Why take olive oil before going to bed?

What are the possible health benefits if you take olive oil before going to bed?  Have you ever asked yourself that question? In this post, we’ve set ourselves the task of answering this question.

We’re going to tell you how to take the oil before going to bed and we’ll add a scientific explanation about why it’s a good idea to follow this advice.

We’ll also remind you about other benefits that exist for your health if you regularly take this foodstuff, which is fortunately deeply rooted in our Mediterranean culture.

Olive oil is like a natural medicine.  It is a foodstuff that we associate with cooking and the preparation of food.

But when we’re cooking, rarely do we realize all of the beneficial properties that olive oil has for our health.  And they are many.  In this blog, we’ve written a great deal about its properties.  For example, in this post.

Within the oil sector, ranking also exists.  What we’re talking about is that, according to how it has been produced, the beneficial properties will be greater or fewer. At the top of the list is extra virgin olive oil, the authentic juice of the olive which is what we produce at Masía El Altet.

Olive oil before going to bed to help your digestive system

After this brief introduction about all of the benefits and properties of virgin olive oil, we’re now going to look at why it is a good idea to take olive oil before going to bed.

It’s obvious that if we take it, we’re going to sleep better. The reason is that this foodstuff is good for the digestive system.

Let’s explain this point.  Olive oil is a foodstuff which contains fats but ones which are healthy and help to control bad cholesterol and increase levels of the good type.

Well, if you take a small quantity of extra virgin olive oil, you have the sensation of feeling full.  That means that you’ll eat less and it shouldn’t be necessary to tell you that a light evening meal is what is recommended in order to sleep well.  According to nutritionists, the worst thing that a human being can do is eat a heavy meal and then go to bed straight after.

What we’re not telling you to do is to take a spoonful of olive oil.  But what we are saying is that it’s a good idea to season your salad or cooked vegetables with extra virgin olive oil. You could even put a good dash of it on your meat or fish.

The key is oleylatonolamide

The fats in olive oil are transformed into a hormone called oleylatanolamide.  This centre, the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red‐Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y la Nutrición, has shown that this hormone, a natural component derived from oleic acids and which is produced in the small intestine, contributes to converting ‘bad’ fat into ‘good’.

Besides calming our apetite, it can be of great help in combatting excess weight and obesity.  Excess weight and obesity, which have become a serious health problema, above all, in countries in the West and in Spain as well.

According to the Ministry of Health ‘’in the adult Spanish population, (from 25 to 6), the prevalence of obesity is 14.5 per cent whilst the figure for excess weight rises to 38.5 per cent. That is, one in two adults is above the recommended weight.   Obesity is more frequent in women (17.5 per cent) than in men (13.2  per cent).  

For that reason, taking olive oil before going to bed helps digestion during the night and also helps in weight loss.

Olive oil before going to bed for your skin too

Taking olive oil before going to bed also has other benefits.  And one of them is for our skin.  With all of the properties of this foodstuff, it’s possible to delay ageing of the skin and particularly, that of the face.

We’re talking about a natural remedy, taking a few drops of oil before going to bed and spreading them over the skin.  That is sufficient to have have young skin.

This effect is due to the quantity of antioxidants and polyphenols extra virgin olive oil contains and also its vitamin E.

It’s for this reason that if you look, many cosmetics on the market have olive oil as their base product.

Other benefits of olive oil

Olive oil has many other benefits.  The most varied scientific studies have revealed that it is a powerful weapon in the fight against many types of cancer, above all, those connected to the skin, colon and breast.

We’ve already referred to the fact that oil aids in the fight agains excess weight and obesity.  So, we can also say that it’s a wonderful element in the fight against diabetes, which is associated to the previous two situations. The reason for this is that in this foodstuff, we find monounsaturated fats.

However, we have to say that to control diabetes, monounsaturated fats are not enough.  It is necessary to adopt a diet rich in fruit and vegetables, pulses and carbohydrates, that is to say to ‘embrace’ the Mediterranean diet which is the most healthy way of eating in the world and which, since time immemorial, has revolved around olive oil.

It’s also worth pointing out that olive oil is very beneficial for bones and wards off osteoporosis.

So to sum up, taking olive oil before going to bed means better digestion which will help you to get to sleep better.  Thanks to its hormones, you’ll note a sensation of fullness which will make your stomach feel lighter when you go to bed.  In this post, we’ve also reviewed other benefits of extra virgin olive oil, the real juice of the olive.

Have you already tried taking olive oil before going to bed? Have you noticed its effects? Leave us your opinions in the comments section.

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