5 Unbeatable Olive Oil Cooking Benefits You Should Know
A Mediterranean diet staple, olive oil has gained some popularity in our country as well, over the past few years. It is usually consumed with salads, pasta and other continental foods. However, despite its perks, this cholesterol-free oil has still not become a part of an Indian household’s everyday cooking. The reasons are both the confusion around its usage to the lack of awareness about its myriad health advantages.
So, let’s learn about its wonderful health benefits and how you can use it in Indian cooking.
Olive Oil for Cooking: Benefits
Olive oil comes packed with tons of benefits. It is rich in nutrients such as vitamins E and K and packed with heart-healthy monosaturated fats, mainly oleic acid. It has many positive effects on the heart, brain and gut health and improves the quality of skin too. Let’s take a look at its benefits one by one.
Reduces Oxidative Stress
Olive oil is packed with antioxidants such as beta-carotene, tocopherols, lutein and many more. In fact, it has more than 200 biologically active constituents! These antioxidants help to prevent the harmful effects of free radicals which are the by-products of different metabolic activities.
When these free radicals accumulate in the body they cause oxidative stress which further leads to cellular damage. This is believed to contribute to the development of various chronic diseases and even cancer. Studies show that using any kind of olive oil like extra light olive oil in your everyday diet can greatly help in reducing the risk of colorectal and breast cancer.
Promotes Healthy Heart
One of the most well-known benefits of olive oil is that it is a cholesterol-free oil which means it is extremely heart-friendly. The polyphenols present in it protect you from atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disorders. It further helps by lowering your blood pressure, preventing LDL or bad cholesterol from oxidising and undue blood clotting, and also bettering the integrity of the blood vessel lining.
Improves Brain Function
Since olive oil is bursting with antioxidants, preparing your food in it can have a positive impact on brain health as well. It helps by keeping the blood vessels in the brain region supple and has even been shown in studies to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Apart from this, olive oil for cooking benefits in one another major way by checking your mental health. While other oils that have saturated fats in them are linked to the development of depression, in addition to other health problems, the monosaturated fats of olive oil are known to fight it. According to a study, a diet fortified with this oil can help to treat mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. This is because the nutritional components of olive oil work to boost the health of the nervous system.
Checks Inflammation
Many disorders and diseases such as cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, heart diseases like hypertension and many more are caused due to chronic inflammation. Olive oil has anti-inflammatory properties owing to its numerous antioxidants, especially oleocanthal. They work to decrease inflammation either by inhibiting those genes and proteins which propagate inflammation or by lowering the levels of inflammatory markers. This way, just by using extra light olive oil in place of your usual refined vegetable oil for cooking, you can highly reduce the risk of many lifestyle diseases.
Boosts Gut and Liver Health
Olive oil consists of phenols which is a known to promote gut health and increase intestinal immunity. Phenols alter the microbes found in the digestive tract to help you in conditions like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and other such inflammatory bowel diseases.
Moreover, the monosaturated fatty acids present in extra virgin olive oil blocks any alterations in insulin resistance, hence protecting the liver from damage.
How to Use Olive Oil in Everyday Cooking
Olive Oil is a fantastic oil with innumerable advantages for a healthy body and mind. Hence, it only makes sense to use this cholesterol-free oil in your daily diet.
Olive oil has a distinctive nutty and slightly bitter taste that goes very well with all Indian dishes. You can easily use it for various cooking techniques such as light sautéing, shallow frying and even deep frying and baking.
Extra virgin and virgin olive oil should be used for milder cooking methods which help them to retain all of their nutrients. You can use them in salad dressings, dips, sandwiches and as toppings. However, cooking methods such as baking and frying that require high temperatures can be done by using olive pomace oil or extra light olive oil. They allow you to cook food at very high temperatures as well while offering enough nutrients that this liquid gold is known for.
So, switch to a healthier lifestyle and add olive oil to your daily meals.