6 Health Benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

To get the most benefit from your olive oil, you have to be sure you’re using cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. You can take advantage of it both internally and externally.

Reviewed and approved by the pharmacist Lourdes Martínez.

Written by Katherine Flórez

Last update: 26 May, 2022

Extra virgin olive oil is used in kitchens everywhere, both by ordinary cooks and renowned chefs in the culinary world.

Its flavor makes it an excellent ingredient to add to a variety of recipes. The health benefits also play an important role, however. The healthy properties of extra virgin olive oil are some of the most significant reasons to use it.

The benefits that extra virgin olive oil has are thanks to its many different compounds, particularly monounsaturated fats.

In addition to providing you with vitamin E, this oil is rich in the following essential acids:

• Oleic acid
• Palmitic acid
• Stearic acid
• Palmitoleic acid
• Linoeic acid

Benefits of extra virgin olive oil

When you add this ingredient to your daily life, you’ll notice several benefits for your body. The compounds we mentioned above play a fundamental role in this.

Today, we want to share all the health benefits you can obtain by using this oil.

It provides treatment for pain

Thanks to the oleocanthal contained in this oil, you can apply it to the affected area with a massage and reduce inflammation. This will also cause your pain to gradually decrease.

It protects against cancer

Before we describe this benefit, we should point out that no food in the world will completely prevent or cure cancer.

However, the intake of certain foods can help reduce your likelihood of suffering from it. This is the case with extra virgin olive oil.

According to various studies, certain properties contained in this oil like oleic acid reduce your likelihood of getting cancer.

In addition to that, this key ingredient is one of the best natural antioxidants in the world. Thus, it also helps eliminate toxins from the body.

It protects your body

Extra virgin olive oil contributes to the health of your body in general, especially your immune system. Bacteria and other harmful cellular organisms are attacked by the components in this oil. Thus, olive oil helps eliminate them gradually.

This helps protect you against a number of illnesses or diseases caused by viruses and bacteria.

It fights cholesterol

Extra virgin olive oil also stands out for its ability to reduce high cholesterol levels.

The monounsaturated fats stimulate your circulatory system to eliminate bad cholesterol (LDL) and improve levels of good cholesterol (HDL).

This will help prevent diseases in your cardiovascular system and even promote cellular respiration by facilitating oxygen transport.

It takes care of your skin

These cause your skin to progressively deteriorate. Fortunately, extra virgin olive oil has properties that care for the skin, especially when used topically.

You should never use it as a sunscreen, however, as it will have the opposite effect!

Applying extra virgin olive oil to your skin adds moisture and prevents premature aging of your skin cells. It also repairs damaged tissue.

It prevents Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s can affect the way you think, act, behave, and remember things. However, despite occurring at older ages, it is not related to aging.

Currently, Alzheimer’s is one of the most common forms of dementia in the world. With the passage of time, its effects on your brain worsen.

Alzheimer’s is also known as one of the neurodegenerative diseases, which means that it can be treated but not cured. Ideally, however, it can be avoided.

In this regard, extra virgin olive oil may be able to help, according to a recent study.

Because it’s a natural antioxidant, its consumption can help eliminate toxins from the brain that cause this disease.