Moreover, olive oil's ingredients, act as excellent prevention mechanisms StrictionD Review for several life-threatening diseases, as the lower death rates from heart disease and certain cancers illustrate. Interestingly, this is particularly true of the native Greeks from the island of Crete. As a Cretan I can attest that the reputation of native Cretans drinking pure olive oil as a health improving practice is true; although in fact a very small amount is consumed.
But apart from Cretans, as the Mediterranean diet has gained immense popularity, people deciding to incorporate olive oil into their daily diet plans have already begun to experience its beneficial results. Since the fat that is included in the olive oil is in the form of monounsaturated fat, one of the major advantages of this fact is that olive oil can lower blood cholesterol, without reducing the health giving properties of HDL, or what is known as the good-type of cholesterol.
According to a recent study conducted in the Netherlands, researchers concluded that a high-fat olive oil diet was far superior to an ordinary low-fat diet in controlling levels of cholesterol, as their study findings portrayed; the cholesterol levels of the group studied while consuming olive oil was reduced by twenty points, whereas the control group that followed a low-fat diet plan saw an average reduction of seventeen points in cholesterol levels.
In addition, widespread studies have shown that consumption of olive oil can lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Tests have illustrated that, as little as three fluid ounces of olive oil a day can significantly lower blood pressure. In fact, olive oil can even lower the blood pressure of those people eating a high fat diet -high fat being defined as forty percent of calories coming from fat. Finally, additional testing has concluded that olive oil can markedly lower blood glucose levels.