Spiral Spa, Padang Bai, Bali :Olive oil: A good choice for pain releasing massage

Spiral Spa @ Bloo, Padang Bai, Bali:Olive oil: 

A good choice for pain releasing massage

Dear all,

Today Spiral Spa @ Bloo, Padang Bai, Bali would like to introduce you to one of the most famous oils worldwide and his use as massage or carrier oil.

The olive tree is native to the Mediterranean basin; wild olives were collected by Neolithic peoples as early as the 8th millennium BC. The wild olive tree originated in ancient Greece.

It is not clear when and where olive trees were first domesticated: in Asia Minor in the 6th millennium; along the Levantine coast  stretching from the Sinai Peninsula to modern Turkey in the 4th millennium; or somewhere in the Mesopotamian Fertile Crescent in the 3rd millennium.

Probably the first production of olive oil was as well somewhere in this area. Besides food, olive oil has been used for religious rituals, medicines, as a fuel in oil lamps and important for us in soap making and skin care application.

Nutrition:

Olive oil
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	3,701 kJ (885 kcal)
Carbohydrates	0 g
Fat	100 g
- saturated	14 g
- monounsaturated	73 g
- polyunsaturated	11 g
- omega‑3 fat	<1.5 g
- omega‑6 fat	3.5–21 g
Protein	0 g
Vitamin E	14 mg (93%)
Vitamin K	62 μg (59%) 100 g olive oil is 109 ml Percentages are relative to USrecommendationfor adults.

A very important thing when choosing olive oil as Base oil for massage is of course to have a good look on the quality of the oil. Therefore it is important to understand Label wording:

• The different names for olive oil indicate the degree of processing the oil has undergone as well as the quality of the oil. Extra-virgin olive oil is the highest grade available, followed by virgin olive oil. The word "virgin" indicates that the olives have been pressed to extract the oil; no heat or chemicals have been used during the extraction process, and the oil is pure and unrefined. Virgin olive oils contain the highest levels of polyphenols, antioxidants that have been linked with better health.
• "Made from refined olive oils" means that the taste and composition are chemically controlled, usually to improve lower quality oils. In Australia, Pure, Light and Extra-Light are terms introduced by manufacturers for refined oils to avoid labeling them as such. Standards Australia's code of practice for olive oil now recognizes these words as meaning refined oil. Contrary to a common consumer belief, they do not have less calories than Extra-virgin oil as implied by the names.
• Cold pressed or Cold extraction means "that the oil was not heated over a certain temperature (usually 80 °F (27 °C)) during processing, thus retaining more nutrients and undergoing less degradation."
• First cold pressed means "that the fruit of the olive was crushed exactly one time-i.e., the first press. The cold refers to the temperature range of the fruit at the time it is crushed." In Calabria (Italy) the olives are collected in October. In regions like Tuscany or Liguria, the olives collected in November and ground often at night are too cold to be processed efficiently without heating. The paste is regularly heated above the environmental temperatures, which may be as low as 10-15 °C, to extract the oil efficiently with only physical means. Olives pressed in warm regions like Southern Italy or Northern Africa may be pressed at significantly higher temperatures although not heated. While it is important that the pressing temperatures be as low as possible (generally below 25 °C) there is no international reliable definition of "cold pressed".
  Furthermore, there is no "second" press of virgin oil, so the term "first press" means only that the oil was produced in a press vs. other possible methods.
• PDO and PGI and refers to olive oils with "exceptional properties and quality derived from their place of origin as well as from the way of their production".
• The label may indicate that the oil was bottled or packed in a stated country. This does not necessarily mean that the oil was produced there. The origin of the oil may sometimes be marked elsewhere on the label; it may be a mixture of oils from more than one country.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration permitted a claim on olive oil labels stating: "Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about two tablespoons (23g) of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease."

The use of olive oil as massage oil is known for centuries and report from ancient Greece were Athletes were massaged with olive oil before their performance and from Ayurveda Medicine. It can be used as massage oil by its own (100%) or mixed with other massage oils.

Olive oil has a pale to greenish yellow color, and in very pure forms the color goes into a darker green. It has a mild spicy odor that again in the more pure forms is stronger and can overpower the smell of other oils. In its use as massage oil it has been proven beneficial for dry, damaged or split hair and very soothing to the skin. It helps perfectly against inflammation such as eczema and a good source of Vitamin E, even though not the best.

It is as well supporting pain relief and therefore a good choice for rheumatic conditions or after exercise.

A disadvantage could be that it is very slowly absorbed by the skin and therefor olive oil is a little greasy, and defiantly not the most lubricant oil available.

Counting all together you have to say that olive oil is a good choice as a base oil used in massage.

In our Spa in Padang Bai, Bali we made a different choice, because of the fact that it has to be transported around the half globe, what makes it for us not environment friendly to use.

We hope you enjoyed reading.

Your Spiral Spa @ Bloo,Padang Bai, Bali