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Leading Edge
Olive Oil
Leading Edge
Nutrition Centres provides extra-virgin, cold pressed olive oil in dark
glass, high in antioxidants, and fresh from the olive grove. Choosing
extra virgin olive oil as your main source of dietary fat, combined with
eating a healthy diet that is high in plant foods, may reduce your risk
of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Moderate amounts of olive oil
may also reduce abdominal fat, if eaten as part of a diet high in plant
foods.
Olive oil in the Mediterranean diet
In the 1960s, it was
found that the people of Greece (Crete) consumed a great deal of salt
and fat (but also a lot of plant foods). They were living longer than
the Japanese, who were also eating a lot of salt but whose diet was low
in fat and lower in plant foods. The people of Crete lived longer
because they had lower rates of stroke, stomach cancer, heart disease
and other cancers. Researchers also noticed that people living in
countries around the Mediterranean had a lower incidence of heart
disease, despite their high intake of mono-unsaturated fats, such as
olive oil. This led to investigations into what is known as ‘the
Mediterranean diet’, of which olive oil is a major part.
Research supports the health benefits of olive oil
Recent studies into
the health benefits of olive oil have found that it can lower the risk
of coronary heart disease by reducing blood cholesterol levels.
According to one study, a person’s risk of fatal heart attack is halved
in just two to four years once they switch to ‘the Mediterranean diet’,
which includes using olive oil as the main dietary fat, increasing
vegetable intake, and limiting meat and dairy foods. Research has also
found that olive oil may influence body fat distribution, with less fat
stored around the stomach. Olive oil is the only vegetable oil that can
be consumed as it is - freshly pressed from the fruit
Olive oil's health benefits
Studies have shown
that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling
LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the "good"
cholesterol) levels. No other naturally produced oil has as large an
amount of monounsaturated as olive oil -mainly oleic acid. Olive oil is
very well tolerated by the stomach. In fact, olive oil's protective
function has a beneficial effect on ulcers and gastritis. It activates
the secretion of bile and pancreatic hormones much more naturally than
prescribed drugs. Consequently, it lowers the incidence of gallstone
formation.
Olive oil and heart disease
Studies have shown
that people who consumed 25ml (about 2 tablespoons) of extra-virgin
olive oil daily for 1 week showed less oxidation of LDL cholesterol and
higher levels of antioxidant compounds, particularly phenols, in the
blood. EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil, from the first pressing of the olives,
contains higher levels of antioxidants, particularly vitamin E and
phenols, because it is less processed.
Olive oil is clearly
one of the good oils, one of the healing fats. Most people do very well
with it since it does not upset the critical omega-6 to omega-3 ratio
and most of the fatty acids in olive oil are actually omega-9 oil which
is monounsaturated.
Olive oil and colon cancer
Spanish researchers
suggest that including olive oil in your diet may also offer benefits in
terms of colon cancer prevention. Their study results showed that rats
fed diet supplemented with olive oil had a lower risk of colon cancer
than those fed safflower oil-supplemented diets. In fact, the rats that
received olive oil had colon cancer rates almost as low as those fed
fish oil, which several studies have already linked to a reduction in
colon cancer risk
Interesting findings
A paper published by
a research group at the Northern Ireland Center for Diet and Health,
University of Ulster, came up with some interesting findings. Health
benefits from lycopene in tomato products have been suggested to be
related to its antioxidant activity. Dietary fat may influence the
absorption and hence the antioxidant activity of lycopene. The study
compared the effect of consumption of tomato products with extra-virgin
olive oil versus sunflower oil. The different oils did not affect the
absorption of the lycopene into the body, but the tomato/olive oil
combination generated increased plasma antioxidant activity by around
20%. Therefore one conclusion drawn from the research was that it would
seem that consumption of tomato products with olive oil, but
not with sunflower oil, improves the antioxidant activity of the
plasma.
Research has shown
that scavenging of the hydroxyl radical was significantly higher among
extracts of olive oil. This effect was only minimal in seed oils. In
addition to their direct antioxidant capacity, extracts of olive oil are
also potent inhibitors of xanthine oxidase activity. A constant high
olive oil intake in the diet, especially extra virgin olive oil,
provides a constant supply of antioxidants. This may reduce oxidative
stress through inhibition of lipid peroxidation, a factor that is
currently linked to a host of diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
Olive oil vs
Sunflower Oil
Dr Ferrara and his colleagues found that while consuming the
extra-virgin olive oil diet, research subjects reduced the amount of
antihypertensive medication necessary to control blood pressure levels
by 48%, versus only a 4% reduction on the sunflower oil diet. In
addition, eight subjects on the extra-virgin olive oil diet required no
antihypertensive medications; all subjects on the sunflower oil diet
required antihypertensive medication. The authors conclude that a diet
lower in total fat and saturated fat and a diet that contains higher
amounts of MUFA can lower blood pressure levels and reduce or eliminate
the need for medications in people with hypertension. So why does olive oil
lower blood pressure? One possible reason is its polyphenol content.
Polyphenols are potent antioxidants which help arteries dilate, thereby
reducing blood pressure. Ten grams of extra-virgin olive oil contains
five milligrams of polyphenols; sunflower oil has no polyphenols.
Things to remember
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Choosing olive oil as your main source of dietary fat,
combined with a high intake of plant food and fish oil, may reduce
your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
-
When part of a healthy diet, moderate amounts of olive
oil may help to reduce excess body fat, especially around the abdomen.
-
Extra virgin varieties of olive oil are believed to offer
the greatest health benefits
Lee, A.; Thurnham, D.I.; Chopra, C. Consumption of
Tomato Products with Olive Oil but not Sunflower Oil increases the
Antioxidant Activity of Plasma. Free Radical Biology & Medicine,
29:1051-1055; 2000;
Nov. 15th, 2000 issue |
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