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Olive Oil
Olive oil has long been proved to be a heart-friendly fat, with cholesterol-lowering properties, but new research has shown that freshly pressed olive oil also contains a compound with the same pain-relieving effects as the popular over-the-counter drug ibuprofen. Scientists have recently discovered that olive oil contains a powerful anti-inflammatory compound called oleocanthal.
It is not just the olive oil which is extremely beneficial for heart health, but also the actual olives which are excellent fruits and very good for the heart. The olives can be eaten raw or just immersed in some olive oil.
Oleocanthal has exactly the same anti-inflammatory effect that ibuprofen has. Research has shown that only the freshest - and usually the most expensive - olive oil contains significant amounts of oleocanthal. Ageing and cooking the oil at extremely high temperatures for too long can destroy the oleocanthal content.
To ensure the benefits of the olives (and olive oil), the oil should be cold pressed and extra virgin. This means the olive oil has not been boiled before squeezing the olives to make the oil. In addition to this, the extra virgin olive oil has the most fruity, aromatic full flavour, less acid and less likely to go rancid than the other types of olive oil. In addition to this, extra virgin olive oil contains polyphenols which are powerful antioxidants. These polyphenols are the substance which prevent cholesterol from clogging up the arteries and blood vessels. The polyphenols are the substance which stabilise the olive oil, preserving the olive oil during storage and cooking and preventing it from going rancid.
Extra virgin olive oil is the only oil which has larger amounts of the antixodant vitamin E, than any other vegetable oil.
- What are superfoods?
- Benefits of superfoods
- 10 Superfoods
references
- Graci S, Diamond H, Martin JM, The Power of Superfoods, Prentice Hall Canada, 1999
- Pratt SG, Matthews, K. SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life, Harper-Collins Publishers USA, 2004
More information
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