Features of the extra-virgin olive oil

NUTRITIONAL ASPECTS

The extra-virgin olive oil has always been considered halfway between food and medicine. Hippocrates used to suggest fresh olive juice in order to treat mental illnesses and macerated olive compresses to cure ulcers. Many people use the oil to pull thorns out of the skin, to treat other kind of illnesses such as otitis, stomachache or to soften callosities today, too. In ancient times it was used as balsam for the body care, as wrinkle and spot preparation and also to make hair shining and soft. Today its application in the cosmetics is essential: infact its cosmetic properties are based on the acidic affinity with the human skin and adipose tissue. Not long since even the medicine has seriously reconsidered the therapeutic properties characterizing the extra-virgin olive oil. Infact, thanks to its numerous nutritional properties, the extra virgin olive oil is an excellent food suitable for any age even for young people who want to keep fit and full of energy. For example, the presents of E vitamin, that is a powerful antioxiding, opposes the so-called free radicals, considered the body ageing responsible elements. Moreover, the presence of some unsaturated fat acids represents a further nutritional quality, because our body needs these substances but it is not able to produce them. The olive oil composition is especially balanced and very close to the needs of the human body, for this reason the extra-virgin olive oil prevents cardiovascular diseases and the onset of arteriosclerosis, reducing the risk of heart attacks. The oil is essential for children and old people because it limits the loss of bony calcium, it is very digestible and it favours the hepatic cycle and regulates the intestinal activity. Thanks to its digestibility and for its additional energy contribution, the oil is especially suitable for young people who practice an intense sports activity.

OIL NUTRITIONAL VALUES:

	NUTRITION AND HEALTH
	It’s of common knowledge that a balanced nutrition is essential for a healthy long-lived life, even though this doesn’t have to be necessarily detrimental to conviviality and taste. The most modern nutritional criteria exalt the Mediterranean diet, which is one of the best current models ever handed down by the tradition to protect our health. So it’s worth increasing the consumption of food of vegetable origin such as fruit, vegetables, bread, pasta and in particular olive oil. This latter, if compared with other fatty nourishments to be used in moderation, beats by far all competitors of animal origin. In fact in those southern regions, where the Mediterranean diet and the use of olive oil prevail, there is a lower incidence of cholesterolaemia and coronary diseases.
BEAUTY

Our grandmothers perfectly knew that olive oil could soften reddening and irritations and it was often used to prevent chapping and desquamation and in general to prevent possible skin or hair impoverishment. In fact the first rudimental face masks and olive oil-based compresses date back to this time. Today the modern cosmetics has widely confirmed the potential of this food, also in the therapeutic field and in particular to treat some skin diseases such as psoriasis. Of course it’s worth mentioning the massage as well, because the oil is an excellent lubricant to smooth superficial derma layers. Moreover, thanks to its penetration capacity, it is an excellent carrier for other tonic and soothing substances.

	APHRODISIAC PROPERTIES The most recent discoveries confirm that the olive oil is also characterized by aphrodisiac properties. Among all oil varieties the longed-for supremacy is held by the oil from Salento, which is a true natural Viagra free from any contraindication thanks to its nutritional and organoleptic properties. This oil, if regularly used according to nutritional criteria, favours the blood circulation improving the performances, in spite of the famous blue pill exalted so much but not as much innocuous.

And also:

- How to taste the extra-virgin olive oil
- Curiosities on the extra-virgin olive oil