Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and Health

Extra-virgin olive oil, raw or heated, is the most recommended fat in a balanced diet. It is not only because of its aroma and flavour, but also its other characteristics such as its acid composition with predominance of monounsaturated fatty acids and with a perfect balance of polyunsaturated acids, its content in vitamin E, in provitamin A and in antioxidants that have protective effects on health.
The benefits of extra-virgin olive oil for the circulatory system:
A diet rich in animal fat increases the amount of cholesterol in blood, one of the main culprits of cardiovascular diseases. Vegetable oil, on the contrary, has a protective function.
After due consideration, we conclude that extra-virgin olive oil is more beneficial then other types of vegetable oil.
Not only because of its peculiarities, but also because extra-virgin oilve oil is the only type of oil extracted by a simple pression and squashing of the fruit, without further chemical or physical manipulation. Seed oil, on the contrary, is produced by the use of chemical solvents, like butane, propane, hexane.
More precisely: not all cholesterol is harmful. The fraction, transmited by high-density lipoproteins (HDL), activates the elimination of cholesterol biliary. Consumption of extra-virgin olive oil reduces total cholesterol and favours the function of cholesterol of HDL. As a result, it is beneficial for the body and olive oil consumers live longer. The risk of coronary disease is much higher among the inhabitants of countries that do not consume extra-virgin olive oil than within Mediterranean populations with high extra-virgin oil intake.
Extra-virgin olive oil is used as an antioxidant and an antiradical:
The presence of tocopherols and polyphenols gives extra-virgin olive oil an important role in antioxidant and antiradical activities that prevent the cell from aging.

Digestibility of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil:
The characteristic of olive oil that everyone appreciates is, beyond all doubt, the particular fragrance that it gives to dishes. It increases the appetite for food and stimulates secretions in the digestive system.
Food and delicacies prepared with extra-virgin olive oil have an excellent gastric and intestinal tolerance. In fact, oilve oil protects the mucous membrane and avoids the effects of hypercloridria, and hence, reduces the risk of stomach or duodenal ulcers. It has a laxative effect, more effective on an empty stomach and it helps improve chronical constipation. It stimulates the gal bladder and inhibits gall secretion. Furthermore, it defends the body against formation of gallstones, thanks to the activation of the gall flow and to the increase of the high-density lipoproteins (HDL). The incidence of gall lithiasis is lower in the regions with high extra-virgin olive oil intake.

Therapeutic Aspects of Extra-virgin Olive Oil
Olive oil has a protective effect on arteries, the stomach and the liver, thanks to its composition. In the last few years, the properties of diets rich in monounsaturated (oleic) acid have been recognized. These types of acids have effects on diabetics reducing the blood glucose levels, and contributing to drop the blood pressure, both dystolic (maximum) and systolic (minimum), decreasing the production of gastric acid in the small intestine (important for those who suffer from peptic or duodenal ulcer or dyspepsia), stimulating the emptying of bile ducts, preventing in this way gallstone formation, limiting the secretion of the pancreas (important for diseases like pancreatitis).
Extra-virgin olive oil has always been considered both food and medicine. Our grandmothers used it to give their hair brightness and vitality.
 
Extra-virgin Olive Oil And The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is considered one of the most varied and effective diets for well-being, mainly based on the consumption of food of a vegetable origin, such as bread, pasta, friuts, vegetables, extra-virgin olive oil on the moderate consumption of animal food, milk, low-fat cheese, fish, lean meat, poultry, and rabbits.