9 Compelling Reasons To Drink Olive Oil On An Empty Stomach

Written by Chandrama Deshmukh  • 

If you still haven’t heard about the Mediterranean diet and how it is helping people lose weight and decrease health risks the world over, you are probably living under a rock. But if you haven’t yet heard about olive oil (which is its most important component, by the way) and its almost superfood-ish qualities, then we forgive you, because you have come to the right place! Read on to find out why you should not only be using olive oil to cook your food, but also drinking it. Yes, you read that right: drinking olive oil, and that too, on an empty stomach.

1. It Helps Prevent Cancer

As unbelievable as it may sound, this is very true of olive oil because it prevents damage to cells that may ultimately become carcinogenic (1), (2). It is an excellent anti-constipation food and helps in keeping your colon healthy and fully functional.

2. It Helps You Stay Beautiful Inside Out

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Many of you may have already tried oiling your hair with olive oil and applying it on your skin. While that is also very beneficial, olive oil works best when consumed. It helps get rid of acne, dry and injured skin, accelerates hair growth, and also helps improve the health of your nails. You may continue applying it on your hair and skin because it is in no way harmful for you, but it will also be a good idea to make it a part of your diet as it works best from the inside!

3. It Detoxifies Your Liver

The liver is sometimes referred to as the mother of the body. It not only takes care of every organ, all bodily functions are also dependent on it either directly or indirectly. But just like with real mothers, even the liver sometimes gets tired taking care of everybody and needs to be taken care of. The question is how do we do that?

One of the best ways to care for your liver is with olive oil! It works best when mixed with lemon juice, in a 2:1 ratio, i.e. if you are adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and drink up. It is one of the best detox drinks for your liver.

4. It Helps You Lose Body Fat

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There’s an Indian proverb which says, loha hi lohe ko kaat sakta hai. Translated literally, it means only iron can cut iron. It basically implies that for a certain evil to be thwarted, you need a similar evil. In our case, it would be apt to say that only fat can cut fat. But not all kinds of fat: in this situation, it would be good fat vs bad fat. Not surprisingly, olive oil falls in the ‘good fat’ category (3). So you shouldn’t feel too guilty if you happen to overindulge because those good fats are actually required by your body.

5. It Makes Your Immune System More Robust

Olive oil is rich in fatty acids that are very efficient when it comes to making your immune system stronger (4). They protect your body from bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms. So the next time you have a cold, instead of popping a pill, try olive oil instead!

6. It Keeps Your Heart Healthy

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By now, you must have surely made some sort of a correlation between olive oil and a healthy heart! Olive oil can actually help reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. Just replace all fat in your food with olive oil and you’ll see the improvement that it has on your cholesterol levels (5), (6). Though changing your food habits like including more fruits and vegetables, reducing deep-fried foods, and decreasing the intake of red meat is important, olive oil plays a major role when paired with these changes.

7. It Is One Of The Most Underrated Painkillers Out There

Not many of us are aware of olive oil’s anti-inflammatory properties. It is, in fact, so good that it works like ibuprofen if taken in the right quantities – usually, 3 to 4 spoons is equivalent to an ibuprofen dosage of 10% (7), (8). The good thing about this “painkiller” however, is that it is absolutely natural, so you don’t have to worry about any sort of side effects or negative impacts on your body.

8. It Helps In Keeping Your Blood Sugar In Control

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If you are a diabetic, or afraid that you might become one, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that you need to make olive oil an important part of your life. It lowers blood glucose level like no other natural medicine (9), (10). Bonus? It even keeps your heart healthy!

9. It Keeps The Brain Cells From Deteriorating

What is good for our body can only be equally good for our brain, don’t you think? Olive oil is probably one of the safest ‘drugs’ to keep your brain healthy, active, and alert. It improves memory and significantly reduces the threat of mental illnesses like depression and dementia (11).

And here’s one more benefit of olive oil, which is more cosmetic than medical. The entire body benefits from an olive oil massage! In the female body, this is especially the case for breasts as it helps in giving them shape and enhancement. Additionally, olive oil is known to improve circulation, and this greatly boosts the body’s functions.

Do you know of any other natural alternatives, which are famous for their medical usage? Or have there been instances in your friends’ or your life where natural supplements have had a better effect on illnesses than the usual medicines? Let us know in the comments below.

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