Beans and franks. Chips and dip. Mac and cheese. Peanut butter and jelly. Spaghetti and meatballs.

I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!

Of course, not all food pairings make for healthy meals. But there is one that most certainly does.

Not only will this delicious duo invigorate your taste buds, but it will invigorate your heart health, too…

So what is it?

Dark chocolate and olive oil, that’s what.

I know that sounds like a strange combination, but if you try it, you’ll be surprised at how delicious these two foods are together.

And when it comes to boosting your heart health, these two superfoods may just be the perfect pair…

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Olive oil and chocolate protect your heart

Researchers from the University of Pisa in Italy discovered that adding a dash of extra virgin olive oil to your daily dose of dark chocolate can be beneficial for your heart health.

They conducted a study that included men and women with at least three risk factors for heart disease (things like smoking, abnormal amounts of lipids in their blood, hypertension, a family history of cardiovascular disease, etc.)

They gave these people a serving of dark chocolate for 28 days straight. But this wasn’t plain old chocolate. It was infused with one of two foods — extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) or the Panaia red apple (an ancient variety rich in bioactive compounds).

Now, scientists already know that plant polyphenols (like those found abundantly in dark chocolate, EVOO and the Panaia red apple — and a variety of berries) are great for your heart health. These antioxidant compounds protect your body from free radicals and help prevent a long list of diseases, including heart disease. But they wanted to see just which polyphenol-rich pair was most potent.

And dark chocolate combined with EVOO came out on top.

Researchers found that eating dark chocolate enriched with EVOO significantly increased the number of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) circulating in the body. These cells help repair the vascular system and keep the endothelium (the lining of blood vessels) operating properly.

The EVOO-infused dark chocolate also increased HDL (good) cholesterol, lowered blood pressure and decreased levels of compounds known as carnitine and hippurate, which are tied to metabolic changes that are bad for your heart.

All these changes show that when study participants ate dark chocolate enriched with EVOO daily, they were also slowing or preventing the deadly process known as atherosclerosis (the narrowing of the arteries due to plaque build-up), which means much better heart health in the long run.

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Embracing EVOO-infused chocolate

Trying to figure out how to fit more dark chocolate and EVOO into your diet?

Well, the easiest way is to buy an EVOO-infused dark chocolate bar.

Yes, they do exist… although they may not be easy to find. And you’ll always want to check the label to ensure the one you buy contains 70 percent cacao content and no artificial ingredients.

Or just enjoy your chocolate and EVOO separately, but daily…

In the study, people ate about 40 grams of dark chocolate a day, so you should shoot for a similar amount. Most conventional-sized chocolate bars are 100 grams, so that’s a little less than half a bar per day.

EVOO is so easy to incorporate into your diet on its own. Aim for two tablespoons a day and use it in salad dressings, as a dip for bread, drizzled over your meals, or even mixed into a smoothie. It is also tasty drizzled on roasted vegetables after they come out of the oven.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

The post How olive oil and chocolate keep your arteries clear appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

You can read about eight benefits you can only get from extra virgin-olive oil, right here — but there’s just one in the list I want to focus on right now…

According to a study published in the Journal Foods, Greek men and women over 70 who exclusively used olive oil in food prep and cooking had higher scores on a scale of successful aging attributes, including particularly good body mass index (BMI) scores.

In other words, less body fat and a healthier weight.

I feel this is important to talk about because I’m constantly reading about the wave of semaglutide weight loss drugs that people are clamoring for. I guess they’re not reading the same reports I’m seeing about the many adverse and dangerous side effects these drugs pose.

Could some people swap a dangerous drug for olive oil and enjoy the weight loss they’re looking for?

I believe the answer is yes….

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5 reasons to choose olive oil over weight loss drugs

You hear many stories about the health of people living in the Mediterranean. Books have been written about the longevity of people living in this Blue Zone and others. There’s even a Blue Zone diet and a popular Netflix series based on the book, which chronicles the travels and experiences of author David Buettner.

I’ve never been to Greece, but I’m a fan of one of its most well-known daughters, Chef Maria Loi, who is considered the official Ambassador of Greek Gastronomy.

I read in an interview that she grew up in a family that took daily doses of olive oil, much like most people take vitamins. But what really interested me is what she shared about the one time in her life when she stopped the olive oil ritual: “When I stopped, I gained 40 pounds. But I went back to my roots, and the weight just fell off.”

So I began digging… just what are the super slimming secrets of olive oil? Actually, the more apt question may be: Where should I start?

1. A key compound of the Mediterranean diet. Not only is olive oil a staple of the Mediterranean diet — a diet linked to better health and weight loss — its role is well-established as one of the most essential components of the diet. It is the primary fat source and exceptionally rich in nutrients.
2. Boosts metabolism. Thermogenesis is the body’s process of generating heat, primarily through the burning of calories. Diet-induced thermogenesis happens when you eat certain foods that help your body burn more calories during digestion and throughout the day. A 2-month study found that daily consumption of extra-virgin olive oil reduces body weight and waist circumference in people with metabolic syndrome. Research by Brown University found that women on an olive oil-rich diet can actually consume hundreds more calories a day and still lose significantly more weight than their counterparts on a traditional low-fat diet.
3. Suppresses appetite. Both Wegovy and Ozempic are synthetic versions of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), a hormone made in the gut that influences the satiety centers in the brain. Well, the monounsaturated fats in olive oil regulate appetite through the natural release of GLP-1 and PYY to communicate to the brain that you’re full. The benefit without the drawbacks.
4. Supports insulin levels. European researchers found that two tablespoons of olive oil daily alters cell membranes in a way that can significantly improve blood sugar control. Better blood sugar control reduces fat storage, particularly in the belly. 
5. Slows the digestive process. Slowing the digestive process is one way semaglutide drugs work to help people feel fuller longer. But you may have read how they’ve led to pancreatitis, gastroparesis and bowel obstruction. Olive oil slows the digestive process and triggers the release of natural serotonin — a neurotransmitter associated with fullness — with none of those uncomfortable side effects. Nature’s way is always gentler and better.

