- Olive oil, particularly extra-virgin (EVOO), is high in monounsaturated fats (oleic acid) and polyphenols that can reduce inflammation, improve heart health and combat oxidative stress.
- Studies link olive oil to lower risks of heart disease, stroke, depression, breast cancer and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s due to its antioxidant properties.
- Cold-pressed organic EVOO retains the most nutrients; avoid refined or adulterated oils (mixed with cheaper oils like soybean). Store in opaque containers to prevent light damage.
- EVOO can handle moderate heat (up to 375 F) but is best for low-heat cooking, dressings and finishing dishes. Avoid high-heat frying to preserve antioxidants.
- Non-organic olive oil may contain pesticides (like glyphosate) or heavy metals. Organic certification ensures cleaner, toxin-free production for maximum health benefits.
(Natural News)—Olive oil has long been celebrated as a cornerstone of health and culinary excellence. Originating in the Mediterranean, this golden elixir is more than just a cooking staple – it is a potent superfood packed with antioxidants, healthy fats and disease-fighting compounds. From ancient medicinal uses to modern dietary recommendations, its benefits have stood the test of time.
History and origin of olive oil
Olive oil is derived from the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europaea), primarily cultivated in the Mediterranean basin. Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey dominate global olive oil production. Its use dates back over 6,000 years, with evidence of olive oil extraction found in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. The Greeks and Romans valued it for cooking, skincare and even religious ceremonies.
Today, olive oil has become a global commodity, particularly after World War II, when researchers identified the “Mediterranean Diet” as one of the healthiest eating patterns in the world. Extra virgin olive oil, the least processed form, is now a dietary mainstay for health-conscious consumers.
Nutritional profile and health benefits
Olive oil’s health benefits stem from its impressive nutrient composition:
Healthy fats (monounsaturated fatty acids – MUFAs)
- Primarily oleic acid, which reduces inflammation and supports heart health.
- Helps lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol while increasing HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
Antioxidants (polyphenols and vitamin E)
- Polyphenols such as oleocanthal (with anti-inflammatory effects similar to ibuprofen) and hydroxytyrosol fight oxidative stress.
- Vitamin E protects cells from free radical damage, promoting skin and immune health.
Other beneficial compounds
- Squalene – A natural compound that may help prevent cancer and support skin hydration.
- Phytosterols – Plant compounds that help block cholesterol absorption in the gut.
These nutrients make olive oil a key player in preventing chronic diseases, from cardiovascular conditions to neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s.
Scientific research overwhelmingly supports olive oil as a highly beneficial food, especially when used daily. Unlike other cooking oils, it has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease and obesity. To get the best benefits, experts recommend choosing organic, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, as processed or low-quality oils may lack nutrients or contain harmful additives.
However, its health advantages depend on an overall balanced diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and nuts, which provide antioxidants that protect against chronic diseases. Simply adding olive oil to an unhealthy diet may not provide the full benefits. (Related: 8 Science-based health benefits of olive oil.)
Moreover, some brands mix olive oil with cheaper oils (like soybean or canola), reducing its nutritional value. Olive oil can also handle moderate cooking temperatures (375 F for extra virgin, 465 F for refined), so excessive heat can degrade its antioxidants.
Like all oils, olive oil is high in calories, so portion control is important for weight management.
Despite these concerns, when consumed wisely, olive oil remains one of the healthiest fats available. Choosing high-quality versions and using them as part of a nutritious diet maximizes its benefits.
Why choose organic
Choosing high-quality organic olive oil helps avoid harmful pesticides and contaminants. While olives naturally require fewer pesticides than crops like celery, peaches or strawberries (which can contain 47–67 pesticides per serving), conventional olive farming may still use neurotoxic chemicals like chlorpyrifos and glyphosate, linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
Organic certification ensures no synthetic pesticides are used. Additionally, some olive oils may contain traces of heavy metals like lead or arsenic from soil contamination, so reputable producers test for these. For the safest and healthiest option, opt for cold-pressed, extra virgin, organic olive oil.
Culinary uses of olive oil
Olive oil’s versatility shines in countless recipes. Here are some classic and modern ways to use it:
Dressings and dips
- Traditional Greek salad dressing (olive oil, lemon juice, oregano)
- Hummus (blended with chickpeas and tahini)
- Bruschetta topping (olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, basil)
Cooking and sautéing
- Sautéed greens (spinach, kale or Swiss chard)
- Roasted vegetables (drizzled before baking)
Baking and frying
- Olive oil cakes (a moist, Mediterranean-style dessert)
- Light frying (for dishes like falafel or fish)
Finishing touches
- Drizzled over soups (like gazpacho) or pasta
- Bread dipping oil (mixed with herbs and balsamic vinegar)
This story is not medical advice and is not intended to treat or cure any disease. Always consult with a qualified naturopathic physician for personalized advice about your specific health situation or concern.
Explore more about the health benefits of superfoods like olive oil and other natural ingredients at NaturalNews.com, your trusted source for wellness insights and nutritional knowledge.
For cutting-edge tools to expand your understanding of natural health, try Brighteon.ai, an innovative AI model created by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger. This free, downloadable tool is designed to decentralize knowledge, bypass censorship, and empower individuals with actionable information.
If you’re passionate about nutrition, natural medicine, and uncensored discussions, visit Brighteon.com and a free speech video platform and join our vibrant communities on Brighteon.IO and Brighteon.social. Dive into open conversations about food, ingredients and holistic health today!
Watch the video below to learn how olives can help protect against liver disease.
This video is from the Groovy Bee channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
- Olive oil really is the healthiest oil for frying foods, scientists find.
- How extra virgin olive oil protects against Alzheimer’s.
