anywhere from 9 months to even a year. This keeping in mind that you do not use the oil in minute quantities.

You see when you end up opening a bottle of olive oil. and when it is kept open over a course of time, that it gets exposed to more and more oxygen over this time period. When it gets exposed to oxygen frequently, the oil gets oxidized making it lose almost all its flavours in the long run. This is why it is always advised to buy and use smaller bottles. However, if you do want to buy a 4L tin try to store it in smaller bottles so that the exposure to oxygen is limited.

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