Breaking news on yet another benefit of olive oil and just in time for The International Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Researchers have discovered women who add extra virgin olive oil to their diets have a lower risk of breast cancer. The study, conducted in Spain where the Mediterranean diet is commonly followed, included 4,282 female volunteers who were given either extra virgin olive oil or nuts.
Previous studies have shown that a diet with extra nuts and olive oil has been shown to help people live longer and avoid heart disease cutting the risk of heart attacks and strokes by 30 percent. Now breast cancer is added to the list but only among those who got the extra olive oil. The women who got the nut mixture also had a slightly lower risk of breast cancer, but the results were not strong enough to be considered significant.
Women allocated to the Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil showed a 62 percent relatively lower risk of malignant breast cancer than those allocated to the control diet. – JAMA Internal Medicine
According to the researchers, “The Mediterranean dietary pattern has attracted considerable attention because, historically, breast cancer rates have been lower in Mediterranean countries than in Northern or Central European countries or the United States.”
The present study involved researchers assessing the effects supplementing the Mediterranean diet with either extra virgin olive oil or mixed nuts on risk of breast cancer. They did this by allocating subjects to three different groups: the Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil; the Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts; or the control Mediterranean diet.
The results concluded that subjects on the EVOO supplemented Mediterranean diet had a 62 percent lower risk of developing malignant breast cancer than subjects on the control diet, and the subjects that consumed higher amounts of EVOO lowered their risk even more.
All types of olive oil provide a high source of monounsaturated fatty acids, mainly oleic acid, as well as squalene. Oleic acid is thought to act directly on cancer-causing genetic mutations, while squalene may help reverse damage caused by oxidation.
You may be thinking, then what is the significance of extra virgin olive oil on the risk of breast cancer opposed to just olive oil? . While all olive oils contains oleic acid and squalene, EVOO also contains polyphenols such as oleuropein, oleocanthal, hydroxytyrosol and lignans that have been identified as anticarcinogenic agents. Polyphenols assist in preventing oxidative damage to DNA in mammary epithelial cells and inhibiting tumor growth.
The process of Extra-virgin means the olive oil is squeezed mechanically, without the use of heat or chemicals that can alter its chemical properties. EVOO must also meet specified levels of natural free acidity and peroxide.
Sources:
http://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-health-news/mediterranean-diet-with-extra-virgin-olive-oil-lowers-risk-of-breast-cancer/48854
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/olive-oil-may-help-prevent-breast-cancer-too-n426991
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/mediterranean-diet-and-extra-olive-oil-can-lower-risk-of-breast-cancer/
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