It is known that the Extra Virgin Olive Oil is one of the most beneficial foods for the body. Its properties, such as the antioxidant value, the strengthening of bones and heart care, are the reason why it is good to include its consumption in our diet over the week. In addition we also highlight another reason: its unmistakable flavour.
Still in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, the properties and benefits of the EVOO become more important for the correct functioning of our body. Since many of us have been confined more than 30 days at home, without any necessary sun exposure, it is important to take food that provide essential nutrients.
What does EVOO provide us during quarantine?
The Mediterranean diet, we are so proud of, allows the combination of extra virgin olive oil with almost any food in most recipes (if not all), enabling us to take advantage of its benefits in every meal.
Introducing extra virgin olive oil in our meals, we also help our cardiovascular health to find the balance we need. Our sedentary life requires more attention to what we eat. Avoiding fats, sugar, alcohol and providing the necessary amount of polyphenols to our body, we will help our heart to work correctly.
In addition, our skin takes also advantage of the extra virgin olive oil consumption. Enjoying the sun is essential for our health, and now that getting the necessary vitamin D from it is difficult, we should take advantage of the nutritional properties the olive oil offers.
EVOO as a natural shield to strengthen our immune system
As Alicia Aguilar and Anna Bach, professors at the Universidad Oberta of Catalunya, point out in their most recent research: the most advisable nutritional choice during quarantine is the one that includes food that provide us vitamin D, as EVOO does. In fact, it is its high antioxidant content that makes it an essential supplement to strengthen our defences.
Due to the EVOO’s ability to slow down the cellular oxidation, it has been possible to prove that its polyphenols also act as an antibacterial barrier against intestinal and respiratory infections. Something essential during these difficult times.
Are you eating more an worse during these days? Control your emotional hunger with EVOO
The stress caused by quarantine makes us forget about our health. We refer not only to the lack of exercise and sleep, but also to the fact that we choose energy-dense and sugary foods in order to reduce our anxiety. Or simply because we don’t want to spend too much effort cooking.
From QvExtra! we encourage you to maintain a balance diet based on extra virgin olive oil (characterized for being a satiating food), and to avoid snacks between meals. The reason is very simple: since we now have a sedentary life and we don’t burn much fat, we can’t eat as much as we used to. Otherwise, it will result in excess weight when quarantine is over.
Sources:
https://www.uoc.edu/portal/es/news/actualitat/2020/177-dieta-confinamiento.html
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924224417305940
https://www.elsevier.es/es-revista-offarm-4-articulo-el-olivo-13096631
https://www.elpradopsicologos.es/blog/alimentacion-hambre-emocional/
