Prophetic Medicine – Olive Oil

Ibn al-Qayyim described the benefits of olive oil in his book Prophetic Medicine. He said that the characteristics of this oil corresponded to the type of olives from which it came from; oil pressed from ripe olives was the better than oil from unripe olives. He also said that the older the oil, the more effective it was, and when olive oil was more beneficial when it was pressed with water.

Ibn al-Qayyim also mentioned that all types of olive oil could soften the skin and delay whitening of the hair. He also said that the benefits of this oil were many times greater than have been mentioned.

Some hadith on the benefits of using olive oil:

The Messenger peace and blessings be upon him said: “Eat olive oil and anoint yourselves with it, for it is from a blessed tree.” (Tirmidhi) “Eat olive oil with your bread, and oil yourselves with it, for it is from a blessed tree.” (Ibn Maja)

Some facts about olive oil

Olives are the fruits that grow on the olive tree, which comes from the Oleaceae family. They contain a single pit and their flesh is filled with oil. The ripe fruits are pressed to extract the oil

Green and black olives are essentially the same olive and only vary in the degree of ripeness- black being the most ripe. It consists of 75% heart-healthy mono unsaturated fat and only 13% saturated fat. It contains active compounds such as oleocanthal, which has a strong anti-inflammatory action to fight heart-disease and cancer.

It also contains the natural antioxidants polyphenols, whose beneficial effects include lowering cholesterol, blood pressure and the risk of coronary heart disease. Many other nut and seed oils have no polyphenols whatsoever.

Some health benefits of olive oil

• Cancer Prevention Evidence suggests that olive and olive oil consumption as part of a healthy Mediterranean diet has cancer-protective properties. Research also found that active ingredients in olive oil prevented human colon cancer cells from multiplying.

• High blood pressure A study published in 2007 in the Journal of Nutrition found that introducing moderate consumption of olive oil in the diet reduced systolic blood pressure.