Olive oil's health benefits are legendary.
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial">Pompeian Olive oil's health benefits The greatest exponent of monounsaturated fat is olive oil, and it is a prime component of the Mediterranean Diet. benefits of olive oil is a natural juice which preserves the taste, aroma, vitamins and properties of the olive fruit. Olive oil is the only vegetable oil that can be consumed as it is - freshly pressed from the fruit. The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol) levels. (1-3) No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated as olive oil -mainly oleic acid. Olive oil is very well tolerated by the stomach. In fact, olive oil from Spain has protective function has a beneficial effect on ulcers and gastritis. italian olive oil activates the secretion of bile and pancreatic hormones much more naturally than prescribed drugs. Consequently, it lowers the incidence of gallstone formation. Olive oil and heart disease Studies have shown that people who consumed 25 milliliters (mL) - about 2 tablespoons - of virgin olive oil daily for 1 week showed less oxidation of LDL cholesterol and higher levels of antioxidant compounds, particularly phenols, in the blood. But while all types of olive oil are sources of monounsaturated fat, EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil, from the first pressing of the olives, contains higher levels of antioxidants, particularly vitamin E and phenols, because it is less processed. Olive oil is clearly one of the good oils, one of the healing fats. Most people do quite well with it since it does not upset the critical omega 6 to omega 3 ratio and most of the fatty acids olive oil benefit,actually an omega-9 oil which is monounsaturated.</font></p>




While wild olives from prehistoric times have been found fossilized in Andalusia, Spain, the oldest known record of olive oil is found on Crete inscribed on earthenware tablets that date to 2500 B.C., during the reign of King Minos.

Thousands of years before Pompeian began bringing olive oil to American tables, olives played a central role in Mediterranean lives, as fuel for lamps, ointment for wounds, lubricant to move the stones for the Egyptian pyramids, and to bring out the luster in woodwork. Olive trees were so revered, the olive branch even became a symbol of peace.

Greek mythology speaks of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, arts and peace, whose tree was a source of this flavorful food, while the Koran talks of the condiment oils derived of trees on Mount Sinai. Phoenician sailors are said to have spread the trees throughout Asia Minor.

As Romans conquered areas throughout the Mediterranean, they also cultivated the trees. Under the Roman Empire, olive oil became one of the world's first items of international trade. With Hispania (Spain) as its chief supplier, Rome shipped this precious cargo in earthenware amphorae to every part of its vast domain.

When Europeans came to the New World in the 1500's they brought the olive tree with them, and it soon flourished in South and Central America and eventually California. Some of these imported olive trees have grown for 400 years. Even more astounding, in the Mediterranean region botanists have found some olive trees, which are a type of evergreen, to be more than 1000 years old. While their greatest fruit-bearing productivity is between 35 and 150 years, these ancient trees have been providing the health benefits of olives to nearly 40 generations of people.

Today, there are more than 70 different varieties of olives, with most of the olive oil coming from Spain, followed by Italy and Greece.