Does drinking olive oil have health benefits? Dietitian shares tips for adding it to your diet

Olive oil is a key ingredient in the Mediterranean diet, which many nutrition experts consider the healthiest way to eat.

Swapping olive oil for other fats is one of the easiest ways to increase your health because olive oil has so many benefits. Here’s a breakdown of why olive oil is so good for you, how to buy olive oil, and when to incorporate it into your routine.

Olive oil nutrition

Olive oil has many unique nutritional properties compared to other cooking oils. For one thing, it’s high in monounsaturated fats (MUFAs), and MUFAs help lower “bad” LDL cholesterol.

It also contains more than 30 types of phenolic compounds, which are antioxidants that protect cells from harmful free radical molecules. Over time, free radical damage can increase the risk of numerous health problems.

Polyphenols also have prebiotic activity, which encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut microbiome. The microbiome plays an essential role in regulating everything from cholesterol and blood sugar levels to mood, inflammation, nutrient absorption and immune function. In other words, a healthy gut is essential to your overall physical and mental health.

In addition to these bioactive compounds, one tablespoon of olive oil has:

• 126 calories
• 14 grams of healthy fat
• 2.93 milligrams of vitamin E (29% of the daily value)

Data suggests that 90% of men and 96% of women have an insufficient intake of vitamin E. This essential nutrient is also an antioxidant that helps fight free radical damage and increases cell activity immune

Type of olive oil

When shopping for olive oil, you’ll likely see three types on the shelf:

• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOA) it is the tastiest and most nutrient-rich of the different types of olive oil. That’s because it’s the least processed, and the polyphenols contribute to its distinctive flavor.
• Olive oil it is a mixture of EVOO and more processed and refined olive oil. Therefore, it has less polyphenols and a milder taste.
• Light olive oil it has the same amount of fat and calories as other types of olive oil, but “light” refers to the taste, which has no flavor as a result of processing.

The North American Olive Oil Association recommends buying olive oil in undamaged, dust-free, dark bottles. The label will tell you the country of origin, such as Spain, Greece or Italy. Country of origin confers certain flavor characteristics and is not an indicator of quality concerns. You’ll also see a best before date on the label. While it’s helpful to select a bottle with a date as far back as possible, they say well-stored olive oil can last up to two years.

Once at home, store the olive oil in a cool, dark place, such as a pantry cupboard. Storing olive oil in the refrigerator may seem like a good idea, but repeatedly chilling it and bringing it back to room temperature puts stress on the oil.

Benefits of olive oil

When you use olive oil, chances are you’re using it instead of an unhealthy fat, like butter. Limiting unhealthy fats and replacing them with olive oil with its high antioxidant content and anti-inflammatory properties is one of the main reasons olive oil is associated with numerous health benefits.

Skin and hair

Topical application of olive oil can aid in wound healing and may protect against skin cancer. Research suggests that olive oil can increase collagen in the skin and fight oxidative stress, contributing to younger-looking skin.

However, there is also evidence that olive oil can allow water to escape from the skin, which could lead to itchy, dry, irritated skin. Therefore, it is a good idea to talk to your dermatologist before applying olive oil topically.

Olive oil can be applied to the hair to help seal the cuticle, soften the hair and reduce frizz. It can also moisturize your hair and add shine.

heart health

The polyphenols and MUFAs in olive oil play an important role in heart protection, especially when you replace olive oil with less healthy fats. A 2019 study of more than 63,000 women and nearly 30,000 men found that replacing trans fat, carbohydrates, or saturated fat with the same amount of calories from plant-based MUFAs (such as olive oil) led to a risk of die between 14% and 20% less. of heart diseases.

brain health

Another reason to use olive oil instead of unhealthy fats is because it’s better for your memory and brain. Regularly adding olive oil to your diet has been found to protect against cognitive decline and has been associated with a 28% lower risk of fatal dementia. Alzheimer’s disease, which affects about 5.7 million Americans, is a fatal form of dementia.

In fact, a study published in JAMA on May 6 found that in US adults, a higher intake of olive oil is linked to a lower risk of dying from dementia, independent of other aspects of diet . The study authors recommended replacing margarine and mayonnaise with olive oil.

cancer

Olive oil has powerful antioxidant properties, which may be why it offers protection against cancer. The analysis of data from 45 studies found that people who consumed the most olive oil also had a 31% lower risk of cancer compared to those who consumed the least, including breast, gastrointestinal and urinary cancers.

How much olive oil should be consumed daily?

Experts suggest that you can benefit from consuming 1 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil per day. You can achieve this goal by using olive oil during cooking and in place of other fats in your diet.

Is drinking olive oil good for you?

It is better to incorporate olive oil into a meal than to drink it directly. Chewing food increases satiety and can help regulate food intake by reducing hunger. Drinking calories doesn’t have the same appetite-regulating effect, and since olive oil is a high-calorie substance, drinking it could cause weight gain if you were consuming more calories than your body needs.

Ways to add olive oil to your diet

Much has been said about the smoke point of olive oils and whether it is okay to cook food with olive oil at high temperatures. Although olive oil has a moderate smoke point, this does not mean that it breaks down easily or loses stability.

A study that examined the stability of various cooking oils found that EVOO was the most stable of the 10 oils tested. Another study that tested various types of olive oil found that the oils were only harmful after 24 to 27 hours of frying.

Other research has found that EVOO’s antioxidants and phenolic compounds transfer to cooked vegetables, making them even healthier. So incorporate olive oil in the ways you might use other fats, including roasting, baking, sautéing, and sautéing, as well as using it for salads and marinades.

You can also drag a good quality EVOO into almost anything. For example, elevate your store-bought hummus by adding a tablespoon of EVOO to the top. Add a little drizzle to the scrambled eggs, along with some salt and pepper. You can even use it on yogurt and vanilla ice cream.