Here are 3 reasons why olive oil has become a popular choice for consumers all across the world:

• Health Benefits: Olive oil is considered to be a healthy oil, which can help reduce the risk of heart disease, lower cholesterol levels, and improve overall health. Because of their growing need for essential fatty acids consumption in sustaining good health, customers have raised their demand for olive oil due to its high omega-3 fatty acid concentration. Olive fruit oil has become incredibly well-known as a healthy oil worldwide because it offers healthy fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins.
• Taste and Versatility: Olive oil has a very nice taste even if we consume it raw and also can be used for cooking, as a salad dressing, or as a dipping sauce for bread. It is also used in many Mediterranean dishes and is a key ingredient in many popular recipes. If you travel to Europe, you can easily see that that olive oil is part of Mediterranean culture.
• ise in global trade: As global boundaries shrink with ease of logistics, Olive oil is freely available as it has been widely imported and traded in all parts of the world. A number of brands have started adding Olive oil to their product portfolio because as disposable income is rising along with the global population, more and more demand is expected in near future.

The demand for all variants of olive oil is rising but virgin olive oil is always in higher demand. It is said that Ancient Greeks and Romans used to bathe in Olive oil as soaps had not been invented. Virgin olive oil also has roots in the Vestal Virgins that were priestesses of Vesta, the virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. Now we know that olive oil indeed has rich history and heritage. So, next time you visit any supermarket, make sure to have olive oil in your basket!

How to win at life with Stoic philosophy:There are some key core concepts of Stoicism that give this philosophy a unique niche in ancient teachings. Author Dr Singh highlights some of these ideas for readers to have the right perspective while reading the book.

Summum Bonum: Introduced by Roman philosopher Cicero, Summum Bonum is the concept of ‘the supreme or highest good’ which refers to the four main virtues: courage, wisdom, justice and temperance. These are the pillars of Stoic Philosophy. Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius in his journal “Meditation “ stated that what’s bad for the hive is bad for the bee . Altruism i.e. living for the common good of society, is the key takeaway and Stoic philosophers like Zeno, Seneca, Cato, Chrysippus, Musonius Rufus, and Epictetus always worked towards this key thought for all their life. In simple words, Summum Bonum is the idea that irrespective of your circumstances, you should do the right things in life – nothing else matters.

Dichotomy Of Control:Ta eph’hemin, ta ouk eph ‘hemin in Greek, the Dichotomy of Control is a concept that simplifies life by reminding us that certain things are in our control while others are not so we should focus our time and energy on things we can control. Things like our thoughts, perceptions, actions and emotions are in our control and we should exercise our control and focus on them to improve our circumstances. However, things like the stock market, weather, traffic, long lines at airports or people’s opinions of us are not in our control so there’s no point stressing about them or losing our temper over them.

About the current global scenario of stress given the pandemic, author Vikas Kumar Singh adds that change is the inevitable law of nature and one should always be prepared for unexpected blows in life. Although we may feel that the current situation is unjustified, we must simply accept it and move on. No amount of cursing or anger can change the facts and only acceptance of it can bring peace and serenity in our daily life. Dr Singh reminds us that time is ticking and we all have a confirmed ‘return ticket’ from this planet. So we should try to live each moment to the fullest and Stoic philosophy can guide us in doing so, leading to a life of peace, contentment and happiness – a Eudaimonic life.

(Dr Vikas Kumar Singh is an International marketing strategist with over two decades of corporate experience. He is passionate about ancient Greek philosophy & is actively involved in his upcoming book ‘Return Ticket’, that explores some of the concepts of ancient Greek philosophy. He can be contacted at drvikascandy@gmail.com or at LinkedIn.)