A daily amount of olive oil of seven grams has been shown to reduce the risk of a number of diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Cardiovascular disease and cancer are some of the leading causes of death worldwide. But according to a new study, you can significantly reduce the chance of dying from this yourself. Researchers have discovered that you may live longer if you add a good splash of olive oil to your food every day.

Study

In the study the researchers analyzed the diets of more than 90,000 participants (60,582 women and 31,801 men) over a 28-year period. The subjects were asked about how often, on average, they consumed specific foods, types of fats and oils.

Olive oil

It leads to a remarkable discovery. For those who regularly use olive oil as a salad dressing, dip bread in it, or bake and roast with it, appear to have a reduced risk of dying from various diseases. Olive oil, for example, appears to reduce the risk of heart disease by almost 20 percent. In addition, consuming olive oil reduces the risk of cancer by 17 percent and the risk of neurodegenerative disease by as much as 29 percent. Half a tablespoon (which corresponds to 7 grams) of olive oil per day is also sufficient, although more is never wrong. “About 40 grams per day provides the most health benefits,” said researcher Marta Guasch-Ferre in an interview with Scientias.nl.

Mediterranean diet

Incidentally, this discovery may not even come as a very big surprise. Olive oil is part of the Mediterranean diet. And it is known that it can be the key to a longer life. For example, a Mediterranean diet – rich in fish, vegetables and olive oil – has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. “There was already some evidence to suggest that olive oil is associated with a lower risk of several diseases,” Guasch-Ferre said. “So we expected that eating olive oil would bring some benefits. An important difference, however, is that previous studies showed the association among Mediterranean and European populations. Now we have discovered this connection among the American population as well.”

Did you know…

…Italians were already producing olive oil on a fairly large scale about 4000 years ago? This has emerged from an analysis of a vase and two basins that were discovered near Noto (Sicily) in the 1990s. It is therefore the world’s oldest traces of olive oil.

But why is olive oil such a ‘miracle cure’? “It is known that ‘(extra) virgin’ olive oil (untreated olive oil, ed.) contains large amounts of polyphenols,” explains Guasch-Ferre when asked. These are beneficial plant substances that have a beneficial effect on our health and protect against various diseases. “They reduce inflammation, for example,” says Guasch-Ferre. “However, further research is needed to investigate the mechanisms underlying the link between eating olive oil and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.”

Eat more olive oil

According to the researcher, the findings indicate that it wouldn’t be so wrong to eat more olive oil. “Doctors should advise patients to replace certain fats, such as margarine and butter, with olive oil to improve their health,” she says. “Our study has shown that replacing 10 grams of margarine, butter, mayonnaise or dairy fat with the same amount of olive oil can be associated with an 8 to 34 percent reduction in the risk of premature death. Olive oil is a healthy source of fats and contains higher amounts of polyphenols and other bioactive compounds.”

Other vegetable oils

If you find a bottle of olive oil a bit pricey, you can also replace animal fats with other vegetable oils. “Although olive oil is better than animal fat, it doesn’t seem to outperform other vegetable oils,” Guasch-Ferre says. “Therefore, consuming other vegetable oils compared to animal fats can also be a healthy alternative. However, more research is needed to confirm the beneficial effect of these vegetable oils on health.”

Overall, the results indicate that olive oil can help you live longer and reduce the risk of disease. “We can now make specific recommendations that are understandable and easy to implement in the diet,” says Guasch-Ferre. Research into olive oil is also continuing. There are still some pressing questions. “It would be interesting to study the differences between types of olive oil and to map the health effects of other vegetable oils,” the researcher sums up. “As mentioned, we also want to investigate the mechanisms underlying the association between eating olive oil and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Because then we hope to be able to reveal which population groups will benefit most from this.”