Everything You Need to Know About Olive Oil for Weight Loss
You have heard that olive oil can help promote weight loss, but also that fats can lead to weight gain. Which claim is true? The reality of losing weight is a bit more complex than myths make it out to be. Here is what you need to know about olive oil and weight loss.
The Link Between Diet and Weight Loss
While other healthy habits, such as exercise, do support weight loss, by far the single factor that has the biggest impact on weight loss is the kind of food you eat. The prevalence of fad diets has made it seem like you must cut out many different food groups in order to lose weight, but the reality is that you can still shed pounds while eating a healthy diet with a lot of variety. In fact, fad diets that restrict you from eating a lot of different food groups are also hard to maintain over time, which can make it difficult to achieve your goals in a long-term, sustainable way.
Instead, it is much better to eat a healthy, balanced diet with a lot of variety that you can maintain over time. Seek out foods that are dense in nutrients. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats are cornerstones of a satisfying and healthy diet that can promote safe weight loss over time.
Olive Oil for Weight Loss
Healthy olive oil is a major component of the Mediterranean diet, and with good reason. Not only is it incredibly versatile for both cooking and baking, but it is also full of beneficial compounds that are good for your body. Use olive oil to dress up veggies and whole grains for a delicious meal. Some people even drink olive oil because of its health benefits.
Shop Extra Virgin Olive Oil Online
Olive oil is high in both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, the two kinds of healthy fats. While “fat-free” diets once disparaged all fats, having a certain level of healthy fats in your diet is important for healthy mind and body functioning. Fats make you feel full and can help curb overeating due to a lack of satiety.
Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats also help keep your good cholesterol levels high and your bad cholesterol levels low –– a win-win for heart health. There is also some evidence that diets high in monounsaturated fats, in particular, can promote weight loss, especially if those monounsaturated fats replace other, less healthy fats such as trans fats and saturated fats.
Olive oil is also high in medium-chain triglycerides, another compound that may offer potential benefits for weight loss. It is also high in vitamins, as well as antioxidants that can help protect your cells from free radical damage. Regular consumption of olive oil can promote your overall health in addition to potentially helping with weight loss.
Both plain extra virgin olive oil and flavored olive oil are excellent additions to make to your pantry and your healthy lifestyle. At Brightland, we harvest our olives at the peak of freshness and package our oils right here in the U.S. to ensure that they get to our consumers as fast as possible.
