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The Mediterranean populations became to leave the barbarism behind when they learnt to cultivate olive trees and vine.
Tucidide - Greece IV sec. b.C.
Omero described it as "liquid gold", the extra virgin olive oil, extracted from simple pressed olives of Olea Europea, is aromatic, tasty, an irreplaceable friend for your health and beauty.
The most famous ancient doctors, as Ippocrate, Galeno and Dioscoride, underlined its therapeutic virtues, later confirmed by numerous scientific studies.
Several epidemiological (population-based) studies have found significantly lower rates of death from all causes, particularly heart disease, among those whose dietary habits are closets to traditional Mediterranean diets (rich in plant foods, olive oil and low in saturated animal fats).
These studies provide at least some good evidence that adherence to a Mediterranean-like diet low in saturated fats and high in monounsaturated fats, specifically rich in olive oil, may significantly decrease the risk of heart disease. They underline some of the mechanisms by which Olive oil may exert its cardio-protective effect, such as it’s ability to lower total and LDL “bad” cholesterol levels, reduce LDL cholesterol oxidation, increase HDL “good” cholesterol levels, inhibit unnecessary blood clotting, exert an anti-inflammatory action and lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients, as well as the potent anti-oxidant properties of olive oils non-fat components such as its phenolic content; particularly higher in the lesser-processed “extra-virgin” olive oil.
There is a large body of clinical data to show that consumption of olive oil can provide heart health benefits such as favourable effects on cholesterol regulation and LDL cholesterol oxidation, and that it exerts antiinflamatory, antithrombotic, antihypertensive as well as vasodilatory effects both in animals and in humans.
Statistics have shown that Mediterranean populations such as Spain, Italy & Greece, have significantly lower rates of coronary heart disease (CHD) than that seen throughout the rest of the world. This observation was initially met with confusion, because the typical Mediterranean diet is as high in fat as the typical American diet and even higher in fat than the diets of other European populations.
 Because studies among these other populations had shown a significant association between fat intake and the risk of heart disease, it was not known why the reverse was true among the Mediterranean people. It was soon discovered that it was the quality, not the quantity of fat which was associated with heart disease. The fat intake of typical American diets consisted largely of saturated fats from animal foods such as meat and dairy, whereas the fat intake among typical Mediterranean diets consisted largely of monounsaturated fats from plant sources such as olive oil. It was then discovered that diets high in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA’s) and low in saturated fatty acids (SUFA’s) could favourably affect blood cholesterol levels and consequently decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease (CHD); even when providing the same amount of total fat. Further studies have revealed that other than its high MUFA content, unprocessed (extra-virgin) olive oil contains non-fat components such as certain phenolic compounds which have been found to have a wide range of beneficial health effects which include favourable effects on cholesterol (both 'good' and 'bad') levels and oxidation, as well as posessing an anti-inflamatory effect and potentially having healthy influences on our blood pressure and blood clotting.
The rate of cancer among Mediterranean populations is also significantly lower than the rest of the world. There is some preliminary evidence to suggest that these lower rates of cancer, particularly breast cancer, may also be at least in part due to olive oil consumption, as a component of olive oil called oleic acid has shown the potential to prevent breast cancer in laboratory studies.
In addition to the internal health benefits of olive oil, topical application is quite popular with fans of natural health remedies. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is the preferred grade for moisturizing the skin, especially when used in the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM). OCM is a method of cleansing and moisturizing the face with a mixture of EVOO, castor oil (or another suitable carrier oil) and a select blend of essential oils.
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