The beneficial effects of olive oil have been well known since antiquity, when it was used in preparation of medicines.
The most important turning point in studies of olive oil took place in 1952. An American professor Ancel Keys came to Naples to begin a survey on daily food consumption of Italians in order to compare with the data concerning Americans in relation to the risks of cardio-circulatory diseases.
These enquiries formed the basis of the famous Seven Countries Study which compared the daily diets of seven nations. These studies made it clear that the Mediterranean diet, as based on the consumption of pasta, fish and vegetables, and which only used olive oil as a dressing, drastically reduced the risk of heart attacks and thromboses.
Olive oil is a fundamental element in diets aimed at prevention of cholesterol. It is believed that the prevention of cholesterol, and more generally, promotion of good health, depend on a diet as poor as possible in fats. However, such low fat content diet does not only lower bad cholesterol level (LDC), but also can reduce good cholesterol, which is the so-called cleaner of the arteries, and causes negative side effects in many bodily functions.
The diet based on olive oil helps to keep bad cholesterol levels low, and at the same time safeguards good cholesterol (thanks to mono-unsaturated fatty acids abundant in olive oil), therefore the arteries will be always clean.
Recent studies have demonstrated that olive oil also helps in the prevention of illnesses in the digestive apparatus, against bone ageing and against certain kinds of tumors.
All these elements, than, make olive oil an essential component for a long, healthy and balanced life, suitable for all ages and places. Its therapeutic qualities have been known since ages, and still continue to provide new and surprising discoveries.
It is advisable to buy good olive oil and consider it not as an expensive or luxurious addition, but as something that is good for health, and even can heel.We are what we eat, this saying is always true.