Olive oil for a healthy weight and a healthy body

Dietary fat used to be the scapegoat for heart disease, obesity, diabetes, premature aging — you name it. All the bad things got blamed on fat.

But we were just eating the wrong fat. Eating the right fat is one of the best things you can do to stay fit and healthy, lose and maintain weight and avoid disease.

If you’ve been eating the standard American diet, which is substantially higher in fat (and not the good ones), you might wonder if olive oil can help you drop the weight and the ill effects of a high-fat diet. Yes, it’s not too late.

A sluggish liver is the result of a high-fat diet. But incorporating olive oil can even turn that around. Hydroxytyrosol, a polyphenol found in extra-virgin olive oil, reversed the effects of poor eating, prevented insulin resistance, reduced the signs of fatty liver disease, as well as adverse effects seen in other organs, like the heart and brain.

If you’ve tried olive oil and didn’t like the taste, don’t be discouraged. I found most of them bitter until I made the switch to extra virgin olive oil. Below, there’s an editor’s note where you can learn about my favorite kinds and even receive a special offer to try a bottle.

It could be the beginning of positive changes you’ll see not only on the bathroom scale, but in the health of your entire body.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Please take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Try it for $1! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

Olive Oil for Weight Loss: One Chef’s Happy Experience — Yahoo!life

Daily Use of Extra Virgin Olive Oil with High Oleocanthal Concentration Reduced Body Weight, Waist Circumference, Alanine Transaminase, Inflammatory Cytokines and Hepatic Steatosis in Subjects with the Metabolic Syndrome: A 2-Month Intervention Study — Journal Metabolites

The Effects of Diets Enriched in Monounsaturated Oleic Acid on the Management and Prevention of Obesity: a Systematic Review of Human Intervention Studies — Advances in Nutrition

The post The super slimming secrets of olive oil appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Thankfully, I’ve maintained my natural color through the magic of hair dye for decades. But I’m a little less eager to visit the hair salon because of evidence linking regular use of hair dye with an increase in breast cancer risk.

Wouldn’t it be great if all those messy, expensive and potentially toxic trips to the hair salon or the hair dye aisle of the drugstore to cover those grays weren’t necessary?

Luckily, researchers in Japan may have hit upon a solution — and unlike hair dye, this one is all-natural, offering a safe and effective alternative.

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The anti-graying power of luteolin

A study led by researchers at Nagoya University explored the effects of three antioxidants — luteolin, hesperetin and diosmetin — on black-furred mice bred to experience graying similar to humans.

The results surprised the researchers. Of the three, only luteolin — found in vegetables such as celery, broccoli, carrots, onions and peppers — appeared to have any impact on the graying effect.

Mice given luteolin retained their black fur, while their untreated counterparts turned gray. The effect was observed regardless of whether the antioxidant was administered internally or externally.

“While we expected that antioxidants may also have anti-graying effects, only luteolin, not hesperetin or diosmetin, demonstrated significant effects,” says study lead Dr. Masashi Kato of Nagoya University. “This finding suggests that luteolin may have a unique medicinal effect that prevents graying.”

The researchers observed a close link between luteolin’s effectiveness and its influence on endothelins, which are proteins that play a crucial role in cellular communication. The study found luteolin treatments preserved the expression of endothelins and their receptor. This action means that the signaling pathways remain healthy, which prevents the decline in melanocyte activity that typically leads to graying.

“Interestingly, luteolin had limited effects on hair cycles, indicating that its primary impact is on pigmentation rather than hair growth or shedding,” Kato says. “This targeted action makes luteolin a particularly intriguing candidate for addressing age-related hair graying.”

These findings and the similarities between the graying processes in the mouse models and humans open the door for potential applications in human hair care.

Given these promising results, study lead Dr. Takumi Kagawa of Nagoya University believes there will be broader applications in age-related research.

“It would be interesting to investigate whether luteolin’s anti-aging effects could also be applicable to other age-related changes, including balding,” Kagawa says.

In fact, luteolin’s potential in age-related research extends beyond hair graying. It could also be beneficial in addressing other age-related issues, such as skin aging and cognitive decline. Further research in these areas could open up new possibilities for its use in anti-aging treatments.

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Where to find the anti-graying antioxidant

As research progresses, luteolin could become a key ingredient in hair care regimens, helping individuals preserve their natural hair color as they age.

Until then, if you’re experiencing graying hair and are reluctant to hit the salon, you may want to try eating more luteolin-rich foods like the ones mentioned above. Not only will you potentially preserve your hair color, but you will also reap the anti-inflammatory and memory-boosting benefits of this powerful antioxidant. It can also help with pain relief.

