Benefits of Cooking With Olive Oil

There are a lot of misunderstandings about which could possibly be the best oil for cooking available on the market. When it comes to cooking with olive oil, it is of the utmost importance that certain myths are cleared to have a clear understanding of the benefits it has to offer.

 Used widely in salads and pasta, unbeknownst to many, olive oil does make for a great cooking oil. This holds true, especially for low calorie recipes. If however, you are still unsure about using olive oil such as olive pomace oil in your daily diet, here are a few benefits that could potentially change your mind!

What Makes Olive Oil the Best Oil for Cooking?

 You might have come across the fact that Mediterranean diet, probably the healthiest diet in the world, actually uses olive oil as a part of it.  this liquid gold is praised for nothing. This is essential because olive oil happens to be healthier than most other oils available on the market thanks to its amazing nutrient content. So, taking the praise further, here are a few benefits that you ought to know about this liquid gold in question!

Contains MUFA or Monounsaturated Fatty Acids

Olive oil is basically extracted from the olive fruit that comes from the olive tree and we are sure that by now everyone knows this. Did you also know that this low fat cooking oil also happens to have the maximum amount of monounsaturated fatty acids in it? This especially holds true when it is compared to other dietary fats.

The dominant fatty acid present in olive oil is MUFA or Monounsaturated Fatty Acids. Also known as oleic acid, it is said to help reduce issues like inflammation while fighting against diseases like cancer too. Because MUFA is quite resistant to heat too, olive oil like refined pomace olive oil makes for an ideal oil for cooking.

Boosts Heart Health

Olive oil, which contains polyphenols, helps protect the body from atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. Apart from this, this low-fat cooking oil is also known to prevent excessive blood clotting in the body. If that was not enough, olive oil also prevents the oxidation of cells in the body, lowers blood pressure and improves the health of the blood vessel linings.

Fights against Alzheimer’s

Did you know that Alzheimer’s happens to be the most common neurodegenerative disease in the whole world? What Alzheimer’s results in are the build-up of substances called beta-amyloid plaques inside the brain cells. Through a lot of research, though not all of them have been conclusive, it has been found that one or more substances present in olive pomace oil could prove to be useful in removing these plaques from the brain cells.

Another proof of this has been found in people who follow the Mediterranean diet. People who follow the Mediterranean diet have been found to have better brain functioning when compared to people who do not consume olive oil on a regular basis.

Prevents Inflammation

Were you aware of the fact that chronic inflammation happens to be a leading cause of diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, arthritis and even cancer? The good thing is that antioxidants like oleocanthal, present in this low fat cooking oil, perform anti-inflammatory duties and help reduce inflammation to a great extent.

Helps Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis

One of the main characteristics of this autoimmune disease is basically painful joints which also might be deformed in nature. The exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis has yet to be determined, but it has been found that it takes place when the immune system ends up attacking healthy and normal cells by mistake.

Many studies have shown that components present in olive pomace oil help reduce inflammation in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. This is also true, particularly in cases where the consumption of olive oil is combined with fish oil as well since fish oil too has anti-inflammatory properties.

Good For Gut And Liver Health

Another brilliant benefit of olive pomace oil is that the phenols that are present in it help to boost gut health and intestinal immunity. The phenols do this by helping change microbes in our body’s digestive tract. This property can prove to be particularly beneficial to people who suffer from health issues like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease etc.

Antibacterial in Nature

Another wonderful thing about olive oil is that it has specific nutrients that stagnate and even kill harmful bacteria that might be present in our bodies. A bacterium called Helicobacter pylori is the main reason for the occurrence of ulcers in the stomach. As a result of these ulcers, one might even end up developing stomach cancer.

Many tests have shown that among the olive oil benefits that one can experience in their body, extra virgin olive oil, being the healthiest cooking oil one can find, helps fight around 8 strains of this bacterium, despite the fact that 3 of them are also resistant to antibiotics.

The Bottom Line:

The praise that olive oil has received in its journey of helping people lead a healthier life, is not hollow by a long shot! The benefits listed above are merely a meagre representation of what this brilliant liquid golden oil can do for one’s health when consumed on a regular basis!