Olive Oil
What are the health benefits of olive oil?
The health benefits of olive oil have been recognised thousands of years ago, in ancient Greece, by many physicians like Hippocrates, Galen, Dioscorides, and Diocles. In recent years, modern doctors and nutritionists have realised that extra virgin olive oil, particularly, contributes significant nutritional value to human health.
Olive oil contains a very high amount of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA’s). Diets high in MUFA’s and low in saturated fatty acids (SUFA’s) could favourably affect blood cholesterol levels and consequently decrease the risk of developing cardiovascula diseases such as coronary heart disease (CHD); even when providing the same amount of total fat. Further studies have revealed that other than its high MUFA content, unprocessed (extra-virgin) olive oil contains non-fat components such as certain phenolic compounds which have been found to have a wide range of beneficial health effects which include favourable effects on cholesterol (both 'good' and 'bad') levels and oxidation, as well as posessing an anti-inflamatory effect and potentially having healthy influences on our blood pressure and blood clotting [1].
[1] Visioli F, Galli C. Biological properties of olive oil phytochemicals. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2002;42(3):209-21.
Can olive oil reduce the risk of heart disease?
Heart disease, also called cardiovascular disease is a collection of many different conditions or diseases that can affect the heart. There are many things we can do to help prevent heart disease, from changing our lifestyle by getting more exercise to the things we eat. Olive oil can be an important part of that healthy diet as it has been shown to have a positive effect on the risks associated with heart disease.
An American Heart Association report summarizes other research info on how monounsaturated oil reduces your risk of heart disease in total. They also explore how a high-MUFA diet can improve the other conditions that contribute to heart disease like lowering LDL and raising HDL Cholesterol, helping diabetes, lowering triglycerides and reducing blood clots {AHA Science Advisory (Circulation. 1999;100:1253-1258.) "Monounsaturated Fatty Acids and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease"}. Many studies have shown not only that olive oil has superior protective effects than other foods high in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA’s) due to its non-fat components, but extra-virgin olive oil may be the most beneficial type of olive oil due to its higher concentration of these protective non-fat components, including a variety of phenolic compounds and other antioxidants
Can olive oil prevent the appearance of cancer?
It has been found that the rates of cancer among the Mediterranean populations are significantly lower than the rest of Europe and the United States. This has been attributed to the high dietary intake of plant foods and olive oil. Although it has been observed that per capita fat consumption around the world is highly correlated with breast cancer incidence and mortality, the incidence rates of breast cancer in Mediterranean countries are relatively low compared with those in most other Western countries despite Mediterranean diets being relatively high in fat. Several case-control studies throughout Mediterranean populations have found that women who consume olive oil frequently have a reduced risk of breast cancer. Although it is not clear precisely what component of olive oil its protective effect on breast cancer can be attributed to, it has been suggested that a type of fatty acid called Oleic acid may be at least in part responsible. Animal studies have found that olive oils higher in Oleic acid have prevented carcinogen-induced breast cancer better than olive oils with lower concentrations of Oleic acid.
Why Greek olive oil?
Greece is full of olive groves. Olive trees thrive in the warm rocky hillsides of Greece, producing some of the best olive oils around the world. The Olive Tree is the protagonist of the Greek nature and history as olive oil is the protagonist of the Greek diet.
The indigenous olive tree (wild olive tree) first appeared in the eastern Mediterranean but it was in Greece that it was first cultivated. Since then, the presence of the olive tree in the Greek region has been uninterrupted and closely connected with the traditions and the culture of the Greek people. Olive oil production began over 5000 years ago, on the Greek island of Crete. During the Minoan Period, the olive oil that was produced was stored in earthenware jars and amphorae and quite often it was exported to the Aegean islands and mainland Greece. Apart from the financial gains, though, the olive tree was worshipped as sacred and its oil, besides being offered to the gods and the dead, was also used in the production of perfumes, medicine and in daily life as a basic product in diet, lighting and heating. Ideogramms depicting the olive tree, its crop and olive oil found in Linear A and B tablets, consist the evidence for Minoan's occupation with the olive tree and its produce, from 1800 BC.
In the following centuries, between 700 - 400 B.C, the olive and the olive-oil acquired a special importance all over Greece. Philosophers Anaxagoras and Empedocles investigated the history of olives, Aristoteles described its cultivation, Solon legislated its protection and Platon tought his students in its shade.
The olive tree was the sacred tree of goddess Athena and Athens, the capital of Greece, took its name from the goddess. Zeus had decreed that the city should be given to the god who offered the most useful gift to the people. Poseidon gave them the horse. Athena struck the bare soil with her spear and caused an olive tree to spring up. The people were so delighted with the olive that Zeus gave the city to Athena and named it after her. Athena is often shown with an olive branch, a symbol of peace, wisdom and prosperity.
In the 6th century BC, Solon, the great Athenian legislator, drafted the first laws protecting the olive tree including prohibition of its uncontrolled felling. A number of facts demonstrate the link between the olive tree and social activities in ancient Greece. Most people are familiar with the tradition of awarding an olive branch to winners at the ancient athletic games. A lesser known tradition is that the winners of Athens’ most important games, the Panathenaea, were awarded huge amounts of olive oil (as much as 5 tons!) stored in special amphorae known as “Panathenaic Amphorae”.
During the classical period when Athens reached the peak of its power, the Greeks exported olive oil throughout the known world of the time. When the Romans occupied Greece olive oil production continued and spread to other parts of the empire, as it did during the years of the Byzantine Empire. Due to the large pieces of land owned by monasteries during this period, a great part of the total production was the work of monks. The Byzantine Empire included almost half of the olive oil producing areas in the known world and the product was widely exported. When the Turks conquered Greece the production of olive oil was not affected. The product itself was kept alive through the traditional Greek way of life, and was even used for religious purposes. During this time the olive tree and its oil had special significance in the Christian Church; it was a symbol of love and peace, an essential part of several solemn rites from baptism to its use in the oil lamps seen in churches and the little shrine that is part of every Greek household.
Today more than 120,000,000 olive trees are cultivated in Greece, and according to the International Olive Oil Council data, Greece is the third biggest producer of olive oil in the world, with a total production of more than 300.000 tons, of which more than 85% is extra virgin olive oil.