In addition to vegetables, luteolin is found in many herbs used in Chinese traditional medicine, including ginkgo nut, horny goat weed, chrysanthemum, red sage, skull cap and wormwood. It is also available in my favorite healthy oil — olive oil — and peppermint, rosemary and thyme.

The study notes that luteolin is already available as a supplement for both topical and oral use. If you decide to take it as a supplement, make sure it’s of high quality, as some luteolin supplements do not contain the amount they do.

If you are on blood thinners or have kidney disease or type 2 diabetes, it’s probably best to get luteolin from food sources.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Try it for $1! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

Luteolin May Prevent Hair from Graying, Study Finds — Integrative Practitioner

Anti-Graying Effects of External and Internal Treatments with Luteolin on Hair in Model Mice — Antioxidants

Luteolin as a modulator of skin aging and inflammation — Journal Biofactors

Luteolin: A promising natural agent in management of pain in chronic conditions — Frontiers in Pain Research

Luteolin supplements: All that glitters is not gold — BioFactors

The post Luteolin: The antioxidant that kept hair from graying appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Number one, they are common.

And number two, they are the leaders of hospitalization, disability and death — consequences we’d all prefer to avoid!

Stroke is perhaps the scariest of all vascular conditions because it can creep up on you unexpectedly. And since a stroke leads to the destruction of brain tissue, in some cases, the consequences can be severe and disabling.

The cold, hard truth is that one in six people are at risk of suffering a stroke at some point in their lives — so the odds are pretty high that it could be you.

These statistics have prompted researchers to explore whether dietary factors could provide protection.

And it turns out there are two particular elements of a healthy diet that can not only help lower the risk for the development of stroke but reduce the severity of a stroke should one happen…

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Your overall diet is important

Diet is one of the major factors that contribute to neurovascular disease.

A Western diet high in processed foods, added sugar, salt and hydrogenated fats is one of the fastest routes to both heart disease and stroke.

Conversely, the Mediterranean diet is a dietary pattern that has been shown time and time again to promote heart health.

The key divider between these two dietary patterns is the food sources the diets provide…

A stroke-protective diet is one made up of natural, whole food sources, particularly foods high in fiber and low in carbohydrate content.

Take the Mediterranean diet as an example. It’s made up of fruits, legumes, vegetables, whole grains, fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, milk, nuts and olive oil.

These foods are low glycemic index foods rich in bioactive compounds such as fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, polyphenols and antioxidants.

If you compare this to a modern Western diet of highly processed foods, you simply won’t consume any of these beneficial compounds.

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Feed your brain healthy fats to lower stroke risk

Once you’re eating a natural, whole foods diet, you’ll be making significant headway in consuming beneficial fats — and thank goodness, because the brain is made up of around 60 percent fat!

Two main kinds of fat that protect against stroke are oleic acid and omega-3 fatty acids.

Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fat found in olive oil, avocado and almonds. It’s been shown to reduce the risk of stroke, protect nerve cells in the brain and reduce the after-effects of stroke if one should occur.

Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, fish oils, chia seeds, flax seeds and walnuts.

Omega-3s support optimal nervous system function and make up a large proportion of the membrane of nerve cells in the brain — or at least they should.

Where there is a lack of omega-3s, synaptic dysfunctions occur between brain cells and alterations in the nerve cells can occur.

But according to researchers, the fantastic thing about consuming more omega-3s is that you can restore optimal cell membrane function and prevent stroke development!

More than that, the combined effects of oleic acid, omega-3s and bioactive compounds called polyphenols protect the nerve cells in the brain, so that if a stroke does hit, the severity will likely be reduced.

When it comes to stroke, the message is clear: researchers are absolutely sure that your diet makes all the difference.

All it takes on your behalf is a switch to healthful, natural, whole food sources!

Source:

Ayuso MI, et al. Neuroprotective diets for stroke. — Neurochemistry International. 2017;107:4e10.

The post Two kinds of fat your brain needs to reduce stroke risk appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And no, it’s not caused by poor hygiene. It’s a common vaginal infection caused by an imbalance of bacteria in the vaginal microbiome.

More than half of women worldwide will experience the uncomfortable condition at some time in their life. Simply spending time in a hot tub, swimming pool or douching can upset the vagina’s natural chemistry — and therein lies the trouble…

Antibiotics are the most common course of treatment for bacterial vaginosis, but the infection commonly returns even after treatment, partly because they can upset the vagina’s balance of good bacteria.

Now a Harvard scientist has stumbled upon a natural substance we all carry in our bodies that could prevent these repeat infections.

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An accidental discovery

While trying to find ways to encourage the growth of a beneficial species of bacteria, MIT professor, Dr. Meilin Zhu, stumbled upon a discovery that would make all the difference.

She and other scientists from Harvard, MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital have found that oleic acid, one of the most abundant fatty acids in the human body, could be the answer to restoring a healthy balance of vaginal microbes.

You’re probably very familiar with the omega-3 fatty acids and maybe even the omega-6s. But oleic acid is an omega-9.

The human female genital tract is naturally populated by various bacterial species in the Lactobacillus genus. Antibiotics encourage the growth of the species Lactobacillus iners, which encourages BV recurrence.

It seems that oleic acid, a major component of our cell membranes, inhibits the growth of L. iners while at the same time encouraging the growth of L. csrispatus, a strain of lactobacillus that promotes the balance of bacteria needed to prevent vaginal infections.

