Olive Oil and Its Secrets

Over and over again, the reliability and accuracy of the Word of God is certified by medical science, mathematics, archaeology, paleontology, prophetic events, and more. No truth has ever controverted the absolute and only source of truth—the Words of God. A common concept on this website bears repeating: followers of Christ can relax in their faith. For over 6,000 years, the world’s greatest carnal minds, fueled by their father the devil, have relentlessly attacked the veracity of the Words of God in their attempt to negate the Holy God of judgment. But be apprized that they have failed miserably every time. They won’t succeed tomorrow. Shame, shame, shame upon them! Enjoy your faith, saints. Our God is never wrong, and our God never loses. If you have yet to make a decision for Jesus Christ, do it now while you still have time. This decision will decide your future—here, and for eternity. Click on to "Further With Jesus" for immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, in nearly 200 instances in the Scriptures, "Oil." He favorably endorses oil, and when the Scriptures define the kind of oil He is referring to, it is olive oil. God promotes the use of the wood, the leaves, the branches, and the fruit of the olive tree. When God spoke to the children of Israel of the land of promise, He described it in Deuteronomy 8:7-9:

7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;

8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;

9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.

MAN SAID: The Bible is not a book of the Words of God. It is a book of the writings of mere, fallible men, whose writings have been proven wrong sundry times. Every man must do what is right in his own eyes. Vegetable oils, lard, and margarine are all great substitutes for olive oil.

Now THE RECORD. The Word of God is His owner’s manual to His creation. It is true and righteous altogether. It is His Word that lightens our darkness. The beauty and unchanging, irrefutable truth of this Word is proof that God is, and that He authored the Scriptures.

Thousands of years before modern science begins to know the reasons why, God declares it in His Word; and such is the case of the olive tree and all its fruits. Currently on this website, there are numerous subjects that address Biblical diet. Two of them are "Olive Oil" and "The Tree of Life." Concerning the olive tree, new research continues to pour in certifying the validity of the Word of God.

Most are aware of the famed Mediterranean diet, which is defined in the health publication Life Extension as, "characterized by fish that provides omega-3 fatty acids, relatively copious amounts of olive oil, and antioxidant-rich fruits, vegetables, and herbs… The traditional Mediterranean diet is closely associated with the olive-growing regions of the Mediterranean Sea." [End of quote] The front page headline of the July 2005 issue of Life Extension, from which the above quotes were taken, reads, "Mediterranean Diet Increases Life Span."

Key early discoveries have just been released by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). This is the largest study of its kind ever conducted. Over a period of eight years, 74,000 healthy seniors age 60+ from nine European countries, participated in this study. The study observed the overall dietary, lifestyle, and environmental factors affecting the incidence of cancer and other chronic diseases, as well as overall health in general. The following excerpts are from the Life Extension article:

The researchers developed a 10-point scale to quantify degree of adherence to the modified diet, and then compared scores with mortality data. Subjects who adhered most closely to the classic Mediterranean diet while consuming the least saturated fat earned the highest scores. Higher scores were clearly associated with longer life span. As the scientists noted, "…adherence to a modified Mediterranean diet…was associated with a significantly longer life expectancy in apparently healthy elderly people… "In essence, the data from this enormously important study show that adherence to a Mediterranean-type diet can extend life. Individuals who improved their scores by just two points on the 10-point scale increased their life expectancy by 7%. As an example, a 60-year-old man who adhered to the diet could expect to live a year longer than another man of the same age who did not follow the diet. According to the researchers, "The reduction in mortality in relation to a dietary score was more striking than expected …"  [End of quote]

All of God’s commandments and directives have inherent within them a blessing or a curse. Those who observe God’s commandments enjoy the benefit of doing it right, and those who reject His counsel suffer the curse of doing it wrong. Jesus said He came to give us life, and life more abundantly, and that’s just what God’s Word delivers. In a feature article on this website, "The Power of Going to Church," the people who attend church two or more times a week live eight years longer, are sick less often, and when they are sick, they recover quicker than the general population. Obey God’s Word and enjoy the benefits of doing it right.

The article continues:

In a further study, the EPIC scientists found that the longevity-promoting effects of the Mediterranean diet were even more dramatic in adults with coronary heart disease. When individuals with prevalent coronary heart disease at the time of enrollment improved their adherence to the Mediterranean diet by two points on the 10-point scale, they experienced a 27% lower rate of mortality and a 31% lower rate of cardiac death. [End of quote]

Proverbs 11:19:

As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.

Righteousness tendeth to life, and it is obvious in the research pouring in concerning olive oil.

