Olive Oil and Diseases

The Mediterranean diet, which has been followed in Greece for centuries, is a modern object of study and analysis. Its main ingredients are olive oil and table olives. It is now characterized as a diet with an extremely positive effect on human health. The consumption of extra virgin olive oil and table olives, basic components of the Mediterranean diet, offers significant benefits to human health. Olive oil is a source of energy and monounsaturated, “good” fats, and a rich source of antioxidants, especially extra virgin olive oil, which helps in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, and E) from food, helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and contributes, in the context of the Mediterranean diet, to the better management of various other diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease. It provides antioxidants and many of the fats necessary for good development during neonatal and childhood.