In other words, oleic acid could one day be part of a treatment that prevents bacterial vaginosis.

“We believe there is exciting potential to translate these findings to durably alter the vaginal microbiome to improve BV treatment and reduce adverse health outcomes for women globally,” says Dr. Douglas Kwon, co-senior author of the study.

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Getting oleic acid from your diet

While this research is still ongoing, there’s no harm in adding foods to your diet that are rich in oleic acid.

In fact, oleic acid foods are among some of the healthiest, known for supporting heart and brain health and guarding against insulin resistance

Foods with oleic acid aren’t hard to find either…

The easiest way to get some is to grab a bottle of olive oil when you’re cooking or dressing a salad. And always go for extra-virgin olive oil, which has the highest content of oleic acid and other omega-9 fatty acids.

Other foods that will add oleic acid to your diet include:

• avocados (and avocado oil)
• nuts
• sunflower seeds
• eggs
• olives
• chicken
• cheese

Eating oleic acid-rich foods every day will certainly promote head-to-toe health and may help restore the bacterial balance you need to avoid vaginosis at the same time.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

A common fatty acid may help restore healthy vaginal bacteria after infection — Eureka Alert

Vaginal Lactobacillus fatty acid response mechanisms reveal a metabolite-targeted strategy for bacterial vaginosis treatment — Cell

How is bacterial vaginosis different from a yeast infection? — Medical News Today

Nut consumption, serum fatty acid profile and estimated coronary heart disease risk in type 2 diabetes — Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases

The post The omega fatty acid solution for that itchy feminine infection appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

So far, a couple that we’ve written about are the phytochemical berberine and the fiber beta-glucan found in oats and barley. They’re both cheaper and safer than GLP-1 agonists, as well as better for your health.

Now, there’s evidence of a third inexpensive natural alternative — one you probably already have in your pantry — that could not only help you shed unwanted pounds but protect you from diabetes…

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Olive oil’s elenolic acid could be the key

Olive oil is a wholesome monounsaturated fat with a host of health properties. They include supporting the brain to help avoid dementia, as well as defending against heart disease, diabetes, depression and intestinal injury.

There are a lot of components that give olive oil its benefits, including polyphenols and the powerful antioxidant oleic acid. But another naturally occurring compound found in extra virgin olive oil and mature olives could be the source of olive oil’s ability to ward off diabetes and promote weight loss: elenolic acid.

Researchers at Virginia Tech were curious about the impact of elenolic acid on blood sugar, so they administered an oral dose of the compound to mice with type 2 diabetes and diet-induced obesity.

After just one week of treatment, the mice weighed significantly less, and their blood sugar levels were better regulated. They also weighed less and had better blood sugar than obese mice with type 2 diabetes that were not given elenolic acid.

But after four to five weeks of receiving elenolic acid, researchers found that obese mice with diabetes experienced a 10.7% reduction in obesity!

And that’s not even the most amazing part: elenolic acid’s effect on blood glucose was similar to that of the GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide, and better than the first-line type 2 diabetes drug metformin.

In other words, elenolic acid may work as well or better than two medications commonly used to treat diabetes.

Dr. Dongmin Liu, a nutrition scientist from Virginia Tech and co-author of the study said the finding is significant for two main reasons.

“One, the finding that elenolic acid improved blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity to the point where they became similar to those of healthy lean mice indicates that it is an effective compound for rectifying the key defects leading to overt diabetes,” he detailed.

“Two, the results suggest that elenolic acid could potentially be developed into a treatment for humans with obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes. If it works similarly in humans, it could offer a new, natural way to manage these conditions.”

Imagine, a natural compound that does what those agonists do without the potential long-term safety risks.

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How elenolic acid works in the body

In past research, the investigators found that elenolic acid prompts the release of two metabolic hormones that signal the brain when we’re full: GLP-1 and the less well-known peptide YY (PYY). GLP-1 is the hormone Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro mimic to regulate blood sugars and satiety. PYY is released by cells in the gut to curb our appetite at the end of a meal.

Past research showed that even one dose of concentrated elenolic acid stimulated the secretion of GLP-1 and PPY. One study demonstrated obese mice on a high-fat diet given doses of 50 mg/kg/day for two weeks achieved glucose tolerance and fasting blood glucose levels equal to their peers on a standard diet.

“The compound seems to mimic the physiological conditions of eating to directly promote gut metabolic hormone secretion, which helps regulate energy balance and metabolic health,” Liu says.

While elenolic acid is found in olive oil and mature olives, the researchers caution we likely couldn’t eat enough of either to match the concentrations used in the study. We’ll just have to wait and see how this develops.  

However, there’s already plenty of proof that following the Mediterranean Diet, which emphasizes extra virgin olive oil as a staple, can put you on a path to weight loss and improve glycemic profile.

And if you like olives, enjoy them as a snack. But look for a low-sodium brand. There are plenty of them to choose from.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

Natural Compound in Olives May Help Fight Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes — Science Alert

Identification of a Novel Multi-target Bioactive Compound With Anti-obesity and Anti-diabetic Activities — NUTRITION 2024

Can a compound found in olives help treat obesity and diabetes? — Medical News Today

The post The metabolism-busting secret in olives rivals those new weight-loss drugs appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Yet, for many of us, the idea of cutting these foods out of our diets completely and eating healthy seven days a week is just too big of a challenge to tackle.

