Liquid Gold: The Health Benefits of Olive Oil

What Are The Health Benefits Of Using Olive Oil? Are Some Healthier Than Others?

Dive into the golden world of olive oil with Greg Mueller from Olive Oil Divine as he reveals the extraordinary health benefits hiding in this kitchen staple. Far beyond its delicious flavor, olive oil stands as nature's gift to our well-being—packed with heart-protecting compounds that lower bad cholesterol while boosting the good kind.

Not all olive oils deliver these benefits, however. Learn the crucial difference between true extra virgin olive oil—the first cold press containing the highest concentration of beneficial polyphenols—and lesser grades. Greg warns about the alarming lack of labeling regulations in the United States, where many supposedly "premium" oils are secretly adulterated with cheaper alternatives. This eye-opening conversation debunks persistent myths, confirming that quality olive oil is perfect for cooking and absolutely supports cardiovascular health. Ready to transform your kitchen and your health? Visit OliveOilDivine.com to discover authentic oils that make every meal both delicious and nourishing, or stop by their store to experience the difference firsthand.

To learn more about Olive Oil Divine visit:
https://oliveoildivine.com/
Olive Oil Divine
2517 N. Roan Street
Johnson City, TN 37601
423-707-7087

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Olive Oil Divine podcast, your go-to
source for culinary inspiration.
Join Greg and Shirley Muller,owners of Olive Oil Divine, as
they share tips, stories andinsights to make you a kitchen
hero.
From authentic extra virginolive oils to rich-aged Italian
balsamic vinegars, We've goteverything you need to elevate

(00:27):
your cooking.
Live divine.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Olive oil isn't just delicious, it's packed with
health benefits too.
But not all olive oils arecreated equal.
Greg and Shirley Muller ofOlive Oil Divine break down the
nutritional perks and help usunderstand what to look for in
the healthiest options.
Welcome back everyone.
Skip Monty, co-host slashproducer, back here in the
studio with Greg Muller of OliveOil Divine.

(01:00):
Greg, how's it going?

Speaker 3 (01:03):
Hey, skip doing great .
Buddy, I appreciate being hereand Shirley sends her regards.
She's off to on an event for us, but she's here in spirit.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Oh, very good.
Well, we'll miss her, buthopefully we'll have her back in
the next episode.
So, in her absence, this issomething I wanted to address
with her, but I'm sure you cananswer the question as well.
In our past episodes we'vetalked about the health benefits
of using olive oil.
What exactly are the benefitsof using olive oil in your
cooking?

Speaker 3 (01:33):
Oh gosh, skip.
There's a whole bunch of them,but I'll hit on some of the
highlights.
You know olive oil is a greatcardiovascular health booster.
It's rich in monounsaturatedfatty acids, which can lower the
bad LDL cholesterol and raisethe good HDL cholesterol.
We have a lot of people usingit for that, including myself.
I use it for blood pressureregulation.

(01:54):
It does help regulate bloodpressure a little bit.
A good, true.
Afterwards, olive oil hasoleocanthal, which is an
anti-inflammatory property thatcan help reduce the risk of
heart disease and stroke.
It's really a heart-healthy oil.
Of course, it's good for bonehealth.
Studies suggest that it mayhelp improve the density and
reduce the risk of bonefractures.

(02:15):
It's good for the brain.
It may enhance cognitivefunction and protect against
neurodegenerative diseases likeAlzheimer's.
And of course you can't forget,it's a good gut-healthy oil.
The polyphenols in olive oilpromote healthy gut microbiome,
which can help improve thedigestion and reduce certain
gastrointestinal issues.
So it's just got a lot of goodbenefits that people are

(02:39):
starting to learn about.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
So I was going to ask what nutrients in olive oil
contribute to health benefits.
You've mentioned a couple ofthings Polyphenol does that help
not just with gut health, butalso you mentioned blood
pressure, bone density.
Is that the same nutrient drop?

