Spilling the tea on olive oil

When you drizzle olive oil over a salad or use it to cook with, you probably already know you're doing your body a favor. Olive oil has been labeled as a “good fat” for decades, and touted as an essential part of the Mediterranean diet. What may surprise you to learn however, is that the good fats in olive oil aren't the only part that's good for you.

Olive oil contains polyphenols, an antioxidant found in the skin of fruits and other plant parts, which a recent study found could help with a number of chronic health conditions. These conditions include everything from type 2 diabetes to cardiovascular disease. 

This may explain why the people who live along the Mediterranean coast have such long lives with relatively few heart problems, even compared to other areas where large amounts of heart healthy fats are consumed. Olive oil has the right combination of antioxidants and healthy fats to protect the body in so many different ways.

A diet rich in olive oil makes it much harder for artery clogging plaque to stick to the sides of the arteries, making it less likely for the person eating it to develop cardiovascular disease. It may also be good for brain disorders too—a recent study conducted in mice found that olive oil may help reduce toxins in the brain linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Since disorders like Alzheimers have no cure, finding ways that can prevent it or reduce the symptoms for as long as possible is vital to enjoying life.

Whether you want a healthy heart or a healthy brain, olive oil is a great ingredient to add to your diet. The next time you reach for a cooking oil, consider making olive oil that choice. It's one of the healthiest choices out there.