1. Make the Switch to Heart Healthy Olive Oil
Go Mediterranean in your diet and substitute olive oil for regular cooking oil every chance you get. Olive oil, a monounsaturated fat, is the healthier oil choice as it lessens the risk of heart disease because it cuts down on LDL or the bad cholesterol in the blood. It only takes as little as 2 tbsps. a day of olive oil to lower the risk of heart disease. All forms of olive oil are healthier than standard cooking oils, but the "extra-virgin" and the "virgin" varieties of olive oils go through less processing than the others, so they have more powerful antioxidants or the higher levels of the polyphenols.
2. Olive Oil Can Help Lower Blood Pressure
To keep our heart health in order, we have to keep our blood pressure in the normal range. The polyphenols or the antioxidants in olive oil help reduce the body's level of nitric acid, which raises the blood pressure in the body. With less nitric acid, the body is able to maintain healthy blood pressure levels, which in turn, helps keep our heart healthy.
3. Olive Oil Contains the Healthiest Form of Vitamin E
Plaque formation in the arteries thickens and blocks the arteries, which can turn into a heart attack or a stroke--this process is atherosclerosis. Individuals who get their Vitamin E through their diet rich in antioxidants from foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, vegetable oils and nuts have lessened their chance of developing cancer or heart disease over those who take Vitamin E in supplement form. Olive oil has around 2.3 International Units of Vitamin E in just 1 tbsp. or around 8 percent of the daily requirement for Vitamin E and it's a natural antioxidant.
4. Olive Oil Helps Tame the Hunger Pains
Olive oil helps to satisfy the body quicker than regular cooking oils, so we don't eat as much. Of course, when we don't eat as much, we lose unwanted fat and do better at maintaining a heart healthy weight. Making olive oil a part of a healthy low fat diet full fresh fruits and vegetables, along with exercise, will reduce body fat, help lower our weight and add to the overall good health of our hearts.
