The following article by Dr. Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen is excerpted from the Washington Examiner, December 28, 2012 Olive Oyl may have been Popeye’s one and only, but we doubt he could have loved her any more than we adore olive oil—another of the odd omega monounsaturated fats. This one is mainly omega-9, and it’s the secret sauce in the tasty and good-for-you Mediterranean diet. And now, a bushel of recently revealed benefits makes us want to exclaim: “Olive ya’ forever!” It’s great for your bones. In one brand-new report, guys who ate lots of fruit and veggies, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy products along with olive oil had higher levels of osteocalcin—a protein that keeps bones
The following article by health and medicine writer Nicholas Bakalar is reprinted from the New York Times, January 13, 2014 More good news on the Mediterranean diet. Sticking to a Mediterranean-style diet may help reduce the risk for Type 2 diabetes, even when people don’t lose weight or increase exercise levels. The Mediterranean diet is rich in olive oil, nuts, fish, beans, fruits and vegetables, with few dairy products and moderate alcohol consumption. The study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, randomly assigned 3,541 men and women, ages 55 to 80 and free of diabetes, to one of three diets: a Mediterranean diet supplemented with either two ounces of extra-virgin olive oil, one supplemented with an ounce of mixed nuts
The following article by Mark L. Fuerst is reprinted from Psychiatric Times, March 31, 2014. Two new studies show the heart-healthy benefits of eating a Mediterranean diet. One study linked the diet to a lower risk of diabetes mellitus (DM), especially among those at high risk for cardiovascular disease… In the first pooled analysis of studies evaluating the possible role of the Mediterranean diet in DM development, adherence to this diet was associated with a 21% reduced risk of DM compared with the control dietary groups. The likelihood of developing DM was almost 27% less in those at high risk for cardiovascular disease than in controls. “Adherence to the Mediterranean diet may prevent the development of diabetes irrespective of age,
The following article by Alice. G Walton is reprinted from Forbes, May 20, 2014. New research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looks at the effect of the Mediterranean diet on heart health—and the verdict is favorable. But even more than that, the study lays out exactly why olive oil and greens are together so beneficial for the heart. Until now, researchers hadn’t quite been able to explain why a diet as high in fat as the Mediterranean diet is linked to cardiovascular health. Researchers have wondered what exactly it is about the fats that helps the heart, and now they’ve arrived a pretty convincing mechanism to explain it. The trick is to create a “fusion” of the
The following is excerpted from an article by Chris Weller, published February 20, 2015, on MedicalDaily.com, based on the results of a recent study conducted by Rutgers University and Hunter College scientists. Oleocanthal, the primary phenolic compound found in extra virgin olive oil, has been shown to eradicate cancer cells in less than an hour, giving scientists hope that targeted drug options in the future may be possible. A team of researchers from Rutgers University and Hunter College published their recent study in the journal Molecular & Cellular Oncology. The findings add even more firepower to the argument in favor of olive oil, which has been shown in prior studies to shield our bodies against air pollution, improve our immune
The following is excerpted from an article by Yvette Brazier that appeared in Medical News Today on January 25, 2016. Frying in extra virgin olive oil is healthier than other cooking methods, according to research published in Food Chemistry. Numerous studies have extolled the virtues of the Mediterranean diet. There is evidence that it leads to a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular problems, improves gut health, slows the process of brain aging, and reduces the risk of various chronic, degenerative conditions. The Spanish Mediterranean diet features a high volume of vegetables and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), both of which are good sources of phenols, the antioxidant effect of which is believed to contribute to the
The following is excerpted from an article by Sara G. Miller that appeared in LiveScience on September 14, 2015. The Mediterranean diet may be able to add “reduces risk of breast cancer” to its long list of health benefits, according to a new study from Spain. In the study, researchers found that women who were asked to follow a Mediterranean diet that was high in extra-virgin olive oil were 68 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than those who were advised only to reduce the amount of fat in their diets. In the study, 4,152 post-menopausal women who had never had breast cancer were asked to follow one of three diets: One was a Mediterranean diet rich in extra-virgin
The following is excerpted from an article published on the website of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, May 11, 2015. Adding more olive oil or nuts to a Mediterranean diet—one rich in fruits, vegetables, fi sh, and whole grains and low in red meat—may help keep your mind sharper as you age, a new study suggests. The Spanish researchers found that seniors following such diets had greater improvements in thinking and memory than people who were simply advised to eat a lower-fat diet. “You can delay the onset of age-related mental decline with a healthy diet rich in foods with a high antioxidant power, such as virgin olive oil and nuts,” said lead researcher Dr. Emilio Ros, director of
The following is excerpted from an article by Sarah Bosley that appeared in the Guardian on June 5, 2016. Eating a Mediterranean diet, rich in fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil, may help prevent breast cancer returning, according to a study presented at a major international cancer conference. Lifestyle—whether people are physically active or not—and being overweight are known risk factors for breast cancer, but there is increasing interest in whether particular eating habits play a part in its occurrence and recurrence. The study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago is a trial in Italy that compared the outcomes for 307 women who had been treated for early breast cancer. One group of 199
The following is reprinted from an article on the American Diabetes Association website, summarizing a study published in the April 2016 issue of Diabetes Care. What is the problem and what is known about it so far? The glycemic index, or GI, measures how much a carbohydrate-containing food raises blood glucose levels. A food with a high GI raises blood glucose more than a food with a medium or low GI. Researchers have discovered that certain types of fat affect blood glucose differently when you eat a high-GI meal. Why did the researchers do this particular study? The researchers wanted to determine how the type of fat (or the lack of fat) eaten affects glucose levels after both a high-GI
The following is adapted from an abstract presented to the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, Rome, Italy, August 28, 2016. “The Mediterranean diet is widely recognized as one of the healthier nutrition habits in the world,” said Professor Giovanni de Gaetano, head of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention at the I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed Institute in Pozzilli, Italy. “In fact, many scientific studies have shown that a traditional Mediterranean lifestyle is associated with a lower risk of various chronic diseases and, more importantly, of death from any cause.” “But so far research has focused on the general population, which is mainly composed of healthy people,” he added. “What happens to people who have already suffered from cardiovascular disease? Is the
Olive oil exerts direct effects on molecules in the body that alter human gene expression and metabolic function. Reprinted from an article by Jedha Dening in Olive Oil Times, October 13, 2016 Olive oil, a monounsaturated fat, is the main source of fat in the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet), one of the world’s healthiest dietary patterns. Consumption of olive oil and following a MedDiet have been studied extensively in hundreds of studies and shown to provide benefits for many chronic health conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders and the metabolic syndrome. While these health benefits are well established, science has not had the tools to identify the mechanisms behind such positive responses. Now, a breakthrough in modern medicine and