beauty is in the olive

Sometimes we pay an arm and a leg on all sorts of well marketed beauty products for stunning skin and healthy hair - but we forget that people have been trying to look great for centuries before modern cosmetic companies started producing products in laboratories. 

As human beings we are as much a part of this planet as the plants that grow from its soil and the animals that survive in the wild. What could be better for us than natural products, straight from the earth!? What we forget to realize is something that people living millennia ago in ancient Greece took for granted; extra virgin olive oil, all by itself, is one of the best beauty secrets.

In addition to being a natural, hypoallergenic way to moisturize skin, extra virgin olive oil has the added advantage of providing strong antioxidants, like Vitamins A and E that help repair and renew skin that has been damaged from overexposure to sun, air pollution, and other modern-day environmental hazards – like cigarette smoke and fast food (don't do it!). These antioxidants have the natural ability to stimulate cells and return skin to a firmer, smoother, and healthier state.

These are only a few ideas:

to use as a Skin Moisturizer - apply extra virgin olive oil to damp skin (when the water can help reduce any feeling of greasiness) or add a little lemon juice to the olive oil for a more bracing and refreshing feeling. The oil will penetrate deep into the skin and provide a long-lasting shield of moisture to keep skin smooth and supple.

If dry and scaly skin is a problem, mix olive oil and sea salt in an exfoliating rub and massage it into the affected area to slough off dead skin and enrich the healthy layer beneath it.

Another luxurious idea is to add a few tablespoons of olive oil with a drop or two of lavender essential oil in a bath. This is a great way to relax, soothe and moisturize the whole body.

We will keep updating you with some healthy, handy tips... so keep visiting our blog!

happy healthy olives

Here is the first of our Health posts - some interesting facts you may or may not have known about consuming olive oil rather than animal fats or other plant oils...

In addition to bolstering your immune system, olive oil has also been found to be effective in fighting against diseases such as:

Cancer: The phytonutrient in olive oil, oleocanthal, mimics the effect of ibuprofen in reducing inflammation, which can decrease the risk of breast cancer and its recurrence. 

Heart Disease: Olive oil helps lower levels of blood cholesterol leading to heart disease.

Oxidative Stress: Olive oil is rich in antioxidants, especially vitamin E, long thought to minimize cancer risk. Among plant oils, olive oil is the highest in monounsaturated fat, which doesn’t oxidize in the body, and it’s low in polyunsaturated fat, the kind that does oxidize.

Blood Pressure: Recent studies indicate that regular consumption of olive oil can help decrease both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Just a spoon full of olive oil makes the health go up!

Source.

talking about a revolution

The third annual Swartland Revolution took place last weekend in Riebeek Kasteel.
Rated as South Africa's best wine event (unofficially, by those who attend the event) we are very pleased to see that our olive oil was used at lunch on Saturday with what one revolutionary described in a tweet as "the best food ever."

This picture with thanks to Sam Linsell of Drizzle and Dip.

in good company

Just received this lovely mail:

"Dear Producer,

we are glad to inform you that, after the tasting effected by the editors Marco Oreggia and
Laura Marinelli and their Panel of Expert Tasters on over 1,000 samples from Italy and the whole world, your extra virgin olive oil has been selected for the Guide “Flos Olei 2013 - a guide to the world of extra virgin olive oil”, an instrument of information and promotion of the best olive oil producers in the world."