Live long and well (oiled).

TIME magazine's Health and Family segment reports on research to find the reason why the Mediterranean diet is a well-known weapon in the fight against heart disease.

Their findings were conclusive, Olive Oil is the trick:
"The group that showed the least heart problems and lowest rate of heart disease deaths? Those who ate a Mediterranean diet high in extra-virgin olive oil. Coming in at a close second were participants who ate a Mediterranean diet high in nuts. Compared with those eating the low-fat diet, the extra-virgin-olive-oil group showed a 30% lower risk of having a heart attack, stroke or dying of heart disease after five years, while those consuming the Mediterranean diet with more nuts showed a 28% lower risk of these outcomes."

We've always known this, now it has been proven!

Read more HERE.

Summer all year!

Welcome to 2013!

It is summer, the weather is good, the food markets (and gardens) have plenty of fresh things and you might still have some time off.

People have long since sought ways to preserve food and reap the benefits of the harvest all year long. In many of the countries – especially in the Mediterranean - one of the most natural ways to preserve food was, and still is, with olive oil.

You can preserve fish, mushrooms, lemons, sundried tomatoes, artichokes, sweet peppers, goats cheese and more in olive oil. Making your own pesto is also a great idea and it is this easy:

What you need:

·     1 cup fresh basil (about 25 basil leaves)

·     2 garlic cloves (peeled)

·     2 tablespoons pine nuts

·     2 tablespoons Prince Albert Olive Oil

·     ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)

·     small jars for storing

What you do:

1.    Rinse and pat dry the basil leaves.

2.    Place in food processor: the basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

3.    Blend for 1 minute.

4.    Add grated Parmesan cheese (enough to make a paste)

5.    Carefully lift the lid of the blender and scrap the sides of the blender using a small rubber spatula.

6.    Store Pesto in small jars and freeze.

7.    Always store your finished Pesto sott'olio - meaning you will add an extra protective layer of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

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.