This isn’t just an old wives tale — when you break olive oil down into its chemical compounds, you find that the monosaturated fats strengthen your skin cells to fight sun damage. It’s also been proven that the vitamin D and E keep the skin super moist and devoid of wrinkles!

Did you know… that simple olive oil is likely one of the oldest natural medicines!

Olive trees originated in the Mediterranean basin some 6,000 years ago. Olive trees flower in late-spring and later yields their olives, but it takes at least 15 years for the plant to completely mature. Once they are full-grown, they grow an abundance of olives for decades, even centuries!
Since each little olive contains only a fraction of oil, it takes about 200 olives to make the 4 cups of olive oil we see in green-tinted bottles.
The intricate process of harvesting and processing the olives is the reason that olive oil was so treasured in the ancient world. In 3,000 BC on the island of Crete, olive oil was a sign of wealth. It was used as an anointing oil by holy men, conquerors, and kings.

It wasn’t really until Hippocrates began using olive oil as a base for topical healing that people began to view olive oil as a medicine, and not just a sacred spiritual substance. Healers continued to test olive oil and found that it was useful for sore throats and could take on additional healing properties by infusing herbs, veggies, and fruits into the oil over time.

Fast forward thousands of years to today — not only is olive oil a time-tested and classic essential in culinary herbalism, scientists are proving its ability to heal!

A key longevity food…

Researchers began studying olive oil when the Mediterranean diet became popular. They noticed that Italians, Greeks, and Spaniards – groups that consumed high amounts of olive oil – had lower rates of heart issues, neurodegenerative disorders, and strokes.
Olive oil has strong medicinal benefits that can be traced back to its abundance of antioxidants which help fight off free radicals that if not eliminated, can lead to inflammation and serious illnesses like hypertension.