Anyone coming from the Mediterranean region of the world would tell
you about the health benefits, as well as the wonderful flavor, of a
good dose of olive oil on salads, pasta, fish and almost anything else.
Fortunately, it is available throughout the year to satisfy taste buds
and promote good health.
What's New and Beneficial about Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The quality of olive oil production - especially the stage of
pressing - really does make a difference when it comes to health benefits.
Recent studies have compared the anti-inflammatory benefits of extra
virgin olive oil (EVOO) obtained from the first pressing of the oil to
the anti-inflammatory benefits of virgin olive oils (non-EVOO) obtained
from later pressings. What researchers found was an ability of EVOO to
lower inflammatory markers in the blood when non-EVOOs were unable to do
so. (Study measurements included blood levels of thromboxane A2, or
TXA2, and leukotriene B2, or LBT2.) This ability of extra virgin olive
oil to help protect against unwanted inflammation is not surprising,
since EVOO is known to contain stronger concentrations of phytonutrients
(especially polyphenols) that have well-known anti-inflammatory
properties.
Mediterranean Diet studies have long associated olive oil intake with decreased risk of heart disease. However, a recent group of studies has provided us with a fascinating explanation of olive oil's cardioprotective effect. One of the key polyphenols in olive oil—hydroxytyrosol (HT)—helps protect the cells that line our blood vessels from being damaged by overly reactive oxygen molecules. HT helps protect the blood vessel cells by triggering changes at a genetic level. The genetic changes triggered by HT help the blood vessel cells to enhance their antioxidant defense system. In other words, olive oil supports our blood vessels not only by providing antioxidants like like vitamin E and beta-carotene. Olive oil also provides our blood vessels with unique molecules like HT that actually work at a genetic level to help the cellular walls of the blood vessels remain strong.
Mediterranean Diet studies have long associated olive oil intake with decreased risk of heart disease. However, a recent group of studies has provided us with a fascinating explanation of olive oil's cardioprotective effect. One of the key polyphenols in olive oil—hydroxytyrosol (HT)—helps protect the cells that line our blood vessels from being damaged by overly reactive oxygen molecules. HT helps protect the blood vessel cells by triggering changes at a genetic level. The genetic changes triggered by HT help the blood vessel cells to enhance their antioxidant defense system. In other words, olive oil supports our blood vessels not only by providing antioxidants like like vitamin E and beta-carotene. Olive oil also provides our blood vessels with unique molecules like HT that actually work at a genetic level to help the cellular walls of the blood vessels remain strong.
Olive oil has long been recognized for its unusual fat content.
This plant oil is one of the few widely used culinary oils that
contains about 75% of its fat in the form of oleic acid (a
monounsaturated, omega-9 fatty acid). In terms of monounsaturated fat,
the closest common culinary oil to olive is canola oil, with about 60%
of its fat coming in monounsaturated form. By contrast, the fat in
soybean oil in only 50-55% monounsaturated; in corn oil, it's about 60%;
in sunflower oil, about 20%; and in safflower oil, only 15%. When diets
low in monounsaturated fat are altered to increase the monounsaturated
fat content (by replacing other oils with olive oil), research study
participants tend to experience a significant decrease in their total
blood cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and LDL:HDL ratio. Recent research
studies have taken these heart-healthy effects of olive oil one step
further. Olive oil's monounsaturated fat content (specifically, its high
level of oleic acid) has now been determined to be a mechanism linking
olive oil intake to decreased blood pressure. Researchers believe that
the plentiful amount of oleic acid in olive oil gets absorbed into the
body, finds its way into cell membranes, changes signaling patterns at a
cell membrane level (specifically, altering G-protein associated
cascades) and thereby lowers blood pressure. To our knowledge, this is
the first time that the monounsaturated fat content of olive oil has
been linked not only to cholesterol reduction, but also to reduction of
blood pressure.
Cancer prevention has been one of the most active areas of
olive oil research, and the jury is no longer out on the health benefits
of olive oil with respect to cancer. Twenty-five studies on olive oil
intake and cancer risk—including most of the large-scale human studies
conducted up through the year 2010—have recently been analyzed by a team
of researchers at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological
Research Institute in Milan, Italy. Firmly established by this research
team were the risk-reducing effects of olive oil intake with respect to
cancers of the breast, respiratory tract, upper digestive tract and, to a
lesser extent, lower digestive tract (colorectal cancers). These
anti-cancer benefits of olive oil became most evident when the diets of
routine olive oil users were compared with the diets of individuals who
seldom used olive oil and instead consumed diets high in saturated added
fat, especially butter.
The World's Healthiest Foods
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