But, what if you could enjoy them on occasion and still remain healthy, stave off liver disease and even avoid diabetes?

Well according to scientists, there’s a way…

And, it all starts with a simple cooking oil you probably already have in your kitchen pantry right now…

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Ancient oil protects against fatty foods

You see, the problem with those high-fat foods stems from their tendency to cause your liver to accumulate more fat cells, including triglycerides (the same thing your doctor is looking at when he checks your cholesterol), and pump more of them into your bloodstream.

When these triglycerides build up bad things happen, and you can end up with what’s known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, a build-up of extra fat in your liver cells that’s not caused by alcohol.

And, while it’s normal for your liver to contain some fat, if more than 5 percent to 10 percent of your liver’s weight is fat, then you have a fatty liver.

NAFLD tends to develop in people who are overweight or obese or have diabetes or high cholesterol. Even rapid weight loss and poor eating habits can cause NAFLD.

However, some people develop NAFLD even if they don’t have any risk factors. In fact, the disease affects up to 25 percent of people in the U.S.

Symptoms of a fatty liver include fatigue, weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain, spider-like blood vessels, yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), itching, fluid build-up and swelling of the legs and stomach and confusion.

You may even have fatty liver disease and not know it, since some people never have symptoms. But, once you have it, NAFLD can cause your liver to swell and lead to scarring, called cirrhosis.

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The Mediterranean answer to a fatty liver

You don’t have to end up with a swollen, sluggish liver just because you occasionally enjoy high-fat foods — as long as you incorporate olive oil into your daily diet.

You see, scientists decided to test the power of extra-virgin olive oil to combat or even reverse the effects of a high-fat diet, and the results were impressive.

The researchers found that hydroxytyrosol, a polyphenol found in extra-virgin olive oil, which is known to have antioxidant properties, actually protects your liver.

Adding hydroxytyrosol to a high-fat diet, reversed the effects of poor eating, and reduced the signs of fatty liver disease, as well as the negative effects seen in other organs, like the heart and brain.

And as a bonus, the hydroxytyrosol even prevented insulin resistance, the first step toward diabetes.

This could be the reason why research has shown that the traditional Mediterranean diet, including olive oil, reduces the risk of heart disease and the “bad” cholesterol that can build up deposits in your arteries.

In fact, a meta-analysis of more than 1.5 million healthy adults demonstrated that following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality, as well as overall mortality.

Now, this doesn’t mean you should give up eating healthy. If you occasionally crave those high-fat foods that you know aren’t good for you, make sure you’re getting a regular daily dose of extra-virgin olive oil — at least one to three tablespoons — to combat the effects of a high-fat diet the Mediterranean way.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

NAFLD Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease — American Liver Foundation
Olive oil consumption and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease — World Journal of Gastroenterology
Diet could REVERSE negative effects of high-fat food — and CURE liver disease — Daily Express
Mediterranean diet: A heart-healthy eating plan — Mayo Clinic

The post Olive oil: The easy antidote for a high-fat diet appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And unfortunately, modern medicine is still trying to catch up. Their latest attempts, despite FDA approvals, leave much to be desired as both lecanemab and donanemab are linked to swelling and bleeding on the brain.

Luckily, research continues to arm us with easy dietary do’s and don’ts we can put to work to reduce our risks — including the Mediterranean diet, full of nutrients that cross the blood-brain barrier that have been seen in the blood work of super-agers, and foods like blueberries that improved brains in just 6 months.

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On the other hand, they’ve warned us against canola, the oil that cooks up Alzheimer’s, and the sugar that supercharges brain inflammation.

Now, there’s one more recommendation researchers have backed up with proof.

Diets high in saturated fats are a no-go if you want to keep your brain sharp and ward off dementia.

Here’s what you need to know…

Fats and your RNA

Previous studies in mice had demonstrated that after a diet high in saturated fats the mice developed Alzheimer’s much earlier than mice on a conventional diet. However, no one knew exactly why.

This led a group of scientists in Spain to set out to find the mechanism behind the damage.

Specifically, the team zeroed in on the expression of 15 miRNAs, small molecules of RNA related to insulin that play a crucial role in genetic regulation in both plasma and brain tissues.

After feeding mice a high-fat diet for six months, they discovered that not only did their body weight increase significantly, but their response to glucose and insulin decreased dramatically.

Both of these changes are ones you would expect to find in people with obesity or type 2 diabetes.

Additionally, they found that significant changes occurred in the various miRNAs in both the blood and the brain. These changes were related to processes that can cause brain damage, including:

• The accumulation of β-amyloid plaques (protein deposits that form in the brain and which are markers of Alzheimer’s);
• Excessive production of the tau protein (which can damage brain cells when it gets out of control);
• And inflammation in the brain.

In other words, just six months of saturated fats led to Alzheimer’s-like changes in the brain.

When asked about the research, lead author Mònica Bulló had this to say, “The results of this study are a step forward in our understanding of this disease and may explain the relationship between obesity, type 2 diabetes and the onset of Alzheimer’s. The findings also offer new targets for the possible prevention and treatment of the disease.”

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Switch to brain-supporting fats

Saturated fat is considered an unhealthy fat — and that should come as no surprise after what we just read.

