Originally published December 11 2005
Secret of the Mediterranean diet may be phenolic compounds
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that the recently-discovered benefits of phenols, compounds found in olive oil, may explain the cardiovascular benefits of the Mediterranean diet.
It could be that the beneficial effect of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular disease and arteriosclerosis depends on the synergistic effects of the different nutrients that constitute complete foods and, as an example, virgin olive oil is more than fat because it is a real juice with other healthy micronutrients," said Francisco P�rez Jim�nez, M.D., Ph.D., from the Reina Sofia University Hospital in C?ba, Spain.
The functioning of the endothelium (the inner lining) of small blood vessels of the fingers (instead of "in the arms") of participants and the concentrations of certain components in blood serum, including nitric oxide, improved after the polyphenol-rich breakfast.
"This is the first study that shows a direct benefit of an olive oil with high content in phenolic compounds on endothelial function in vivo," Dr. P�rez Jim�nez said.
The meals also included vitamin A supplementation.
Over the next four hours, blood samples were taken and the researchers used Doppler laser to measure endothelial responses to sudden changes in blood flow, which were produced by inflating and then deflating a blood pressure cuff.
Poor responsiveness to this sort of blood flow test is considered an early warning sign of cardiovascular disease.
Previous studies have linked high-fat meals to poor endothelial function lasting for several hours after eating.
Dr. P�rez Jim�nez said that olive oil may be superior to seed oils because it is a natural juice, pressed from the olives, so it does not go through the type of processing needed to extract oil from seeds, such as sunflowers, soybeans and rapeseeds.
Nevertheless, he said further studies should be done to investigate whether phenolic compounds in olive oil can be linked to improved health outcomes.
The authors found that after test subjects took olive oil spiked with phenolic compounds, their blood vessels could dilate better, which could improve blood flow.
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