The ancient Greeks called the olive tree the “Holy Tree.” Homer called olive oil “liquid gold.” Hippocrates used olive oil to treat everything from wounds to lung disease to skin troubles. Galen, in the 2nd century, used olive oil as one of only three ingredients in the world’s first documented cold cream. The ancient Romans used it to clean their skin. From hair and skin conditioning to fighting free radicals and inflammation there seems to be nothing that olive oil can’t do.
Even help you find relief from the common cold.
Winter’s Misery
Nobody likes a cold. All that stuffiness, coughing, sneezing, headache pain, sinus pressure, inability to sleep, and uncontrollable mouth-breathing are just plain miserable. We’ve all suffered through colds and we all try to get over them as quickly as possible!
If you’re a lover of olive oil (like we are), you have plenty of it around the house. Why not use it to relieve your cold symptoms and help yourself recover faster? Here are some ways you can do just that:
- A tablespoon of plain olive oil can coat your irritated throat and help soothe your cough. For a small child, make it a teaspoon instead, and add a little sugar or other flavoring to help them swallow it.
- A tablespoon of plain olive oil and a few drops of fresh lemon juice are a powerful detoxifier for your body. If your immune system is all clogged up with a cold, take this combination to help flush it clean.
- A teaspoon of olive oil mixed with a few drops of eucalyptus oil makes a great all-natural vapor rub to relieve congestion.
- ½ cup of olive oil mixed with ¼ cup of honey and ¼ cup of lemon juice makes a great natural cough syrup that also helps reduce inflammation in your throat. Just warm the ingredients together on the stove to help them blend, then take a tablespoon every few hours as needed.
- A few drops of warm olive oil dripped into an aching ear will help soothe the pain. Lay with your sore ear up to let the oil sit in your ear canal for a few minutes, then turn over and let the oil drain out onto a towel.
Prevention is Key
You know that old saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? Olive oil can help there too. With its natural anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, healing, pain-relieving, and cleansing properties and its healthy fats that feed your brain and satiate your hunger instincts, every home should have a bottle of good quality olive oil on hand at all times. It will help you stay healthy and strong in winter when colds are rampant, and in every other season of the year as well.
Come by our tasting room at Old Town Olive next time you are in Old Town and find a couple types of olive oil that you really like the taste of. We know our products and can make recommendations based on your preferences, or you can just try the oils until you find what you like. Then keep that oil around. Olive oil is great for skin, hair, nails, colds, overall health, salads, vegetables, marinades, meats, breads, desserts…you get the idea. See you here!