These are some notes I’ve compiled from internet research and from my book “Healing Oils of the Bible”…
Olive oil is one of the ingredients in the recipe the Lord gave to Moses for the “holy anointing oil”. Olive oil contains protein, minerals and vitamins.
Twenty-five hundred years ago, Hippocrates said, “Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food.” Daily intake of extra virgin olive oil has been said to:
· have anti-inflammatory benefits for arthritis pain
· lubricate the joints and reduces swelling
· is an effective antioxidant that has been shown to reduce cancer rates and increase longevity
· is known to cleanse and assist liver function, regulate bile production, and reduce the incidence of gall stones
· helps to restore normal digestion
· helps in the healing of certain types of ulcers
Olive oil is made from the crushing and then pressing of olives. Extra virgin olive oil is derived from the first pressing of the olives and has the most delicate flavor and most antioxidant benefits. Pure, extra virgin olive oil is one of the most health-promoting types of oils available. Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, a type of fat that researchers are discovering has excellent health benefits.
When olive oil was extracted in biblical times the whole fruit was crushed by a stone wheel or mashed by treading under foot (Micah 6:15). The broken olives were placed in special baskets so the oil would drain into vats. In the Bible this was called ‘first oil’, ‘beaten oil’ or ‘fine oil’. (Numbers 28:5) The oil that drains in the first hour or so is called ‘extra virgin’, while the oil that drains later is called just ‘virgin’.
Because the whole fruit is crushed with the seed, the result is a mixture of the fatty oil of the seed and the aromatic essential oil of the fruit—the olive. Virgin oils are like fine wines where each grove and each year’s crop produces subtly different flavor. ‘First’, ‘fine’ or ‘beaten’ olive oil was the choice of the Levite priests for offerings, anointing oils and tithes. (Exodus 27:20, 29:40, Leviticus 24:2, Numbers 28:5)
Olives were brought to America by the Spanish and Portuguese explorers during the 15th and 16th centuries. They were introduced into California by the Franciscan missionaries in the late 18th century. Olive oil has been and still is a staple in the diet of many Mediterranean countries. The recent discovery that the Mediterranean diet, which features this prized oil, may be linked to a reduced risk of heart disease and other health conditions has caused olive oil to become very popular in the United States in the past few decades. Today, much of the commercial cultivation of olive oil is still centered in the Mediterranean region in such countries as Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Turkey.
Since olive oil can become rancid from exposure to light and heat, you should buy olive oils that are sold in dark tinted bottles since the packaging will help protect the oil from oxidation caused by exposure to light. Another term on some bottles of olive oil is "cold pressed." It means that minimal heating was used when mechanically processing the olives to make oil.
