Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Researchers found that those in the highest 33% of olive oil consumption (56.9 grams/day) had a 35% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease compared to those in the lowest 33% of olive oil consumption.
When the health benefits of olive oil are discussed, most of the attention is paid to “extra virgin” olive oil, named so because it is produced by mechanically pressing the olives. It is the olive oil with the best quality, the most intense taste and its acidity is less than 1%. As for common olive oil, it’s obtained from a mixture of virgin and refined oil, which has fewer antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds (1).
Now a new study (2) suggests that extra virgin olive oil really is superior to common olive oil when it comes to helping maintain heart health. The study consisted of 7,216 subjects (3,071 men, 4145 women) participating in the in the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) study (3). The subjects were aged 55 to 80 and at high risk for cardiovascular disease, defined as the presence of type 2 diabetes or at least three of the following risk factors:
- Being a current smoker
- Having high blood pressure
- Having high LDL cholesterol levels
- Having low HDL cholesterol levels
- Being overweight or obese
- Having a family history of premature cardiovascular disease.
Each subject was assigned to one of three groups and followed up for an average or 4.8 years:
- A Mediterranean Diets supplemented with nuts (amount of supplemented nuts not provided)
- A Mediterranean Diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil (amount of supplemented extra virgin olive oil not provided)
- Low-fat diet (control group – diet specifics not provided)
In addition, dieticians administered a 14-item MedDiet screener designed to assess the degree of adherence to the traditional MedDiet (4).
After 4.8 years of follow-up, the researchers found that those in the highest 33% of olive oil consumption (56.9 grams/day) had a 35% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease compared to those in the lowest 33% of olive oil intake (21.4 g/day, p < 0.01). Those in the highest 33% of extra virgin olive oil consumption (34.6 g/day) had a 39% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease compared to those in the lowest 33% of extra virgin olive oil intake (9.1 g/day, p < 0.01). In addition, every 10 gram/day-increase (1 tablespoon) in extra-virgin olive oil consumption resulted in a 10% risk reduction in cardiovascular disease (p < 0.01) and a 7% decrease in risk of death from cardiovascular disease (mortality) (p < 0.01).
No significant associations were found for cancer or overall risk of death (called “all-cause mortality”) and no benefits were seen with the nut supplementation.
For the researchers, “Olive oil consumption, specifically the extra-virgin variety, is associated with reduced risks of cardiovascular disease and mortality in individuals at high cardiovascular risk” and that “Our findings underscore olive oil consumption as one of the key components of the MedDiet for cardiovascular disease prevention.”
Source: Guasch-Ferré, Marta, Frank B. Hu, Miguel A. Martínez-González, Montserrat Fitó, Mònica Bulló, Ramon Estruch, Emilio Ros et al. “Olive oil intake and risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality in the PREDIMED Study.” BMC medicine 12, no. 1 (2014): 78.
© Guasch-Ferré et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
Click here to read the full text study.
Posted March 16, 2015.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com
References:
- Ros E: Olive oil and CVD: accruing evidence of a protective effect. Br J Nutr 2012, 108:1931–1933.
- Guasch-Ferre M. Olive oil intake and risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality in the PREDIMED Study. BMC Med. 2014 May 13;12:78. doi: 10.1186/1741-7015-12-78
- Martínez-González MÁ, Corella D, Salas-Salvadó J, Ros E, Covas MI, Fiol M, Wärnberg J, Arós F, Ruíz-Gutiérrez V, Lamuela-Raventós RM, Lapetra J, Muñoz MÁ, Martínez JA, Sáez G, Serra-Majem L, Pintó X, Mitjavila MT, Tur JA, Portillo Mdel P, Estruch R, PREDIMED Study Investigators: Cohort profile: design and methods of the PREDIMED study. Int J Epidemiol 2012, 41:377–385
- Schröder H, Fitó M, Estruch R, Martínez-González MA, Corella D, Salas-Salvadó J, Lamuela-Raventós R, Ros E, Salaverría I, Fiol M, Lapetra J, Vinyoles E, Gómez-Gracia E, Lahoz C, Serra-Majem L, Pintó X, Ruíz-Gutiérrez V, Covas M-I: A short screener is valid for assessing Mediterranean diet adherence among older Spanish men and women. J Nutr 2011, 141:1140–1145.
