by: Laura Ng
Have you heard people singing praises of olive oil that you're now itching to
try it out yourself, whether to improve your
health, skin or solely for weight loss? Well, before anything else, I suggest
that you learn some hard facts about olive oil
(its pros and cons) before you jump on the bandwagon, at least, so that you know
what you're feeding your body with and how
to make the most out of eating it.
Health Benefits of Olive Oil
Olive oil benefits your health by helping to regulate blood pressure, lower
blood cholesterol and blood glucose. It also
helps to prevent brain damage and failure of your adrenal glands. You can also
consume it in moderation to help you lose
weight.
Skin Benefits of Olive Oil
It promotes a smooth, radiant complexion and helps to maintain the elasticity of
your skin. Besides that, you can use this
liquid gold to heal your dry, brittle nails and soften the cuticles to provide
better protection against harmful bacteria. It
also helps to condition and add shine to your hair beyond its skin care.
Disadvantages of Olive Oil
Olive oil carries predominantly monounsaturated fatty acid (about 77%). Any
unsaturated fatty acid may promote blood
clotting, thereby hampering normal blood circulation. However, it's able to
counteract blood clotting thanks to its own anti
-inflammatory compounds such as hydroxytyrosol, oleocanthal and omega-3.
But I'm not done yet. Again, due to its monounsaturated fatty acid structure,
the oil can readily react with free radicals
upon heated. And this could change the nutritional and healthful properties of
the oil. You can avoid this by eating olive
oil in its most natural form without heating, like adding as dressing for cold
salad or dipping your bread in it.
Types of Olive Oil
Different types of olive oil provide different nutritional values and hence
different health benefits. We have grades of
extra-virgin, virgin, pure, refined, olive-pomace oil and lampante oil.
Of these 6 types of olive oil, lampante oil bears the lowest quality (highest
acidity level), hence it's not edible. But
rather, used as a fuel or other commercial products in the industrial market.
Extra-virgin grade or class, on the other hand,
holds the highest quality (hence, most expensive) because it is made from
cold-pressing. Followed by virgin, pure and refined
graded oil.
For health benefits, I suggest that you go with extra-virgin olive oil. You pay
more. Virgin grade may offer cheaper
alternative but you get less nutritional benefits in return. In short, you get
what you pay for.
These olive oil facts serve to provide an overall picture for you. You might
want to get into its specifics to find out more
on how this liquid gold benefits your health.
About The Author
Laura Ng invites you to discover more olive oil's health benefits at http://www.ionehealth.com/nutrition-health/olive-oil-
health-benefits.htm now, so that you know exactly how to strengthen your immune
system and improve your health dramatically
with this liquid gold. Want to take your health to even higher level? Visit
http://www.ionehealth.com/ for more natural
health remedies now.
Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/food_and_drink/article_2780.shtml
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