Wonders of an Olive Tree

Olive trees have the ability to live up to thousands of years old. They often rejuvenate themselves after being burned or even cut to the ground. Due to pathogen-fighting and age-defying properties found in olive trees, there is good reason to believe that olive enthusiasts might also live a longer life.

 

Olive Oil

 

Overview

Olive oil consists of monounsaturated fatty acids, which promote the good HDL blood cholesterol while inhibiting the harmful LDL blood cholesterol. There is no cholesterol in olive oil itself. Studies have found that olive oil significantly reduces the risk of stroke, stomach cancer, heart disease, heart attacks, and other cancers. Olive oil seems to also protect the bones, joints, skin, liver and heart.

 

Olive oil in the Mediterranean diet
In the 1960s, it was found that the people of Greece (Crete) consumed a great deal of salt and fat (but also a lot of plant foods). They were living longer than the Japanese, who were also eating a lot of salt but whose diet was low in fat and lower in plant foods.

The people of Crete lived longer because they had lower rates of stroke, stomach cancer, heart disease and other cancers. Researchers also noticed that people living in countries around the Mediterranean had a lower incidence of heart disease, despite their high intake of mono-unsaturated fats, such as olive oil. This led to investigations into what is known as 'the Mediterranean diet', of which olive oil is a major part.

Research supports the health benefits of olive oil
Recent studies into the health benefits of olive oil have found that it can lower the risk of coronary heart disease by reducing blood cholesterol levels. According to one study, a person's risk of fatal heart attack is halved in just two to four years once they switch to 'the Mediterranean diet', which includes using olive oil as the main dietary fat, increasing vegetable intake, and limiting meat and dairy foods. Research has also found that olive oil may influence body fat distribution, with less fat stored around the stomach.

Dietary fats
There are three types of fat: saturated, polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated (these terms describe the type of chemical bonding between the atoms). Each type consists of fatty acids, which are chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms, in varying combinations. Both polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats can lower blood cholesterol levels. Olive oil is a mono-unsaturated fat.


Types of olive oil
Generally, olive oil is extracted by pressing or crushing olives. Olive oil comes in different varieties, depending on the amount of processing involved. Varieties include:

Blood cholesterol and atherosclerosis
Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) is considered the 'bad' cholesterol. This is because it can stick to artery walls and cause atherosclerosis, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.

Studies into LDL cholesterol have suggested that oxidation is an important step in the development of atherosclerosis. It seems that mono-unsaturated fats reduce the capacity of LDL cholesterol to oxidise, which may explain the protective properties of olive oil. However, extra virgin olive oil also contains around 40 antioxidant phytochemicals. Antioxidants have been associated with reduced oxidation of LDL cholesterol, so perhaps these phytochemicals are the factors responsible for the health benefits.

Blood fats
Once a fatty meal is eaten, it takes the liver around six to 12 hours to scour dietary fats from the blood and change them into compounds such as LDL and HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol.

There is evidence that this six to 12 hour period may be a crucial contributing factor in atherosclerosis. Mono-unsaturated fats like olive oil are cleared from the blood much faster than saturated fats, and this reduces the window of opportunity for the development of atherosclerosis. Mono-unsaturated fats also help to prevent the blood from becoming sticky after a fatty meal and forming dangerous clots.

Researchers compared the weight loss results from one group of people, following 'the Mediterranean diet', to another group who were sticking to low fat and high carbohydrate diets. They found that those following the Mediterranean diet shed excess pounds from both the upper and lower body, but the other group mainly lost fat from the lower body. People who store their body fat around the waist and abdomen ('apple shaped') have a higher risk of heart disease than those people who carry their weight at the hips and thighs ('pear shaped').

 

 

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