The Health Benefits of Olive Oil

Olive oil has gotten a lot of attention through studies on Mediterranean diets and popular eating plans like that Flat Belly Diet, which encourages consuming olive oil. This all appears to be much more than hype as the 2008 Medicine International Conference in Spain touted olive oil as a component to a healthy diet. The many benefits of olive oil appear to be worth including in your diet, if it meets the approval of your physician.

Cancer Protection

The National Institutes of Health and U.S. National Library of Medicine reported in Pub Med a lower incidence of cancer in countries like Greece, Spain and Italy where fats like olive oil are a staple in the diet. The results were presented at the Medicine International Conference. They showed a cancer risk reduction particularly in breast, prostate and colorectal cancers in people who had high consumptions of MUFAs, the term for monounsaturated fatty acids like olive oil.

Heart Health

Pub Med also reports a study conducted at the University of Queensland in Australia showed a number of heart benefits to the consumption of MUFAs like olive oil. The study, conducted on rats, supported the claim that consuming healthy fats in your diet may lower blood pressure, decrease cardiac inflammation and lower cholesterol levels. By diminishing these cardiovascular risks, it may greatly improve heart health and decrease the risk of heart attack.

Infant Respiration
Consumption of olive oil by pregnant women appears to be beneficial to their unborn children, according to a trial at the Pontificia Universidad Cataolica de Chile's Department of Pediatrics and Family Medicine. The study should that women who consumed olive oil during their pregnancy had infants with less difficulty breathing from wheezing during their first year. The study was conducted on over 1,400 infants with mothers from varied groups, including asthmatics and smokers.

Protect Your Skin
Whether you include it in your diet or rub it on your face, olive oil appears to be good for your skin. The Daily Green notes that people have been using cosmetics with olive oil for centuries because it is a great moisturizer. Dr. Leslie Baumann, who wrote The Skin Type Solution, touted both consuming olive oil and applying it to the skin. According to Dr. Baumann, olive oil may also help protect against skin cancer because of the antioxidants it contains.

Considerations

Olive oil appears to have a number of proven health benefits, however, you should not make any major changes to your diet without consulting your doctor, especially if you are pregnant or nursing. If you feel adding olive oil to your diet or skin care may be beneficial to you, bring it to the attention of your healthcare professional.