Just One Teaspoon Of THIS Oil Could Help You Breathe Easier
Since ancient Roman times, olive oil has been used to cure a variety of ailments. Modern research backs up many of these claims about the health benefits of olive oil, and it contains certain chemical properties that boost health. Olive oil has previously been linked to longer life expectancy and a reduced risk of cancer. According to a newly published study, olive oil can actually help to protect your lungs from the grime of air pollution.
Air pollution is becoming an increasingly problematic issue. The pollution from cars and factories can raise blood pressure, increase the risk of strokes, and even cause heart attacks. Information from the American Heart Association suggests that even a small amount of exposure to air pollution increases heart problems. Regular exposure results in a buildup of fat along arteries, which can cause many heart problems.
Researchers from the Environmental Protection Agency decided to see if any type of oil could provide any protection against air pollution. Groups of participants took supplements of different oil types, including olive oil and fish oil, before breathing polluted air. The results showed that olive oil was the best oil to consume if a person was going to breathe polluted air. The people who consumed olive oil before breathing polluted air in this study did not have tightened blood vessels and clotting blood. Though fish oil is often used as a health-boosting supplement, test subjects who took the fish oil showed no signs of improvement.
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There are a few reasons for why olive oil provides so much protection against air pollution. The oleic acid in olive oil has anti-inflammatory effects that help the blood vessels to not react to pollution. The olive also increases the production of a certain protein, called tissue plasminogen activator, that breaks up blood clots before they can grow to a problematic size.
This blood clot breaking effect lasted for 20 hours after test subjects took the olive oil supplement. Other studies have found that olive oil helps to improve blood flow and decrease blood pressure even in situations with no pollution. Though this study did not study long term pollution effects, olive oil does help to lower cholesterol, so it may also help with the fat buildup in the arteries that is associated with long-term pollution. Therefore, the researchers theorize that the heart-boosting properties of olive oil help to counteract all the problems that pollution may cause.
The researchers of the EPA study suggest that more research should be done on this subject in order to test the long term effects of olive oil. However, these findings alone make it clear that just a small dose of olive oil can be extremely helpful to people who live in areas with a lot of air pollution. Even a small amount of olive oil helps to fight air pollution, but taking supplements can ensure that people get all of the benefits of this useful oil. How do you add olive oil to your daily meals?
