Scientific Evidence of Health Benefits of EVO – Part I
  • /
  • News @en /
  • Scientific Evidence of Health Benefits of EVO – Part I

N4-Diciembre-2019-01-plantilla_web.png


Nutrients, one of the international reference scientific journals with open access, publishes an article with the conclusions of the III International Congress on Virgin Olive Oil, Olive Grove and Health, held in Jaén in May 2018 and organized by the scientist José Juan Gaforio, in which experts of recognized prestige addressed the most recent research on the benefits of olive oil and its components. These are the conclusions.



  1. The Mediterranean Diet pattern has become a reference as a model of healthy eating. Olive oil, particularly extra virgin olive oil, constitutes the main and most characteristic component of the Mediterranean Diet. In fact, without the use of olive oils, applying the label "Mediterranean Diet" to another dietary pattern would be a rather inconsistent definition.


  2. One of the great global challenges for public health is the current obesity pandemic. There are enough studies documenting that diets using virgin olive oils as the only culinary fat, ingested moderately and regularly, are associated with a normalized body mass index. It is a priority to carry out long term randomized clinical trials in which this effect is confirmed.


  3. Hypertension is the main risk factor for cardiovascular disease worldwide. Randomized clinical trials that have been carried out indicate that virgin olive oils reduce blood pressure, so their consumption could help reduce the global cardiovascular disease burden and pharmaceutical expenditure.


  4. Virgin olive oils have a potential anti-atherosclerotic effect, favouring endothelial function and preserving blood pressure, maintaining the functionality of plasma lipoproteins, exerting anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and modulating gene expression in different tissues, which allows for the maintenance of adequate homeostasis.


  5. However, the type of olive oil should be taken into account when making recommendations to the population, since additional benefits can be obtained when the phenolic content of olive oil is high.


  6. Epidemiological studies agree that a diet, where virgin olive oils are the main source of fat, is associated with a chemopreventive effect. The studies carried out in animal models suggest the chemopreventive effect that the polyphenols of virgin olive oils specifically possess and many in vitro studies are clarifying the mechanisms of action involved. However, the relevance of such data is often weakened by the use of non-physiological concentrations and doses. Although it is almost impossible to carry out studies in humans on the chemopreventive capacity of a single nutrient, the accumulated observations are sufficiently solid to advise the consumption of virgin olive oils as a main source of fat in order to reduce the risk of cancer.


  7. Both human and observational intervention studies show that the Mediterranean Diet is associated with a reduction in the incidence of breast cancer, especially post-menopausal breast cancer. In addition, observational studies suggest that virgin olive oils, on their own, may play a specific role in the prevention of postmenopausal breast cancer.





Source: Mercacei


Utilizamos cookies propias y de terceros para mejorar la experiencia de navegación, y ofrecer contenidos y publicidad de interés. Al continuar con la navegación entendemos que se acepta nuestra Política de cookies. Acepto

NEWSLETTER