Olive Oil - Beneficial For Our Body as well as Health

Posted by Luessi Dino
5
Sep 2, 2015
197 Views
Oil is something we Indians cannot imagine our food without. Oil is central to the Indian cuisine, as our meals are incomplete without those soft and crunchy fries or oil rich dishes. Be it simple dal that is tempered with oil on top to get that mouthwatering aroma, or sweets and snacks that are fried to get that golden lip-smacking color and taste, you need loads of oil to get it right.

Oil does give us delicious food but do we ever stop to think how these oils are affecting our health? How we can choose the right kind of oil that not only protects us from the ill effects of unhealthy oils but also confers health benefits? Yes you heard that right! There are oils that actually have health benefits to offer.

There are different types of oils available in the market, sunflower oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, canola oil, olive oil and many more. Choosing a particular type of oil from the lot can get really confusing.  One of the most important things we have to keep in mind is that oil when heated behaves in a peculiar way; it changes its taste, color texture and its nutritional properties.

Facts About Oil:
Fat is not necessarily a bad word for your health. Some fats are essential and perform some important functions for your body. There are good as well as bad fats in oils; unsaturated oils have good fats, saturated and trans-fat oils are bad for your body and are the main culprits behind weight gain, clogged arteries and high cholesterol levels. Moreover, hydrogenated oils can cause digestion problems and are highly carcinogenic in nature.

Good fats like monounsaturated fats (MUFA), polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) and omega-3 fatty acids may have positive effects on your body and health. So when you choose oil make sure it has a high percentage of good fats.

Olive oil has a high content of MUFA (approximately 75%). It is believed that consuming olive oils regularly can lower the risk of heart disease and breast cancer; it lowers cholesterol levels and most importantly keeps your body weight under control. It can be spread on salads and pastas. Moreover the oil is light, spreads easily on food so that we do not need it in huge quantities, and very little of it is absorbed by your food.

The health friendly benefits of olive oil do not end here; it is easily digestible, prevents constipation, keeps the blood pressure in control and most importantly is diabetes friendly.

The next time you are feasting on mouth watering delicacies you cannot resist, make sure you enjoy them without any guilt. You can make this happen very easily if you cut down on the quantity of oil you are using, replace the bad fats in your food with healthy cooking oils and make some changes in your cooking style.

Luessi Dino writes about How Healthy is Your Oil. know more info about healthy oil for cooking log on to - Leonardo Olive Oil
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