On the occasion of celebration of World Food Day, we recover this article published in the EVOOLEUM Guide dedicated to the many health benefits of extra virgin olive oil. Every year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) celebrates World Food Day on October 16 to commemorate the organization's founding in 1945. Within the framework of this day, events are held in more than 150 countries around the world, making it one of the the most celebrated days of the United Nations calendar. These events promote awareness and action around the world for those who suffer from hunger and other forms of malnutrition, as well as the need to ensure food security and healthy eating for all.

A long time has passed since Aristotle or Hippocrates extolled the beneficial properties of virgin olive oils, recommending them as food or ointment. Today we know more in depth the properties of this food that has managed to endure over time with an almost magical halo.

Globalization can also be seen in the type of pathologies that afflict the citizens of different countries. We are witnessing an increase in the incidence rate of chronic diseases. The two pathologies that occupy the first positions in terms of mortality are, firstly, cardiovascular diseases; and, second, cancer. These two pathologies, along with many others, have two of the alterations that favor the appearance of these diseases in oxidative stress and chronic low-grade inflammation. These imbalances can have their origin, among others, in poor diet. In the same way, a healthy diet can be a useful tool to normalize our homeostasis.

Indeed, much of today's health problems derive from following unhealthy diets. Thus, a recent article published in The Lancet on April 3, 2019 points out that unhealthy diets are the leading cause of death, causing more deaths than tobacco. The prevalence of obesity and growing overweight is a very visible cause of the consequences that arise from following these diets. In addition, this pathology is an important risk factor for developing different potentially serious diseases. This is an issue that requires an urgent response and about which the different scientific societies have already raised the alarm.

One of the measures that could possibly have the greatest impact is advising the population on healthy eating patterns. Among all of them, it is the Mediterranean Diet that has the greatest scientific endorsement due to its healthy nature. Numerous studies confirm its benefits, which come from the synergy of the different foods that compose it. However, there is one above the others that is genuine and specific to this eating pattern: virgin olive oils.

The numerous studies that have been carried out in the last two decades by researchers around the world have coincided in highlighting its extraordinary healthy character, which is closely related to its peculiar composition. The majority presence of monounsaturated fatty acids, along with the abundance of minority components that give it its peculiar organoleptic characteristics, makes this food the center of the Mediterranean Diet. Within the latter, there are quite a few compounds that possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, so their consumption helps prevent pathologies in which oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are involved in their genesis.

Beneficial effects on health

The scientific literature provides us with a considerable number of evidences of different degrees on the impact of the consumption of virgin olive oils in different types of pathologies. The impact on our health of a single food is an arduous task.

In the present case, most of the studies that inquire about the impact of virgin olive oils on our health are carried out in the context of a Mediterranean Diet; However, we have enough evidence that allows us to assign a specific role to this food in the prevention of certain pathologies. In summary, it could be said that the regular and moderate consumption of virgin olive oils would have the following effects:

• It reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by affecting different risk factors: it acts positively on blood pressure ; regulates the plasma lipid profile -the most prominent effect being the increase in HDL-cholesterol-; improves endothelial function ; has an anti-inflammatory effect by reducing inflammation markers; and acts positively on blood coagulation due to its antithrombotic effect .

• It reduces the risk of suffering from different types of tumors, acting as a multifactorial mechanism: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti - tumor effect - in its composition there are different molecules with antitumor capacity. However, it is still necessary to accumulate a greater number of evidence to establish this activity and to know about what type of tumors its preventive effect would be beneficial.

• It regulates glucose metabolism, which is why it has a positive effect in patients suffering from diabetes , mainly type 2.

• Different studies show the positive effect on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's . However, there is still a need to go deeper into this type of study.

• Satiating effect, very interesting to combat overweight and obesity. Different studies show that the consumption of virgin olive oils, taken in moderation, on a regular basis and replacing the rest of edible fats, is associated with a healthier body weight .

• Possible antidepressant effect . Different studies show that healthy eating patterns, in the case of the Mediterranean Diet, act very positively on this aspect; Although the specific role that virgin olive oil can play in this type of pathology remains to be elucidated.

• Finally, we must insist on how recommendable it is to follow a correct diet by the woman who is pregnant , since it is important both for her and for her baby. Similarly, it is very important to insist on the correct feeding of children from birth and throughout the entire infantile stage. In this sense, and from the moment its development allows it, it is recommended to take virgin olive oils in substitution of other edible fats and that your diet is as close as possible to the Mediterranean. Something essential to successfully fight against the pandemic of overweight and obesity that is devastating almost all countries globally.

Source: Mercacei