In today’s society, it is not surprising to see people in their thirties, or even twenties being victims of heart strokes/ diabetes/ affected by some disease which generally used to be seen in much more senior/aged people earlier. Many of us ourselves might be a victim of one or would have seen or heard of someone being a victim to such ailments. Have you ever wondered why? Is it the sedentary lifestyle we live/ unhealthy food we intake on a daily basis/ tension in the everyday life that is leading to this?

The answer is, it is generally a combination of all these factors contributing in some way or the other which is a cause of worry. A sedentary lifestyle combined with an increase in the consumption of fatty foods is a leading cause for heart diseases, obesity, diabetes and hypertension in India.

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Here, the intake of calories is much more than the amount of calories consumed in a day which invites lifestyle diseases.

to the survey, India is the leading country in number of heart patients and cardiovascular disorders are the cause of 25 per cent deaths in India. But are we bringing in changes to our lifestyle which might help counter the problem? If not, consider switching your most frequently consumed fat in the form of edible oil with olive oil.

Olive oil is a fat obtained from the fruit of the Olea europaea (olive tree), and is known to contain anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-viral properties. . Olive oil is high in a type of fat known as monounsaturated fat. MUFAs, as they’re commonly called, can help lower your cholesterol and control insulin levels in the body.

Apart from that olive oil is loaded with anti oxidants, vitamin E & K, minerals like potassium and iron which aid in improving the bone, skin and cell health.

MUFAs help reduce bad cholesterol levels in blood which lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke. Oils rich in MUFAs contribute vitamin E to the diet, which helps human body to fight against skin, hair and bone diseases. Olive oil contains anti-oxidants which helps body to fight against heart diseases, Alzheimer and inflammation. Also, antioxidants in olive oil can reduce oxidative damage due to free radicals, which is believed to be one of the leading drivers of cancer.

Prevents heart disease: Olive oil is known to help human body fight against cardiovascular diseases by aiding in decrease of low-density lipoprotein (LDP), in raising the HDL Cholesterol and lowering tri-glycerides in human body.

Prevents Type 2 Diabetes: A diet rich in olive oil reduces the chances of developing type II diabetes by almost 50 per cent as compared to one that is low in fats. Evidences have shown that consumption of MUFA has benefits on insulin sensitivity and is likely to reduce diabetes.

Prevents Alzheimer: Olive oil helps fight age-related cognitive decline because it protects against inflammation, oxidative stress and ADDLs, proteins that are toxic to the brain that can trigger dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Olive oil guards against the development of neurocognitive diseases, including Alzheimers and Parkinson’s.

Prevents cancer: Olive oil has oleic acid and antioxidants that neutralises free radicals in body which reduces the risk of cancer.

Fights against osteoporosis: Olive oil aids in the absorption of calcium which in turn, improves bone mineralisation and the process of calcification. This property of olive oil is extremely helpful for people suffering from osteoporosis.

Olive oil helps to corner the effects of other diets. Now, this is the right time to switch to olive oil to prevent our body from lifestyle diseases.