Is Olive Oil an Effective Painkiller?

The same olive oil that you probably already have in your kitchen pantry or next to your stove could help when you are experiencing pain. If you are a chronic pain sufferer, getting a little bit of olive oil into your everyday diet may help to lessen your pain. It is said that olive oil has anti-inflammatory properties that are similar to those of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Why Does it Work?

Scientists have found that extra virgin olive oil contains oleocanthal, an antioxidant. This antioxidant possesses a potency that is very much similar to the popular over-the-counter drug ibuprofen in inhibiting an enzyme (cyclooxygenase) responsible for causing inflammation and pain. The good news is, olive oil is not known to cause side effects where ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can.

Other studies that have been conducted have uncovered the fact that olive oil contains phenols. Phenols possess a variety of benefits, including antioxidant, anti-cancer, chemopreventive and anti-inflammatory.

So the combination of inhibiting the cyclooxygenase enzyme and possessing phenols is like a double attack against pain-causing inflammation.

So, How Can I Use Olive Oil for Pain Relief?

This will depend on whether you are having acute or chronic pain. If your pain is chronic, you probably want to get olive oil into your diet on a daily basis. If your pain is acute, simply eating it during the times when you are having pain will likely be sufficient. The research shows that it works in a manner similar to ibuprofen, so using it as you would ibuprofen is an easy way to think about it. However, you certainly do not just want to drink a shot of it. A very popular choice would be to eat a salad and use olive oil as your dressing. You can also use it on pastas and on chicken or fish. You can also switch it out for butter and dip bread into it.

The guideline to combat inflammation is two teaspoons a day, so as you can see, you do not really need much, making it easy to incorporate into your typical daily diet. A few simple substitutions in your normal recipes will easily get two teaspoons of olive oil into your day. Just make sure the type you use is the extra virgin olive oil and you should be all set to experience the pain-relieving benefits.

Resources

WebMD: Olive Oil May Have Pain-Relieving Properties