Speaker 3 (02:58):
Well, the FDA did a study and they determined that
seven olives a day willconstitute the daily required
recommended amount of thenutrients that our bodies need.
Just seven olives a day.
So God knew what he was doingwhen he created the olive tree
back in the garden.
This is centuries ago.
He gave us all we need just inone little beautiful round.

(03:21):
Green ball of beauty.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.
So there's a lot of healthybenefits to olive oil, but does
you know I like to drown mybread in olive oil and vinegar
balsamic.
Does that still count as ahealthy choice?

Speaker 3 (03:37):
Well, absolutely.
You know olive oil is probablythe healthiest oil out there.
Of course, you know it's a goodsource of vitamin E and
antioxidants that support immunefunction.
So eat away all you want, butjust remember it's always a good
idea and also to keep accountof your calories.
You know, calories in, caloriesout.
While it's a good oil, youdon't want to overdo it on the

(03:58):
calories and we list all thecalories on the back of our
bottle and each one's a littledifferent.
But I would say, just do likethe people on the back of our
bottle, and each one's a littledifferent.
But but I would say, just doyou like the people on the
mediterranean?
Do you know you've heard of themediterranean diet?
In europe they go through oliveoil 10 to 15 times more than us
americans do they?

Speaker 2 (04:16):
they eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and
look how healthy they are, sothis has something to say about
it, for sure absolutely,absolutely well, you know,
something that you hear a lot,just in general, is it's got to
be extra virgin olive oil.
How does extra virgin compareto other types that aren't extra
virgin, and what does that mean?

Speaker 3 (04:37):
Well, your extra virgin olive oil is going to be
the first cold press.
That means they've taken thatoil that's the closest to the
outside of the skin, which isthe highest concentrated area of
the olive that has thepolyphenol that we want.
So extra virgin is that firstpressing just to get that little
bit of oil around the outside,and that's going to be the
healthiest and that's calledextra virgin.

(04:58):
The second pressing is the oilthat's a little deeper into the
olive and that's usually calledvirgin olive oil and the
polyphenols are going to be muchless in that oil.
So, yes, you do want the trueextra virgin, but you got to be
careful buying that in the store.
A lot of your major brands andwhat everybody thinks is a great
brand is unfortunatelyadulterated with other oils but

(05:20):
yet labeled extra virgin.
There's no laws yet in theUnited States about truth and
labeling with extra virgin oliveoil.
So the consumer has to bereally careful and make sure
that they're buying from atrusted source and can get that
information easily if they askfor it, which we do provide.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Well, what's the biggest olive oil myth?
Is there a myth that makes youwant to shake a bottle of
somebody?

Speaker 3 (05:46):
There's a couple of them actually.
One, of course, is you can'tcook with it, which you can, and
we've addressed that in anotherepisode.
But by all means, cook with it,use it everywhere you want to
use it in the kitchen breakfast,lunch and dinner I do.
The second one is that theolive oil is not heart healthy,
and that's totally untrue.
It's probably the healthiestoil out there for your heart.

(06:07):
I reference back to the folksin the Mediterranean and over in
Newark who eat so much of itand drink so much of it in their
daily lives.
Look at how healthy they arecompared to us over here in the
United States.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Absolutely Well, greg .
I know you're an extremely busyguy, so I appreciate your time
today to talk about this, andsomething I'd love to get into
in the future is a question thatpopped up when you were talking
about olive oil is how does itcompare to seed oils like grape
seed oil and avocado was not aseed but avocado oil and that
sort of thing.

(06:35):
So maybe we can cover that inthe next episode.

Speaker 3 (06:38):
Absolutely Sounds good, All right.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
Greg, thanks so much and hope you have a blessed rest
of the day.

Speaker 3 (06:45):
Thanks, skip you too.
Blessings brother.

Speaker 2 (06:48):
We will talk soon.

Speaker 1 (06:57):
Thanks for tuning in to the Olive Oil Divine podcast.
Thanks for tuning in to theOlive Oil Divine podcast.
Don't forget to visit us onlineat oliveoildivinecom for our
exceptional olive oils, agedbalsamic vinegars and more.
If you're local, stop by ourstore and discover how we can
make you a kitchen hero.
Until next time, live divine.