Life Extension reports:

While the monounsaturated fats in olive oil are clearly a crucial component of the Mediterranean diet, a lesser known but no less important component is the rich mixture of antioxidant polyphenols in olives. Once discarded as a by-product of the olive oil-extraction process, olive polyphenols concentrated in the watery juice of the olive fruit have an impressive array of beneficial properties.

For example, laboratory studies of cells grown in culture have shown that the primary olive oil polyphenol—hydroxytyrosol [hI-"dräk-sE-'tI-"rO-sol—scavenges the dangerous free radical hydrogen peroxide, which is a by-product of normal cellular respiration. As Life Extension members are well aware, the damage caused by free radicals includes DNA damage that can lead to premature aging, cancer, and other degenerative conditions. In addition to in-vitro experiments, tests with hydroxytyrosol-rich polyphenols in vivo have also yielded impressive results. For example, scientists in the Netherlands fed animals either polyphenol-rich extra-virgin olive oil or extra-virgin olive oil with the polyphenol components removed. Levels of the antioxidant vitamin E were significantly increased in the animals that received the polyphenols, indicating that olive oil polyphenols improved antioxidant defense systems. Removal of hydroxytyrosol-rich polyphenols from the diet also rendered LDL (low-density lipoprotein) more susceptible to oxidation. LDL oxidation is thought to play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.  [End of quote]

Again from Life Extension:

Markers of oxidative stress, implicated in the development of cardiovascular disease, were assessed after ingestion of a single dose of polyphenol-rich extra-virgin olive oil. LDL’s resistance to oxidation improved after consumption of the polyphenol-rich olive oil, while glutathione- related enzyme activities also improved. Other studies have reported similar results. [End of quote]

In technical parlance, synergy is achieved when the sum of two or more products is greater than their individual values, and this is just what happens in regard to the combination of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and monounsaturated fats from olive oil. Finally, the article reports:

Most impressive, however, were the effects observed in the group that received both fish oil and olive oil. These patients exhibited an "accentuated improvement" when DHA- and EPA-rich fish oil supplements were used in combination with polyphenol-rich olive oil. When fish oil improved various parameters of inflammation, only fish oil and olive oil together provided additional improvements in duration of morning stiffness, the ability to turn faucets on and off, and patients’ subjective assessments of satisfaction with their daily living activities.  [End of quote]

The entire article is recommended reading.

Discover magazine, in June of 2005, under the heading "How Olive Oil Helps Fight Breast Cancer," reports the following:

For decades, epidemiologists have collected evidence showing that a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil offers protection against breast cancer. But they never understood why. Javier Menendez of the Northwestern University School of Medicine recently figured out how it works. Olive oil is a rich mixture of fatty acids, chiefly oleic acid. When Menendez bathed human breast cancer cells with purified oleic acid, the cells cut production of a cancer-causing gene, HER2, by nearly 50 percent. The fatty acid also increased the effectiveness of Herceptin, a drug made from antibodies that latch onto HER2 proteins and trigger the death of cancer cells. The HER2 gene is overactive in more than one-fifth of all breast cancers and operates in a host of other tumors that may prove vulnerable to oleic acid. So far, Menendez and his colleagues have discovered the fatty acid cuts the expression of the gene in ovarian, stomach, and colon cancer cell lines. "It will probably turn out to be a universal effect," he says. Prevention comes in relatively small doses: Olive-oil researchers and health experts recommended 40 to 50 grams of olive oil a day (four to six tablespoons) to help stave off cancers and reduce the risk of heart disease. "You can get that very easily in a salad," Menendez says. More of the oil might be necessary to help beat existing breast tumors and other cancers, he says, although just how much is not yet known. [End of quote]

Let there be no doubt in your mind. God’s Word is true, and the new scientific discoveries concerning olive oil simply continue to verify this fact. Obey His Words and enjoy the benefits of doing it right.

GOD SAID, in nearly 200 instances in the Scriptures, "Oil." He favorably endorses oil, and when the Scriptures define the kind of oil He is referring to, it is olive oil. God promotes the use of the wood, the leaves, the branches, and the fruit of the olive tree. When God spoke to the children of Israel of the land of promise, He described it in Deuteronomy 8:7-9:

7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;

8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;

9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.

MAN SAID: The Bible is not a book of the Words of God. It is a book of the writings of mere, fallible men, whose writings have been proven wrong sundry times. Every man must do what is right in his own eyes. Vegetable oils, lard, and margarine are all great substitutes for olive oil.

Now you have THE RECORD.




References:

King James Bible

Kiefer, D., "The Disease-Preventive Power of the Mediterranean Diet," Life Extension, 7/05, pp22-29

Svitil, K.A., "Secrets of Longevity," Discover, 6/05, p14

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