Foods that are high in saturated fats include red meat, cheese, butter and other full-fat dairy foods and pre-packaged baked goods, like snack cakes.

So if supporting your brain health is top of mind, those are foods you should eat less of. And maybe while you transition to a more brain-friendly diet, take a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) daily — straight up, or like I do — on a piece of toast, instead of butter.  

EVOO is an unsaturated fat, and Harvard researchers found that consuming at least 7 grams of olive oil every day was associated with a 28 percent lower risk of dementia-related death compared with those who never or rarely consumed olive oil.

In fact, replacing around 1.2 teaspoons of margarine or mayonnaise with olive oil daily was linked with an 8 to 14 percent lower risk of death from dementia. 

Olive oil is also loaded with phenolic compounds that combat the oxidative stress and inflammation that kicks off insulin resistance and can ultimately lead to type 2 diabetes.

Olive oil has been shown up to stand up to to heat to retain it’s nutritional magic, so it’s a good option to cook with as well.

Other healthy unsaturated fat options include fish, like salmon, and nuts and seeds.

Sources:

Researchers discover the mechanism that links a diet rich in fats with Alzheimer’s disease – EurekAlert!

The post Why high fat adds up to high Alzheimer’s risk appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And it’s no wonder. Not only is it chock full of bioactive compounds, but recently researchers found many of those nutrients can, incredibly, cross the blood-brain barrier.

But if one food is the centerpiece of this disease-fighting buffet, it would have to be olive oil.

Not only is it a powerhouse on its own, packed with polyphenols, omega-3 and 6 fatty acids and oleic acid (also known as omega-9 fatty acid), but it enhances the extraction of nutrients from other foods.

Previous research shows olive oil fights aging, heart disease and osteoporosis, supports healthy arteries, heals intestinal injury and reduces risks for diabetes and depression. It’s also been linked to reduced mortality from four major health threats.

But it’s the brain benefits that just keep stacking up…

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Olive oil lowers death risk from dementia

Scientists at Harvard University observed more than 92,000 adults over 28 years who were 56 years of age on average at the start of the study. The researchers assessed their diets every four years using a questionnaire and the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, which assigns ratings to foods and nutrients that can predict chronic disease outcomes.

Overall, they found that consuming at least 7 grams of olive oil every day was associated with a 28 percent lower risk of dementia-related death when compared with those who never or rarely ate olive oil. That’s a bit over half a tablespoon of olive oil.

Replacing around 1.2 teaspoons of margarine or mayonnaise with olive oil daily was linked with an 8 to 14 percent lower risk of death from dementia. No significant changes were found when substituting with other vegetable oils or butter.

Participants who had the APOEe4 gene, notorious for raising Alzheimer’s disease risk, were five to nine times more likely than noncarriers to die from dementia. Still, the findings regarding olive oil remained the same even after taking this factor into account.

Another interesting aspect of the study is that these findings stood regardless of the diet quality of the participants, although it could be that those who consume olive oil have healthier lifestyles in general.

The researchers say substituting fats like margarine and mayonnaise with olive oil could potentially improve dementia-free longevity.

“Beyond heart health, the findings extend the current dietary recommendations of choosing olive oil and other vegetable oils for cognitive-related health,” the researchers wrote in the study. They did caution, however, that the findings were observational and did not demonstrate a causal relationship.

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Tips on getting the most from olive oil

Olive oil has many uses. You can cook with it, of course, but it’s delicious when used in a meat marinade, salad dressing, vinaigrette or pesto. You can even drizzle it on sandwiches or mix some up with fresh or dried herbs to make a dip for bread.

When shopping for olive oil, the first thing to look for is whether it’s the extra-virgin variety. Unlike regular olive oil, extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) contains more than 200 antioxidant plant compounds, including polyphenols. This gives EVOO an edge in terms of health benefits.

You’ll also want to buy the freshest EVOO you can find, so look for a brand with the harvest date marked on it. The closer to the purchase date, the fresher the oil is and the more of its aroma, flavor and health benefits it retains.

You don’t need to look for terms like “cold-pressed.” EVOO always comes from the first pressing of the olives, and it must be made with no added heat.

Try to find an EVOO that’s stored in a dark glass bottle or (even better) metal tin. If the EVOO is stored in a clear glass bottle, it will have been exposed to light and lost most of its aroma and flavor.

Once you bring it home, store your EVOO in a cool, dark environment, well away from your stove. Exposure to heat over long periods of time will shorten the shelf life of your EVOO.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds — CNN

Consumption of Olive Oil and Diet Quality and Risk of Dementia-Related Death — JAMA Network Open

The post Dementia-free longevity in half a tablespoon a day appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

All olive oils are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), particularly oleic acid. This omega-9 fatty acid may improve heart health by lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation.

But if you want to reap the full health benefits of this miracle oil, not just any olive oil will do…

Differentiating olive oil

You can usually find two types of olive oil on your grocery store shelves: regular olive oil and extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO). There is also virgin olive oil, but that version is much less common.

EVOO is “cold pressed,” meaning that it’s made by grinding olives into a paste, then pressing them to extract the oil. No heat is used in this lengthy process. The resulting oil is green in color and has a pleasant, fruity odor and grassy, peppery flavor.

