Traditionally Olive Oil is best known for its use in culinary circles as a popular accompaniment to food and salads. When we think of Olive Oil we think of the Mediterranean diet with connotations of health and sunshine.

A lesser known property of Olive Oil is that of its medical strength and seemingly medicinal powers. Already the oil has been credited with halting liver damage, being an effective anti-oxidant, fighting against cancer tumours and effectively managing muscle and rheumatoid pains.

With this knowledge in mind recent tests have taken place to study whether these properties of Olive Oil hold true and whether the liquid is more than just a popular edition to a meal.

We all know to eat more healthily especially as we are coming off a Christmas period where many of us will have over eaten and indulged in gluttony so putting some more olive oil back in our lives will be the kick-start to the traditional January detox. It is clear that Olive Oil can contribute to simply more than just a healthier diet, but a healthier body that will live for longer.

The problem faced in society today in increasing levels of fat in many popular consumer foods and bad fats at that, so how can we combat this problem? One simple easy and tasty solution is the increased use of olive oil within many foods as it is made of ‘good fats’ that are able to lower fat and cholesterol levels within our bodies. With its benefits to health highlighted above it is clear that a move away from traditional cooking items such as margarine, lard and butter towards olive based spreads makes a lot of sense. It is sensible in that olive oil not only has proven health benefits but it has the potential to increase quality of life and subsequently extend that life for a few more years.

Typically associated with Greece it has been medically proved that Greeks are living longer than many other countries and this is attributed in part to the monosaturated ‘good fat’ that makes up some of Olive Oil.

So it seems that there is nothing stopping us consuming this readily available over the counter placebo.

Essentially Olive Oil