New research shows: Eating olive oil regularly could save your life

According to a new study from the American College of Cardiology, experts reveal that eating more than half a tablespoon of olive oil a day reduces the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease or respiratory disease. absorbed at a very high rate.

Study lead author Dr Marta Guasch-Ferré and a senior research scientist in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health said: 'Our findings support the Current dietary recommendations for increasing consumption of olive oil and other unsaturated vegetable oils. Physicians should advise patients to replace certain fats, such as margarine and butter, with olive oil to improve health. Our research helps to make specific recommendations that are easier for patients to understand and hopefully incorporate into their diets."

Eating more than half a tablespoon of olive oil a day reduces the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

Using data from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, researchers analyzed the eating habits and health outcomes of 60,582 women and 31,801 men. At the start of the study period in 1990, the participants were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

During 28 years of follow-up, the researchers compared people who regularly ate olive oil with those who rarely or never ate olive oil. The study found that participants who consumed the most olive oil had a 19 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death and a 17 percent lower risk of dying from cancer. These people also had a 29% lower risk of death from neurodegeneration and an 18% lower risk of respiratory death compared with those who consumed little or no olive oil.

According to research, substituting 10 grams of olive oil (daily) over other fats like margarine, butter and mayonnaise reduces the risk of all-cause mortality by up to 34%.

Dr Guasch-Ferré said: 'It is possible that higher olive oil consumption is indicative of an overall healthy diet and higher socioeconomic status. However, even after adjusting for these and other socioeconomic status factors, our results remained largely unchanged'.

A predominantly Caucasian non-Hispanic cohort of medical professionals, which would minimize possible confounding socioeconomic factors but may limit generalizability as the population group This is more likely to lead a healthier lifestyle.

The study was recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.