Lycopene ,Olive Oil: Combination Protection against Cancer, HBP, & Heart Disease

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Lycopene & Olive Oil

JoAnn Guest

Apr 10, 2006 20:50 PDT

 

A recent paper (1) published by Dr. Chopra's research group at the

Northern Ireland Center for Diet and Health, University of Ulster,

had some interesting conclusions.

 

www.eat-online.net/english/education/olive_oil/health_benefits.htm

 

Health benefits from lycopene in tomato products have been suggested

to

be related to its antioxidant activity.

Dietary fat may influence the

absorption and hence the antioxidant activity of lycopene. The study

compared the effect of consumption of tomato products with extra-

virgin

olive oil versus sunflower oil.

 

The different oils did not affect the absorption of the lycopene

into

the body, but the tomato/olive oil combination generated increased

plasma antioxidant activity by around 20%.

 

Therefore one conclusion drawn from the research was that it would

seem

that consumption of tomato products with olive oil, but not with

sunflower oil, improves the antioxidant activity of the plasma.

 

Researchers are faced with the question of whether the combination

of

tomato and olive oil does something synergistically, or whether the

beneficial antioxidant effects are caused by olive oil alone.

 

Extra

virgin olive oil is particularly rich in the phenolic antioxidants

as

well as squalene and oleic acid, and high consumption of the

foregoing

in the diet provides considerable protection against colon, breast

and

skin cancer, coronary heart disease and aging by inhibiting

oxidative

stress.

 

Research has shown that scavenging of the hydroxyl radical was

significantly higher among extracts of olive oil. This effect was

only

minimal in seed oils.

 

In addition to their direct antioxidant capacity,

extracts of olive oil are also potent inhibitors of xanthine oxidase

activity.

 

A constant high olive oil intake in the diet, especially extra

virgin olive oil, provides a constant supply of antioxidants.

 

This may

reduce oxidative stress through inhibition of lipid peroxidation, a

factor that is currently linked to a host of diseases such as cancer

and

heart disease.

 

There is a low incidence of skin cancer among Mediterranean

populations,

and olive oil consumption could be a contributing factor to this low

cancer rate.

 

Olive oil contains significantly higher amounts of squalene

than seed oils, and squalene is to a large extent transferred to the

skin. German researchers believe that this transfer mechanism is

probably accomplished by scavenging singlet oxygen generated by

ultraviolet light.

 

Japanese scientists also claim that virgin olive oil

applied to the skin after sunbathing could protect against skin

cancer

by slowing tumor growth.

 

Researchers at the University Hospital " Germans Trias Pujol " in

Barcelona, Spain, compared the benefits of olive oil with safflower

and

fish oil on rats to determine if the type, and not just the amount,

of

fat in the diet had an impact on cancer tumor growth.

 

They found that

the research subjects on the olive oil diet had less precancerous

tissue

and fewer tumors than the animals fed the other oils.

 

The researchers believe constituents of olive oil, such as

flavonoids,

squalene and polyphenols, may help to protect against cancer.

Flavonoids

and polyphenols are antioxidants, which help prevent cell damage

from

oxygen-containing chemicals called free radicals.

 

Another study by researchers at the University of Oxford adds to the

growing body of evidence that shows olive oil is as effective as

fresh

fruit and vegetables in keeping colon cancer at bay.

 

Dr Michael Goldacre and a team of researchers at the Institute of

Health

Sciences compared cancer rates, diets and olive oil consumption in

28

countries including European countries, the United States, Brazil,

Colombia, Canada and China.

 

Countries with a diet high in meat and low

in vegetables had the highest rates of the disease and olive oil was

associated with a decreased risk.

 

The researchers suspect olive oil protects against bowel cancer by

influencing the metabolism of the gut. They think it cuts the amount

of

a substance called deoxycyclic acid and regulates the enzyme diamine

oxidase which may be linked to cell division in the bowel.

 

A study in the March 27, 2000 issue of Archives of Internal

Medicine,

which was produced by Dr. Ferrara's research team, shows that a diet

high in MUFA from olive oil can also help reduce blood pressure

levels.

 

Ferrara and his colleagues found that while consuming the extra-

virgin

olive oil diet, research subjects reduced the amount of

antihypertensive

medication necessary to control blood pressure levels by 48%, versus

only a 4% reduction on the sunflower oil diet.

 

In addition, eight

subjects on the extra-virgin olive oil diet required no

antihypertensive

medications; all subjects on the sunflower oil diet required

antihypertensive medication. The authors conclude that a diet lower

in

total fat and saturated fat and a diet that contains higher amounts

of

MUFA can lower blood pressure levels and reduce or eliminate the

need

for medications in people with hypertension.

 

So why does olive oil lower blood pressure? One possible reason is

its

polyphenol content. Polyphenols are potent antioxidants which help

arteries dilate, thereby reducing blood pressure.

 

Ten grams of

extra-virgin olive oil contains five mg of polyphenols; sunflower

oil

has no polyphenols.

 

Constantine Alexander

Certified Olive Oil Consultant

 

(1) Lee, A.; Thurnham, D.I.; Chopra, C. Consumption of Tomato

Products

with Olive Oil but not Sunflower Oil increases the Antioxidant

Activity

of Plasma. Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 29:1051-1055; 2000 [Nov.

15th, 2000 issue]

 

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets