Olive oil and heart health
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Olive oil and heart health
Olive oil, an important component of the Mediterranean diet, may be of benefit to those at greater risk of developing some form of cardiovascular disease. Before we continue, let's clarify the types of Olive Oil and Olive Oil that are most commonly consumed.
The oil produced by pressing ripe olive fruits is called virgin olive oil. The best qualities of which make up the extra virgin olive oil. The third type is common olive oil.
The latter is a mixture of virgin and processed, and lacks in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory synthetics as well as phytochemicals. Kernel oil is the oil left in the pulp which in turn was left after the first pressing of the olive fruits.
The study, part of PREDIMED, is based on the hypothesis that olive oil benefits people with the highest risk of developing a cardiovascular disease while it is also associated with a reduced risk of such diseases and mortality in this population.
The sample included 7,216 people at high risk for cardiovascular disease. They were either women between the ages of 60 and 80, or men 55 to 80 years old. They were all randomly divided into three groups. One group followed a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil, the second a Mediterranean diet with mixed nuts and the third a low-fat diet.
It was found that the more olive oil consumed the lower the risk of cardiovascular or mortality in the population.
This was especially evident with extra virgin olive oil. For every extra tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, the risk of a heart attack dropped by 10%.