Summary

Original source:
http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-08-31T152817Z_01_KWA155705_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-HEADACHE-OLIVEOIL-DC.XML

Details

• Try some olive oil -- actually, freshly pressed extra-virgin olive oil would be best, according to a group of chemists, who've discovered that it contains a compound that mimics the pain-relieving action of ibuprofen.
• According to Breslin and colleagues, oleocanthal in newly pressed extra-virgin olive oil and ibuprofen (in solution) both produce a strong stinging sensation in the throat, an indicator of a "shared pharmacological activity, with oleocanthal acting as a natural anti-inflammatory compound that has a potency and profile strikingly similar to that of ibuprofen."
• In tests conducted on different premium olive oils, the chemists found a strong positive link between levels of oleocanthal and its intensity as a throat irritant.
• According to the chemists, oleocanthal, like ibuprofen, inhibits so-called COX enzymes in a dose-dependent fashion -- the higher the dose the greater the inhibition.
• By their calculations, a 50-gram daily dose of olive oil is equal to about 10 percent of the ibuprofen dose recommended for pain relief in an adult.
• So, while it won't cure a headache, regular consumption of olive oil might have some of the long-term health benefits of ibuprofen, researchers say.
• The identification of an ibuprofen-like oleocanthal in olive oil also provides a possible explanation for the well known health benefits of an olive oil-rich Mediterranean diet.
• "Our findings raise the possibility that long-term consumption of oleocanthal may help to protect against some diseases by virtue of its ibuprofen-like COX-inhibiting activity," Breslin and colleagues write.
• For example, it's well known that aspirin, another COX blocker, protects the heart.
• Ibuprofen reduces the risk of developing some cancers and also prevents blood platelets from clumping together, which can block arteries.
• Ibuprofen has also been shown to reduce levels of an Alzheimer's disease-related protein in mice.

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