- Olive oil helps prevent visible facial skin aging.
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Two Storms, One Harvest
Every food crisis in living memory has been a one-shock event. The 2008 price spike was a commodity bubble. The 2020 shortages were a logistics failure. The 2022 grain scare was a war on one exporter’s ports. Each time, the system bent, adjusted, and recovered, and each time the experts assured us afterward that global markets are simply too big and too diversified to fail.
What nobody in Washington seems eager to discuss is that 2026 is shaping up to be something the modern food system has never actually faced. Two independent shocks, one climatic and one geopolitical, are converging on the same harvest cycle at the same time. Not sequentially. Simultaneously.
Start with the weather. The Pacific Ocean is currently building toward what forecasters now openly call a record event. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center puts the odds of at least a strong El Niño near 88 percent, with roughly two in three odds it reaches “very strong” status, the tier reserved for perhaps three or four events in the entire satellite era. Every major global model now projects a median peak in Super El Niño territory, and most of them project it exceeding the 2015-16 event, which until now held the modern record. Sea surface anomalies were already brushing the super threshold in mid-July, months before these events normally peak. The atmosphere has already shifted into El Niño mode, and the event is forecast to crest in late fall and early winter.
This is not about “climate change.” It’s about the standard cycles of weather, and the cycle we’re currently in is one that has likely devastated societies in the past. We’re better prepared as a society today, but not all Americans are equally prepared.
Serious households have started doing the quiet math on their own. Grocery bills tell part of the story, and the forecast maps tell the rest, which is why long-term food storage has moved from fringe hobby to mainstream line item in the family budget, with established suppliers like Heaven’s Harvest seeing demand from people who five years ago would have rolled their eyes at the idea. That instinct is not paranoia. It is pattern recognition, and the pattern is worth walking through carefully.
Editor’s Note: Heaven’s Harvest IS a sponsor, but the warnings of this article are real and would be written even if we didn’t have a survival food sponsor. With that said, those who take advantage of what they offer can use promo code “Patriot” for 15% off.
The Fertilizer Clock Is Already Running
While the Pacific warms, the second shock has been unfolding in the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict with Iran turned the world’s most important energy chokepoint into a contested waterway, and the consequences reach far beyond the gas pump. Roughly a third of global fertilizer trade moves through Hormuz, and the disruption sent urea prices up 86 percent year over year by March, with a 53 percent jump in a single month.
The World Bank projects energy prices rising about 24 percent in 2026 and fertilizer about 31 percent. By its own accounting, fertilizer prices ran 35 percent higher in the first five months of this year than the same period last year.
Here is the mechanism the nightly news will not explain. Fertilizer is not a grocery item. It is a time-delayed input. The nitrogen a farmer in Iowa or Punjab could not afford to apply this spring does not show up as a problem this spring. It shows up as a thinner harvest six to twelve months later.
The World Bank’s own food security brief concedes that the effects of reduced applications earlier this season “are likely to become visible only later in harvest outcomes.” Translate that from institutional language into plain English and it means this. The damage is already done, it is already in the ground, and we are simply waiting for it to arrive on the shelf.
Now check the calendar. Six to twelve months from the spring planting season lands us squarely in late 2026 and early 2027. Which is precisely when the strongest El Niño in the instrumental record is forecast to peak, bringing its signature droughts to Southeast Asia, Australia, southern Africa, northern Brazil, and South Asia, the very regions that grow the world’s rice, sugar, and oilseeds.
The World Bank warns openly that a strong El Niño “could disrupt multiple crop belts simultaneously” on top of the conflict-driven input costs. Their baseline projection assumes the Middle East disruptions ease by autumn. What in the last two years of Middle East history suggests that assumption is safe?
The System Has No Slack Left
The comfortable answer is that global markets always adjust. But adjustment requires slack, and the slack is gone. Global cereal production is expected to decline from last year’s records even before El Niño does its work. The UN World Food Programme, hardly a den of right-wing preppers, is calling this the most significant disruption to its supply chains since Covid and the invasion of Ukraine, and its supply chain director put the stakes bluntly.
Today’s supply chain challenges are tomorrow’s hunger crisis.
There is also a political dimension that markets cannot price. When food gets scarce, governments do not behave like economists. They behave like politicians. Export bans, hoarding mandates, and panic buying at the national level turned the modest rice shortfall of 2008 into a global crisis, and analysts are already warning that import-dependent nations are the first dominoes.
The 2015-16 Super El Niño, a far weaker event than what is now forecast, threw tens of millions into food stress across Africa and Asia. This one is projected to be stronger, and it arrives with fertilizer already rationed by price and shipping lanes already contested by missiles.
What Joseph Knew
Scripture does not treat preparation for lean years as faithlessness. It treats it as wisdom delivered in advance to those willing to act on it.
Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt.
Joseph did not respond to that warning with a hashtag or a committee. He stored grain during the years of abundance, and when the famine came, Egypt stood while its neighbors begged. The lesson is not that famine is certain. It is that the time to prepare is precisely when preparation still looks optional.
Nobody who filled a pantry in a year of plenty has ever regretted it, and nobody standing in an empty aisle has ever been glad he waited for certainty.
None of this calls for panic, and panic is the enemy of sound judgment anyway. It calls for the same unglamorous prudence our grandparents considered ordinary. Keep some cash margin, know your local growers, and put real food in deep storage while it is cheap and available, because the entire arc of this story is that cheap and available is a closing window.
Families looking for a straightforward place to start can visit Heaven’s Harvest and use promo code Patriot for 15 percent off long-term storable food. The forecasts may yet soften, the strait may yet reopen, and we should pray they do. But hope is a fine thing to hold and a foolish thing to eat.
