Olive Oil | Health Benefits,Recipes,Gifts

Olive Oil Products & Types

Yoga is not simply for short term solutions but has to be seen as more of a long term commitment which can hold incalculable benefits for you. While you have various forms of yoga in addition to controversies about correct versions of yoga, most yoga practitioners agree that a healthy lifestyle goes beyond yoga to incorporate various healthy measures. There is no direct correlation between yoga and olive oil, but a lot of practitioners of yoga believe...

Types Of Olive Oil

Before using olive oil therapeutically or in your daily diet, it is necessary to understand about:

Olive oil types and uses. There are three basic types of olive oil - pure, virgin, and extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is like a fine wine and must be treated as such. The best olive oil has the lowest acidity and extra virgin olive oil excels in terms of this as well as on the basis of aroma, color, and flavor. It is completely without any additives and is best used for dressings and as an accompaniment to breads. Virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing of the harvested olives. Its acidity level is maintained between 2 and 3.3%. Virgin olive oil can be used in cooking. Pure olive oil is in fact a blend of virgin and refined olive oil. It is resistant to high temperatures and is therefore popular in cooking as well. Since it is lower in nutrients than pure and virgin olive oil, it is also less expensive, making it an ideal olive oil for massages and hair and skin treatments. Lastly, you have olive pomace oil, which is the lowest grade of olive oil available. It is largely a blended oil that is suitable for cooking on high heat. For a variety of olive oil recipes and uses, the Internet is a treasure trove of information. Learn more about how you can maximize the use of olive oil in all aspects of your daily life from cooking to home remedies from a host of sites available.

Olive Oil Recipes

Most doctors agree that with the use of olive oil, recipes can be made healthier. This is more so when healthier means of cooking are used and options like non-stick cookware are included. For a lot of people, olive oil goes beyond just use for cooking purposes. They ingest olive oil directly, by use as salad dressing and the like. Balsamic vinegar and olive oil, for instance, is a popular choice for tangy salad dressing. Such dressings would be preferable to creamy and heavy salad dressing. You will find plenty of unique recipes such as basil olive oil and the like. This is because olive oil can be easily combined with various healthy ingredients and there are plenty of ingredients that could add to give it a unique flavor. The uses for olive oil are varied and are not limited to the kitchen alone. When it comes to olive oil, cosmetics are not far behind. Various beauty products have listed olive oil as an ingredient and these are not limited to skin care products.

Olive Oil Wedding Favors

One of the latest trends with olive oil is the gifting of olive oil wedding favors. The wedding tradition of giving every guest a gift to remember the couple by now includes personalized olive oil bottles on every table. Companies now give you an option to design your own private label as a wedding favor. On the similar theme, you can also custom make olive-themed gift baskets filled with different types of olive oils and olives or even better, an olive tree to signify and long and healthy life!

Olive Oil Massage

Another way, olive oil can improve your health is by way of an olive oil massage. Warm olive oil massaged into the scalp or the skin can help relieve tension, reduce stress and improve energy. You could also add a few drops of an aroma oil of your choice to add to the experience. Olive oil for body massage has also shown results where reduction of stretch marks are concerned. Other olive oil massage benefits include its moisturizing and healing properties along with its antioxidant qualities. A small percentage of people are allergic to olive oil as compared to other massage oils available. Because of its gentle properties and its ability to provide the skin with essential fatty acids, olive oil massages for babies are also very popular. Babies (and mothers) can benefit from the improved toning and elasticity that comes as a result of an olive oil massage.

Olive Oil Health Benefits

Besides the use of olive oil in different products, it has many health benefits also. Olive oil is often referred to as liquid gold and for a good reason. Olive oil is not only delicious in taste and subtle in flavor but also rich in nutrients. There are several olive oil health benefits due to its high percentage of oleic acid (Omega 9) that makes up to nearly 85% of the fatty acids in olive oil. Oleic acid in turn helps to keep our arteries strong and flexible. There are no trans-fats present in olive oil and it is high in vitamins E, K, and A along with antioxidant polyphenols. As a result olive oil is excellent for lowering bad cholesterol and reducing incidents of colon, skin, and breast cancer. Olive oil health benefits also include lowering blood pressure, reducing the risk of Alzheimers and decreasing the possibility of gallstones.

Olive oil is also used as an inexpensive home remedy for skin ailments and hair treatments. Getting rid of rough, dry skin is one of the olive oil benefits for skin. Mix olive oil with salt to make an easy, effective exfoliant and skin smoothener. For soft hands, elbows, feet and knees, a scrub like this can work wonders. If the skin is really rough, add sugar instead of salt. There are many ways to explore olive oil benefits for hair. Hot olive oil massaged into your hair once a week can make a world of a difference and leaves you with smooth, shiny, deep-conditioned hair. It is also an effective anti-dandruff treatment when mixed with eau de cologne. Rubbing a few drops of olive oil through your hair will help control static and frizz.

Since olive oil is most easily absorbed into the body and is a monounsaturated fat, it is an excellent substitute for butter and other more fatty oils while cooking. Olive oil benefits weight loss in many other ways as well. Followers of the Mediterranean Diet swear by the benefits of using olive oil in cooking and preparing their daily meals. Since olive oil nutrition facts state that for every 100 grams of olive oil there are more than 1.5 grams of omega-3, 3.5 to 21 grams of Omega-6, 890 kilocalories, 14 grams of saturated fat (of which 11 grams is polyunsaturated and 73 grams is monounsaturated) along with 14 mg of vitamin E and 62 mg of vitamin K, olive oil is indeed a miracle food and a necessary addition into any healthy diet.