Tiana Harilela blog olive oil

My husband Shivam who is a vegetarian chef, has been harping on for years about the benefits of olive oil. To be honest, even though I know there are ‘good oils’ and ‘bad oils’, I would rather omit it altogether for my waistline. That was until recently when he pointed out yet again its benefits. I suppose it is because he is Portuguese that putting olive oil on everything works for him in the same way that putting Soya Sauce on everything works for me (I feel more Chinese than Indian sometimes). So this time I listened to him. More so this time around because I started noticing that his skin glows all the time and that he never has dry skin. I thought to myself, on my wedding day I want to GLOW like him. So here and now my research into olive oil continues ...and in many ways I suppose I do this out of pure vanity first and health reasons follow as a second which is unlike me, but then again, it is not everyday one gets married.

But before we get into some of the benefits of olive oil, let’s look quickly at the olive oil you should be buying:

First of all you have extra virgin olive oil. This is considered to be the best because it is the least processed. It is comprised of the oil from the first pressing of the olives.
The next best would be virgin olive oil, which is the oil that is from the second pressing of olives.

So when you are out shopping next time try to grab that bottle of extra virgin olive oil to get the best benefits possible out of this oil.

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Tiana Harilela olive oil 2
Above Tiana Harilela olive oil 2

Many people talk about the longevity of those on a Mediterranean diet and as I said before, my husband is living proof of its benefits. He’s long and lean, eats whatever he likes and never gets fat, and he’s always glowing. So I watch and observe his diet all the time. Having grown up with a macrobiotic diet and cooking healthy all the time it has made me sit up and listen to him more, so here are a few health benefits of olive oil to help convince the reader.

As olive oil has a high content of monosaturated fatty acids and a high content of anti oxidative substances, some studies have shown that olive oil actually offers protection to heart diseases because it helps to control cholesterol levels. It apparently raises good cholesterol and lowers bad cholesterol too.

Olive oil is also beneficial for going to the toilet. And as such helps to lower the risk of gallstones.

As well as all of the above, in the yogic diet it recommends taking good oils into the body to help lubricate the joints. We are told to take ghee or olive oil in small doses (small, I might stress) on a daily basis to help lubricate the joints and the system so we do not suffer from brittle bones as we age.