Those who ingest at least half a teaspoon of olive oil a day have a lower risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and nervous system diseases. This is what researchers report in the journal “Journal of the American College of Cardiology”.
More than 90,000 adults – initially without cardiovascular diseases or cancer – filled out a questionnaire regarding their diet every four years. From this, researchers calculated how much olive oil people used for salad dressings, as an additive to food or bread, and for baking and deep-frying at home. There were 36,856 deaths in 28 years. Those who consumed more than half a teaspoon of olive oil a day died 19 percent less often from cardiovascular diseases, 17 percent less often from cancer, 29 percent less often from degenerative diseases of the nervous system and 18 percent less often from respiratory diseases . Those who replaced ten grams of margarine, butter, mayonnaise, or milk fat with olive oil generally had an 8 to 34 percent lower mortality rate. Replacing other vegetable oils with olive oil, on the other hand, did not seem to have any effect.
Study participants with a higher consumption of olive oil were also often more physically active, smoked less often and ate more fruit and vegetables than those with a lower consumption of olive oil. “It may be a sign of an overall healthier diet and higher socio-economic status. But even following taking these and other factors into account, our results remained largely the same, ”said nutritionist Dr. Marta Guasch-Ferré.
Olive oil consumption between 1990 and 2010 had increased from 1.6 to around 4 grams per day, according to the study, while margarine consumption had decreased from around 12 to 4 grams per day. The consumption of other fats remained stable during this time.
What: DOI 10.1016/j.jacc.2021.10.041
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