Olive Oyl may have been Popeye’s one and only, but we doubt he could have loved her any more than we adore olive oil – another of the odd omega monounsaturated fats. This one is mainly omega-9, and it’s the secret sauce in the tasty and good-for-you Mediterranean diet. And now, a bushel of recently revealed benefits make us want to exclaim: “Olive ya’ forever!”
Protects you from silent strokes. Symptom-free mini-strokes can lead to dementia – and bigger, more disabling brain attacks. Olive oil to the rescue: In one report, brain scans showed that enjoying this good stuff (drizzled on salad greens, used to saute chicken and broccoli) lowered the odds for silent strokes by more than 35 percent.
Way less risk of heart disease. Enjoying two tablespoons of olive oil a day could lower your odds for deadly heart disease by a whopping 44 percent. Even one tablespoon a day can slash your risk by 28 percent, says another new report.
Controls blood-sugar levels. Polyphenols in olive oil help your body process blood sugar more efficiently – and could even help you avoid type 2 diabetes. If you do have diabetes, regular use of olive oil can make it easier to manage blood glucose levels and possibly reduce the amount of blood-sugar-controlling medication you need to take.
Guards against cancer.Making the big “double O” your go-to oil could protect you against respiratory and digestive-system cancers and reduce a woman’s risk for breast cancer by 38 percent.
What makes olive oil such a health-booster? For starters, 55 percent to 80 percent of the fat in olive oil is oleic acid – an omega-9 fatty acid that lowers bad LDL cholesterol, boosts good HDLs, puts blood sugar on an even keel and helps protect against some cancers. But it’s also rich in the plant chemicals that have the power to turn on beneficial genes.
– Dr. Michael Roizen & Dr. Mehmet Oz
© 2012 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.