“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5 ESV)
Any time you see references to oil in the Bible, it was referring to olive oil. It was used to anoint people and as such was symbolic of the Holy Spirit. It was also used as fuel for lamps, cooking, and even as a medicinal salve.
It was so valuable, that the abundance of olive oil was symbolic of joy and health (Jeremiah 31:12).
So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health are suggesting there may be health benefits to using olive oil in cooking, Fox News reports.
The researchers came to this conclusion after studying 92,000 adults, with an average age of 58, over 28 years,
Their study found that those who consumed at least 7 grams of olive oil daily had a 28% reduced risk of a dementia-related death compared to those who didn’t use it.
The authors added that it didn’t even seem to matter what the person’s diet was, olive oil proved beneficial.
“Substituting olive oil intake for margarine and mayonnaise was associated with lower risk of dementia mortality and may be a potential strategy to improve longevity free of dementia,” the study authors noted.
While some questioned the researcher’s conclusions, other studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids have known health benefits, which include reducing the risk of dementia. Olives and olive oil are an excellent source of omega-3s.