To call this cold-pressed olive oil EVOO, it must be certified, which takes time and involves meeting a lot of rigorous standards. If the oil fails to meet all these standards but is still judged to maintain the purity and taste of the olive, it receives the label “virgin” olive oil. Virgin olive oil often has a little EVOO mixed in.

Any cold-pressed olive oil that fails to meet these virgin or extra-virgin standards is usually heat-refined to get rid of impurities. Not only does that process degrade the color and taste of the oil, but it can also reduce the number one reason you should choose EVOO…

Go extra-virgin

Unlike regular refined olive oil, EVOO contains more than 200 antioxidant plant compounds, including polyphenols. And it’s the polyphenols that account for many of EVOO’s health advantages as well as its delicious flavor.

Polyphenols can help reduce inflammation, which is thought to contribute to a wide range of chronic conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Here are just some of EVOO’s health benefits:

• In one study, participants who consumed more than half a tablespoon of olive oil a day — about the amount used in a serving of salad dressing — had a 28 percent lower risk of dying from dementia compared with those who never or rarely consumed olive oil. Also, people who replaced just one teaspoon of margarine and mayonnaise with a teaspoon of olive oil each day had an 8 to 14 percent lower risk of dementia-related death.
• Research published in the journal Nutrients concluded that consuming two tablespoons of EVOO a day can improve blood pressure and HDL and LDL cholesterol levels in as little as three weeks. It also found that two tablespoons of EVOO a day could reduce fasting blood glucose in as little as two weeks.
• A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed those who had 1½ tablespoons of EVOO per day were 57 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease and 34 percent less likely to die from all causes compared with those who consumed none. Regular olive oil didn’t have this benefit.
• According to a study published in the journal Foods, Greek men and women over age 70 who exclusively used olive oil in food prep and cooking had higher scores on a scale of successful aging attributes such as a good body mass index (BMI) and participation in social activities, compared with those who used no olive oil and those who used olive oil and other fats.
• Researchers from Temple University discovered that EVOO helps reduce tau build-up in the brains of mice. Accumulation of tau has been connected to cognitive decline and dementia.
• A team of international researchers found that consuming 1.5 tablespoons of EVOO a day led to a whopping 68 percent reduction in invasive breast cancer risk.
• A study found that when combined with dark chocolate, EVOO slows or prevents atherosclerosis, the narrowing of the arteries due to plaque build-up.
• Harvard researchers followed a group of 90,000 for two decades and found EVOO reduced mortality from four major health threats.

Does cooking hurt EVOO?

One of the downsides of EVOO is that it has a relatively low smoke point, meaning it’s not good for high-heat cooking. And there has been a question as to whether the health properties of EVOO are lost when it’s heated.

Researchers studied the impact of cooking with EVOO on its health benefits, and what they found was reassuring. Even when heated to 338°, around the temperature at which food is commonly sauteed, the concentration of antioxidants in the EVOO, while reduced, still met all the parameters set for good health, including heart protection.

Still, if you’re going to consume EVOO for health reasons, it’s probably best to consume it raw. Aim for two tablespoons a day and use it in salad dressings, as a dip for bread, drizzled over your meals or even mixed into a smoothie. It is also tasty drizzled on roasted vegetables after they come out of the oven.

Also, make sure when storing your EVOO that you keep it in a dark glass bottle or tin and store it in a cool, dark place since light and heat can shorten its lifespan.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Try it for $1! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

Are all olive oils equally healthy for you? A look at the research. — Washington Post

Regular Vs. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: What’s The Difference? — Tasting Table

Regular Olive Oil vs. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: Is There Actually a Difference? — The Kitchn

Oleic Acid – Uses, Side Effects, and More — WebMD

Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil the Critical Ingredient Driving the Health Benefits of a Mediterranean Diet? A Narrative Review — Nutrients

Only virgin type of olive oil consumption reduces the risk of mortality. Results from a Mediterranean population-based cohort — European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

The Effect of Exclusive Olive Oil Consumption on Successful Aging: A Combined Analysis of the ATTICA and MEDIS Epidemiological Studies — Foods

Mediterranean Diet and Invasive Breast Cancer Risk Among Women at High Cardiovascular Risk in the PREDIMED Trial — JAMA Internal Medicine

The post 8 proven benefits you only get from extra-virgin olive oil appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And even though there are plenty to choose from — avocado, walnut, safflower, canola, coconut, and hemp seed — there’s one that keeps coming out on top…

That’s why I keep it simple and reach for a bottle of olive oil — extra-virgin, of course. Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) is lower in chemicals and free radicals and higher in antioxidants and healthy fats than regular olive oil.

Not to mention that EVOO helps fight heart disease and osteoporosis, support healthy arteries, heal intestinal injury, and reduce risks for diabetes and depression. It’s been linked with a lower death risk from four major causes — and helps fight aging.

Another big benefit is EVOO’s potential ability to lower dementia-causing brain proteins. Most people live in fear of losing memory and cognitive function as they get older. It’s great to know that it may only take a spoonful of EVOO to keep this scourge of aging at bay.

And there’s more good news on this front…

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EVOO appears to lower risk of death from dementia

In a new study, scientists analyzed dietary questionnaires and death records collected from more than 90,000 Americans over three decades to determine if there was a relationship between diet and dementia-related death.

