Olive Oil May Help Reduce Cancer Risk

[Guest guest]

[OTOH, I've been using olive oil for 20 years or so as my primary

oil in cooking, baking, and food preparation. And I STILL got CLL.]

New Year's resolution No. 1: Prevent cancer, use olive oil.

Innovative research article in the FASEB Journal suggests olive oil

has a significant impact on cancer rates

If you want to avoid developing cancer, then you might want to add

eating more olive oil to your list of New Year's resolutions. In a

study to be published in the January 2007 issue of The FASEB

Journal, scientists from five European countries describe how the

anti-cancer effects of olive oil may account for the significant

difference in cancer rates among Northern and Southern Europeans.

The authors drew this conclusion based on the outcomes of volunteers

from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, and Spain, who consumed 25

milliliters (a little less than a quarter cup) of olive oil every

day for three weeks. During this time, the researchers examined

urine samples of the subjects for specific compounds known to be

waste by-products of oxidative damage to cells, a precursor to

cancer. At the beginning of the trial, the presence of these waste

by-products was much higher in Northern European subjects than their

Southern European counterparts. By the end of three weeks, however,

the presence of this compound in Northern European subjects was

substantially reduced.

" Determining the health benefits of any particular food is

challenging because of it involves relatively large numbers of

people over significant periods of time, " said lead investigator

Henrik E. Poulsen, M.D. of Rigshospitalet, Denmark. " In our study,

we overcame these challenges by measuring how olive oil affected the

oxidation of our genes, which is closely linked to development of

disease. This approach allows us to determine if olive oil or any

other food makes a difference. Our findings must be confirmed, but

every piece of evidence so far points to olive oil being a healthy

food. By the way, it also tastes great. "

Another interesting finding in the study suggests that researchers

are just beginning to unlock the mysteries of this ancient " health

food. " Specifically, the researchers found evidence that the phenols

in olive oil are not the only compounds that reduced oxidative

damage. Phenols are known antioxidant compounds that are present in

a wide range of everyday foods, such as dark chocolate, red wine,

tea, fruits, and vegetables. Despite reducing the level of phenols

in the olive oil, the study's subjects still showed that they were

receiving the same level of health benefits.

" Every New Year people make resolutions that involve eating less fat

to improve their health, " said Gerald Weissmann, MD, Editor-in-Chief

of The FASEB Journal. " This academically sound, practically useful

study shows that what you eat is just as important as how much you

eat. No wonder Plato taught wisdom in an olive grove called Academe. "