Olive oil is good for you!  We are hearing from many different sources that using olive oil when you cook is beneficial to your health.  How is olive oil helpful?  Here are just a few of the ways that adding olive oil to your diet will improve your health.

Olive oil contains antioxidants.  What are antioxidants?  They are a substance that helps to slow down, or to prevent, oxidant damage to our cells.  Antioxidants fight the free radicals that naturally occur whenever our bodies use oxygen.  It has been said that antioxidants can help prevent cancer, can improve the immune system, and can reduce the likelihood of a person developing heart disease, diabetes, and macular degeneration.

Olive oil is contains “good” fat.  The body needs a certain amount of fat.  Olive oil has monounsaturated fat, which can help lower the amount of low-density lipoprotein (also called LDL), in your body.  In other words, the “good” fat that is in olive oil can help you lower your cholesterol.  This is opposed to “bad” fats, (saturated and trans fats), that will raise your cholesterol.  This is why it is said that olive oil helps prevent heart disease.  Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or Virgin Olive Oil would be the best kind of olive oil for you to use, if you want to lower your cholesterol.

Olive oil contains vitamin E.  The body needs vitamin E for many reasons.  Vitamin E is an antioxidant.  The body uses it to help make healthy red blood cells.  Vitamin E helps the body to absorb vitamin K.  Vitamin E is also said to help prevent heart disease and cancer.  It may also help people who are especially sensitive to the sun.  There is the belief that vitamin E may help prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease.  These are just a few of the ways that vitamin E can be good for your health.

Olive oil may be beneficial for people who have diabetes.  Antioxidants are thought to help lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels.  In addition to this, olive oil is considered to be one of the best choices of oils for people with diabetes to use for cooking.  Olive oil is flavorful, and is good to use for foods that you want to lightly fry.  Since olive oil contains the good kind of fat, it also can help a person who has diabetes to prevent heart disease.

Olive oil may decrease the risk of a person developing rheumatoid arthritis.  Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that affects the joints, causing stiffness and pain due to inflammation of the joints.  It is thought that olive oil can help reduce that inflammation, and ease the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.