Olive oil

[jsolomon]

We now know why Popeye was so smitten by Olive Oyl...

From BBC news

[Olive oil contains]compounds called phenols that have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and clot-preventing powers.

"This is the first study that shows a direct benefit of an olive oil with high content in phenolic compounds on endothelial function in vivo.

"Virgin olive oil is more than fat because it is a real juice with other healthy micronutrients.

"The intake of food high in phenols compounds could improve cardiovascular health and protect the heart."

[Daniel Rogov]

This study reflects a generous chunk of reality but me do groweth weary of so many researchers claiming to have discovered the wheel or, in this case, that olives contain phenols and that phenols are good for us.

The ancient Greeks may not have been aware of phenols but they did know about the healthful aspects of olives and olive oils. As to the first to write about the phenols in olive oil, I'm afraid the credit must go to studies done as long ago as the early 1960's in Cornell University in New York State and to the University of Montpellier in France. After that attention turned to red wine (see the zillion and a half articles about the French paradox) but no-one has ever forgotten about the olive.

And no fear.....garlic is also good for us. If nothing else it keeps away vampires.

I can, of course prove that, for no-one on this planet who has chewed enough raw garlic or hung it on every window in his/her home has been bitten by a vampire in the last 327 years.

[jsolomon]

Many of us care about the why's, also, Mr. Rogov. It is unkind to brush off our interests.

[Patrick S]

. . .me do groweth weary of so many researchers claiming to have discovered the wheel or, in this case, that olives contain phenols and that phenols are good for us.

←

The authors are not claiming to have discovered the wheel, or that olives contain phenols, or that phenols have beneficial physiological effects. If you just skim the headlines it may seem that way, but look closer and you'll see that it is not. What the study is reporting are experimental results showing that the effect of OO on cardiovascular function is directly related to its phenol content. Though health benefits of OO have long been considered, this is the first experimental demonstration that these benefits are mediated by phenols:

"This is the first study that shows a direct benefit of an olive oil with high content in phenolic compounds on endothelial function in vivo."

Ruano et al, 2005. Phenolic content of virgin olive oil improves ischemic reactive hyperemia in hypercholesterolemic patients. Journal of the American College of Cardiologists 46(10):1864-8.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of the phenolic content of virgin olive oil on endothelial reactivity. BACKGROUND: Endothelial-dependent vasodilatation is impaired during the postprandial state, and oxidative stress could play a key role in its development. METHODS: Twenty-one hypercholesterolemic volunteers received two breakfasts, using a randomized sequential crossover design. Both arms received the same olive oil, but one had its phenolic acid content reduced from 400 to 80 ppm. Ischemic reactive hyperemia (IRH) was measured with a laser-Doppler procedure at baseline and 2 h and 4 h after oil intake. Postprandial plasma concentrations of lipid fractions, lipoperoxides (LPO), 8-epi prostaglandin-F(2alpha), and nitrates/nitrites (NO(x)) were obtained at baseline and after 2 h of the fat meal. RESULTS: The intake of the polyphenol-rich breakfast was associated with an improvement in endothelial function, as well as a greater increase in concentrations of NO(x) (p < 0.001) and a lower increase in LPO (p < 0.005) and 8-epi prostaglandin-F2alpha (p < 0.001) than the ones induced by the low polyphenol fat meal. A positive correlation was found to exist between NO(x) and enhanced endothelial function at the second hour (r = 0.669; p < 0.01). Furthermore, a negative correlation was found between IRH and LPO (r = -0.203; p < 0.05) and 8-epi prostaglandin-F2alpha levels (r = -0.440; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A meal containing high-phenolic virgin olive oil improves ischemic reactive hyperemia during the postprandial state. This phenomenon might be mediated via reduction in oxidative stress and the increase of nitric oxide metabolites.

[Daniel Rogov]

Many of us care about the why's, also, Mr. Rogov.  It is unkind to brush off our interests.

←

Apologies perhaps for not making myself clear. I agree completely that rejecting the "why's" would be not only anti-intellectual but foolish as such knowledge is indeed important to us.

My objection was not to the findings or logic of the study but to the claim that it was the first of its kind to uncover this information. As I thought I made clear, similar studies with similarly detailed findings were undertaken and published as long ago as the 1960's and those have been followed through in many other universities well since the 1980's.

Again...I had no intention whatever to brush off anyone or their concerns. I hope to heaven that is not my style!!!

[Bill Miller]

For some great EVOO's for dipping, drizzling, or even drinking look for "Peruzza", great dipping oils in the General Food Topic section. This article adds even more to the great "oil debates".

[Patrick S]

My objection was not to the findings or logic of the study but to the claim that it was the first of its kind to uncover this information.

←

Again, the authors of study merely claim --correctly, as far as I can tell-- to be providing the first in vivo demonstration that the effects of OO on endothelial function are directly related to its phenol content. Nowhere do they claim to have discovered that OO has beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, or that phenolic compounds may mediate these effects. Forgive me if I've missed something, but you appear to be faulting the study authors for making a claim that they did not make.