Polyphenols – Extra Virgin Olive Oils Powerful Antioxidant
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is probably the most extensively researched foodstuff on the planet and the health benefits are evidence based. Thanks to the recent spotlight on the Mediterranean Diet, extensive research has been done on the phytonutrient composition of olive oil. What has been discovered is an extensive list of phytonutrients; one of the most praised is its polyphenols. The amount of polyphenols found in Extra Virgin Olive Oil is truly amazing! Olive oil health benefits are listed below with brief explanation on each.
Polyphenols are a potent antioxidant – one that can decommission a nasty molecule in your body called free radicals. Free radicals can ricochet around inside your body and harm good cells. Antioxidants, such as the polyphenols found in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, work to neutralize free radicals; protecting the body from their harmful antics. These antioxidants circulate in the body, hooking up with free radicals, unstable compounds thought to play a role in more than 60 different health conditions including cancer and atherosclerosis, as well as aging.”
Source: Nutrition Advance
Polyphenols, in other words, act as a pretty powerful cell protector inside your body. Extra Virgin Olive Oil like Morocco Gold is rich in polyphenols.
Several of the polyphenols found in olive oil including hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein and luteolin have shown to be especially helpful in avoiding unhealthy blood clotting by keeping our blood platelets in check.
New research is showing that polyphenols in olive oil may help balance the bacteria in our digestive tract; slowing the growth of unwanted bacteria. On this list of polyphenols are: oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and ligstroside. Some of these polyphenols are specifically able to inhibit the growth of the Helicobacter pylori bacterium; the bacterium that leads to stomach ulcers and other unwanted digestive problems. Yet another category of polyphenols called secoiridoids, continues to be a focus in research on prevention of digestive tract cancers.
In fact the European Food Safety Agency has now approved health claims for Extra Virgin Olive Oil with polyphenol content of more than 250mg / kg. Morocco Gold contains polyphenols well above this level. So here are some of the ways that Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil can improve everyday health and well-being.
Reduced of risk of cardiovascular diseases
Cardiovascular diseases are the top cause of death in the industrialised world. A host of studies have documented that arteriosclerosis is closely linked to eating habits and lifestyle.
“… The lowest rates of death from coronary heart disease are currently recorded in the countries where olive oil is virtually the only fat consumed.”
Professor Francisco Grande Covian
Beneficial effect on ulcers and gastritis
Olive oil reduces the risk of the flow or reflux of food and gastric juice up from the stomach to the oesophagus, the gastric content of the stomach is released more slowly and gradually into the duodenum, giving a greater sensation of “fullness”.
Maintains the digestive tract in good health.
Olive oil produces a small amount of secretion by the pancreas, making this organ “work” little, but efficiently and enough to carry out all its digestive functions. It stimulates the absorption of various nutrients (calcium, Iron, magnesium, etc.).
Olive oil, therefore, is a fat that is digested and absorbed really well. It has choice properties and a mild laxative effect that helps to combat constipation and bad breath.
Helps to reduce blood pressure
Certain foods can raise blood pressure besides having an effect on body weight. Along with high blood cholesterol, cigarette smoking, obesity and diabetes, it is one of the main health problems of the developed world.
One in every four adults is hypertensive. This increases the risk of early death because of the damage to the body’s arteries, especially the arteries that supply blood to the heart, kidneys, brain and eyes. Addition of olive oil to a diet has a clear lowering effect on blood pressure. Regular consumption of olive oil decreases both systolic (maximum) and diastolic (minimum) blood pressure.
Help control healthy cholesterol levels
Cholesterol is a fatty substance contained in foods of animal origin. Diets containing a large amount of animal fats raise blood cholesterol level, which is one of the chief risk factors of cardiovascular disease.
Olive oil lowers the levels of total blood cholesterol, LdL-cholesterol and triglycerides. At the same time it does not alter the levels of HbL-cholesterol (and may even raise them), which plays a protective role and prevents the formation of fatty patches and recurrent heart disease.
Olive oil eases or prevents diabetes
An Olive Oil rich diet is not only a good alternative in the treatment of diabetes, it may also help to prevent or delay the onset of the disease. How it does so is by preventing insulin resistance lowering triglycerides and ensuring better blood sugar level control and lower blood pressure.
Olive oil lessens the severity of osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a reduction in bone tissue mass that increases the risk of fractures. There are two types. Type I occurs in middle-aged, post-menopausal women and type II in the elderly. Olive oil appears to have a favourable effect on bone calcification, and bone mineralisation is better the more olive oil is consumed. It helps calcium absorption, thereby playing an important part during the period of growth and in the prevention of osteoporosis.
Olive Oil during Pregnancy
Post-natal development of babies of mothers who consumed Extra Virgin Olive Oil when pregnant is better in terms of height, weight, behaviour and psychomotor reflexes.
The foetus needs vitamin E to grow. The new-born baby also needs a store of vitamin E to fight against the oxidative stress caused on entering an oxygen atmosphere. Vitamin E is present in sufficient quantity thanks to the resistance of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to oxidation.
So, both the amount and the type of food consumed in the diet during pregnancy play a key part in the metabolic adaptations that occur in the mother and in her functional relationship with the foetus.
Olive Oil and Breast Feeding
It is essential to maintain the levels of this vitamin during breast feeding. Vitamin E is also recommended for premature and new-born infants with kidney or pancreas failure. This is because of the favourable effect it has on the hepato-biliary system. Its ratio of linoleic acid to linolenic acid (essential fatty acids) is similar to that of breast milk.
The beneficial effect of oleic acid lasts beyond pregnancy. Oleic acid also appears to exert a positive influence on growth and bone mineralisation and development during infancy.
