“... A tree that issues from Mount Sinai, yielding oil and relish for all to eat” (The Holy Qur’an, Surat, The Believers, 23; verse: 20). This is the olive tree that has been blessed and chosen by Allah to be mentioned several times in the Holy Qur’an to emphasize its importance, its unique fruit, oil, and the many benefits it offers to mankind.
The olive tree, Olea europaea, is a medium sized evergreen with coriaceous leaves and silver-green bark adorning its elegantly twisted hard trunk. It yields small egg-shaped fruits called olives, which are eaten green or black after pickling.
Black olives contain more protein and fat than green olives. At the first cold pressing, the fruit yields highly-prized greenish translucent oil called extra virgin olive oil, containing oleic acid. Subsequent and heat pressings produce lower grade oils. Twenty-three percent of the fruit consists of monosaturated fat. The oil contains vitamins A, D, and E calcium, iron, and other minerals and nutrients. Because of its healthy fat, it is recommended for the cardiovascular and digestive systems, skin, and bones. Antioxidants in the fruit delay the aging process.
Studies have shown that the monosaturated fat in the cold pressed oil helps lower the “harmful” cholesterol, low density lipoproteins (LDL), and raises high density lipoprotein (HDL), the “good” cholesterol. In the Mediterr-anean countries where olive oil is the main fat in the diet, people are less exposed to cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Because virgin olive oil reduces plaque buildup in arteries; controls hypertension; and decreases heart attack risk, cardiologists recommend including the oil along omega-3-and-6 fats in the daily diet.
When taken at the start of a meal (alone or in salads with vinegar), olive oil races ahead of other fats to quench cells and keep them healthy and cancer-free. Oleic acid inhibits tumor growths as well.
Olive oil softens and enriches tired and aging skin, helps scaling skin caused by eczema, and delays the appearance of wrinkles. The oil should be applied immediately after showers for better absorption and results. It also protects against ultraviolet rays. To tighten sagging skin, apply the mixture of two egg yolks and half a cup of olive oil on the skin for ten minutes, and then apply the remaining two egg whites. Warm olive oil increases hair luster and decreases dandruff and hair loss.
According to medical anthropologist Heinerman, virgin olive oil mixed with egg white relieves heartburn, indigestion, and ulcers. The same mixture also relieves skin burns. To soothe teething babies’ sore gums, rub pure virgin olive oil on sore gums several times a day.
For eliminating gallstones, Phyllis Bach in “Nutritional Healing” suggests a one-day purge of only eating organic green apples and drinking their juice, water, and clear herbal infusions to help break up the gallstones. Before retiring at night, a mixture of warm virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice (2 to 1) should be sipped slowly. Sleeping position should be on the right side with legs bent upwards. The stones are usually excreted with the stool the next morning. This simple remedy spares the pain and side effects of surgery and stimulates the liver.
The olive fruit’s sourness has healing and astringent effects on urinary incontinence, profuse perspiration, hemorrhage, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, and uterine prolapse. The sour flavor helps the liver break down fat and protein and dissolves minerals for better absorption.
An old traditional cure for earaches (without discharge) is a mixture of 2 to 1of virgin olive oil and garlic oil. The mixture should be warm before dropping it in both ear canals, which should be plugged with cotton wool. To make the remedy more effective, wrap head and ears to keep them warm. Test oil temperature on skin to avoid scalding the inner ear!
Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) diet consisted of dates and whole wheat bread dipped in olive oil with a drop of vinegar if available. Studies show that the combination of oil and vinegar lower LDL. He also recommended rubbing the entire body with olive oil. Body massage with the olive oil and ginger juice stimulates blood circulation and energizes. The olive leaf, too, offers benefits. Its antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties act against the flu, herpes, sinusitis, pneumonia, inflammatory arthritis, chronic fatigue, hypertension, and skin diseases. The leaf’s extract in supplement form contains a long list of effective phytochemicals along with calcium.
The first cold pressing of olives yields translucent oil with a greenish tinge, which is the pure virgin olive oil. It has an exceptional aroma and flavorful taste. Allah Almighty depicts the perfection of His Divine Light through the analogy of the clarity and brightness of high quality olive oil that appears to emit light without being ignited. This is the ultimate in praise and portrayal, “God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His light is, as it were, that of a niche containing a lamp; the lamp is (enclosed) in glass, the glass (shining) like a radiant star. (A lamp) lit from a blessed tree — an olive tree that is neither of the east nor of the west — the oil whereof (is so bright that it) would well-nigh give light (of itself) even though fire had not touched it: light upon light!” (Surat: The Light, 24; verse: 35).
NB: Individuals with medical conditions or on medication should consult their physicians when they decide to introduce anything new in their diet even if it is natural.
