Let’s add a food to your grocery list in order to support you with our main topic - Healthy Aging!
OLIVE OIL.
Delicious, delicious olive oil. Sure, count in here olives too, if histamines aren’t troublesome for you.
I’ll tell you three reasons why, especially when it comes to supporting you with Aging Well.
FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR BRAIN + NERVES
Due to the rich supply of compounds called polyphenols, olive oil ends up acting like a protector to help preserve the function of your nerve cells + entire brain function. These polyphenols have been shown to help support the retaining of memories + cognitive function, support the emotional piece of brain health, and regulating behaviour.
Bonus here too - olive oil has a positive impact on your microbiome - a crucial player in helping maintain the gut barrier AND the blood/brain barrier. Hooray for the olive oil!
FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR MITOCHONDRIA + GENES
A compound found in olive oil — hydroxytyrosol or HT for those keeping track at home — has been found to enhance the ability to produce more mitochondria. Mitochondria are your energy factories of each and every cell. Olive oil for the energy win!
In a rather small study, olive oil has also been found to suppress those genes that fan the flames of chronic inflammation. Olive oil is a good source of vitamin E, a crucial vitamin needed for the body’s work of gene expression. Vitamin E has been found to have a regulatory effect on the gene expression work in the body. Gene expression gone awry can be one of those contributors to aging. Olive oil for the gene expressing stability win!
FOR THE LOVE OF STRESS RESISTANCE
Omega 3 fatty acids, polyphenols, tyrosol, they are all brilliant compounds that are in olive oil. They all play a role in building your body’s resistance to stress: read, low grade inflammation, the chronic kind. There is a wide array of nutrients found in this delicious fat that help reduce the biomarkers that indicate stress + inflammation. The good fats also provide your body with important fuel to help sustain blood sugars + hormonal levels, key players in reducing the internal stress going on in the body.
Olive oil for the anti-inflammatory win there, my kittens.
Olive oil. Drizzle that stuff on everything - drizzle over soups, in dishes. Make salad dressings with it. Make pesto and put that stuff on everything. Drizzle on a half an avocado and bring on the healthy aging prowess one delicious meal at a time.
Aiming to keep well as you age, dear one? Looking to get a leg up, want some help in achieving it?
Get in touch. Let’s meet up to start drawing up your road map to support you in both quantity and quality of life.