Olive oil is curiously good for you

[Guest guest]

Olive

oil is curiously good for you

 

William Brantly Albany Times Union

 

Thomas Jefferson, a man who knew his way around an orchard and was right

about a lot of things (Louisiana, unalienable rights), is supposed to have

remarked that " the olive tree is surely the richest gift of Heaven. "

Plenty

of other historical luminaries - Zeus, Aristotle, Mario Batali - have agreed

with Jefferson's sentiment, and plenty of relative nobodies have, too. In

his book, " Olives: The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit, " Mort

Rosenblum

writes about Jeanne Calment, a French woman who attributed her longevity

solely to olive oil, which she used in almost every meal and also applied

liberally to her skin. " I have only one wrinkle, " she said, on the

occasion

of her 121st birthday, " and I am sitting on it. " The claims about the

health

benefits of the oil pressed from olives have occupied a particularly storied

sphere of folk medicine. And drop by drop, scientific research in part

supports the myths. The latest study, released Jan. 10 by the journal Annals

of Oncology, suggests that oleic acid, the main monounsaturated fatty acid

in olive oil, could help protect against a particularly aggressive breast

cancer gene called Her-2/neu. The study was conducted by researchers at

Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and the Evanston

Northwestern Research Institute. Dun Gifford, the president and founder of

the nonprofit food think tank Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust, says

the study adds to the growing literature on olive oil's health benefits.

" There's just a lot of data out there - some epidemiological, some

nutritional - that reinforces the good qualities of olive oil, " says

Gifford. " In terms of general cancer guidelines, the more saturated fat as

a

percentage of total fats, the higher percentage of certain cancers, " he

says. " We keep getting closer to understanding how it happens that olive

oil

and other unsaturated fats are protective. The loop is really closing in on

this. " Other studies in recent years have shown that olive oil can lower

" bad, " low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, help digestion,

stave off

aging and decrease the risk of coronary disease. In November, the Food and

Drug Administration agreed to allow olive oil producers to affix a label on

bottles that says: " Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence

suggests

that eating about two tablespoons of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of

coronary heart disease due to the monounsaturated fat in olive oil. To

achieve this possible benefit, olive oil is to replace a similar amount of

saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a

day. " While olive oil has been linked to a lower incidence of heart

disease,

the breast cancer study needs to be taken with some reservations since it

was performed in a lab setting, says Nan Windmueller, an Albany, N.Y.,

nutritionist. " The study's intriguing and has potential for the population

that's susceptible, " says Windmueller. " But the data only shows that

this

could be a help in laboratory cultures. There's no strong direct evidence

that dietary olive oil can reduce breast cancer risk. " Catherine North, a

doctor with Northeast Health's Family Medical Group in Rensselaer, N.Y.,

agrees that the breast cancer study, while a positive sign, is not

earth-shattering. " This has all been done in a test tube, so you have to

ask, 'Can we extrapolate from these results?' " says North. " They

haven't

done any studies in humans yet. " Still, as far as fatty oils go, olive

oil's

one of the best, says North. " It's a lot better for you than animal fats -

butter, duck fat, bacon fat, " says North. Windmueller says that as a

nutritionist, she does recommend olive oil. " If you're using oils, olive

oil

is a good one. Still, you should use it judiciously, because it's dense in

calories. A tablespoon has about 120 calories, " says Windmueller. Even

those

skeptical about olive oil's potential as anything other than an ingredient

seem willing to cede some ground to what one of Mort Rosenblum's friends

likened to the " very blood of the warm, rich Earth. " In the December

issue

of its Nutrition Action Newsletter, the Center for Science in the Public

Interest, a health and nutrition advocacy group, featured " 10 Myths that

Won't Quit. " At No. 2 on the list: " Olive is the healthiest

oil. " The CSPI's

verdict? Fish, olive and canola oils are all OK. " Olive oil is certainly

one

of the good oils, " the newsletter says. " Whether it's the best is

unclear. "

" http://www.azcentral.com/home/food/articles/0125oliveoil25.html "