This is what they discovered:

• People who consumed more than half a tablespoon of olive oil per day — about the amount used in a serving of salad dressing — had a 28 percent lower risk of dying from dementia compared with those who never or rarely consumed olive oil.
• People who replaced just one teaspoon of margarine and mayonnaise with the equivalent amount of olive oil each day had an 8 to 14 percent lower risk of dementia-related death.

“Our study reinforces dietary guidelines recommending vegetable oils such as olive oil and suggests that these recommendations not only support heart health but potentially brain health, as well,” said Dr. Anne-Julie Tessier, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Opting for olive oil, a natural product, instead of fats such as margarine and commercial mayonnaise is a safe choice and may reduce the risk of fatal dementia.”

Now, it’s true that if someone regularly uses olive oil instead of processed or animal fats, they’re more likely to have a healthier diet overall. But Tessier notes that the relationship between olive oil and dementia-related death risk was independent of overall diet quality. That could suggest it’s the olive oil itself that’s benefiting the brain…

“Some antioxidant compounds in olive oil can cross the blood-brain barrier, potentially having a direct effect on the brain,” she says. “It is also possible that olive oil has an indirect effect on brain health by benefiting cardiovascular health.”

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Getting the best EVOO

Tessier cautions that her research doesn’t prove that olive oil is the cause of the reduced risk of fatal dementia. But additional randomized controlled trials may be able to confirm that and determine how much olive oil is needed to achieve these benefits.

But there’s certainly no harm in adding a bit more EVOO to your daily diet, especially considering all the other benefits it can bring you.

One way to make sure you’re getting plenty of EVOO is to adopt a Mediterranean-style eating plan. Olive oil is the diet’s central nutrient and its main fat source. Once you look at it as a lifestyle shift rather than a “diet,” you’ll find going Mediterranean to be pretty simple. Here’s a guide to get you started.

Now, let’s talk buying EVOO….

• If you can, try to find a brand of EVOO that has the harvest date marked on it. This way, you’ll know how fresh the oil is. And the fresher it is, the more of its aroma and flavor (and health properties) will still be intact.
• Don’t worry about looking for terms like “cold-pressed” — by definition, EVOO comes from the first pressing of the olives and must be accomplished with no added heat.
• Don’t buy the oil if it comes in a clear glass bottle, as it will have been exposed to light and lost most of its flavor and aroma. Look for EVOO in dark glass bottles, or better yet, in metal tins.
• Once you bring it home, store your EVOO in a cool, dark environment. Keep it away from your stove until you need it for cooking.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

Opting for olive oil could boost brain health — EurekAlert!

9 Pro Tips on How to Buy and Use Good Olive Oil — Food & Wine

The post More proof olive oil is what your brain needs appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

According to the diet-heart hypothesis introduced in the 1950s that associated animal fat with heart disease, the answer is yes, though many question the science behind it.

It’s understandable that we’re confused on this point. Both the FDA and American Heart Association insist that because vegetable oils are polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), they’re absolutely safe and beneficial to health.

But there’s a dark side to a major component of vegetable oil…

Past research in mice has linked its main ingredient to ailments such as obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, fatty liver disease, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, depression and other neurological conditions.

And a recent study indicates it could wreak havoc in the gut as well…

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The problem with vegetable oil

Did you know that vegetable oil is mostly made up of soybean oil? There may be some corn oils blended in, but soybean oil is the most consumed edible oil in the United States.

And it isn’t just used for cooking meals at home. Soybean oil is included in packaged foods such as margarine, shortening, mayonnaise, salad dressing, frozen foods, baked goods, imitation dairy and meat products.

When soybean oil is used for these purposes, it’s often refined, blended and hydrogenated. And when oils are hydrogenated, they morph into unhealthy trans fats that raise LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol and lower HDL (or “good”) cholesterol.

“Our work challenges the decades-old thinking that many chronic diseases stem from the consumption of excess saturated fats from animal products, and that, conversely, unsaturated fats from plants are necessarily more healthful,” says Poonamjot Deol, an assistant professional researcher at the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside).

By work, Deol is referring to a recent study in mice that found a diet high in soybean oil can lead to ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by chronic inflammation of the large intestine.

The UC Riverside researchers consistently fed mice a soybean oil-rich diet for up to 24 weeks in the lab. When they examined their guts, they found a decrease in beneficial bacteria and an increase in harmful bacteria such as Escherichia coli. These conditions can lead to colitis.

Linoleic acid at the root

According to Deol, a co-corresponding author on the paper, the concern is the linoleic acid in soybean oil.

Linoleic acid is an omega-6 fatty acid. We’ve known for a while that the major problem with the modern Western diet is too many omega-6 fats.

“While our bodies need 1 to 2 percent of linoleic acid daily, based on the paleo diet, Americans today are getting 8 to 10 percent of their energy from linoleic acid daily, most of it from soybean oil,” she says, adding that excessive linoleic acid can harm the gut microbiome.

For instance, invasive E. coli uses linoleic acid as a source of nutrition. And several good gut bacteria are unable to withstand linoleic acid and die out.

“It’s the combination of good bacteria dying off and harmful bacteria growing out that makes the gut more susceptible to inflammation and its downstream effects,” Deol says. “Further, linoleic acid causes the intestinal epithelial barrier to become porous.” 

That can lead straight to leaky gut, a condition where toxins leak out of the gut and enter the bloodstream. This greatly increases the risk of infections and chronic inflammatory conditions such as colitis.

To the research team’s surprise, the mice fed the high soybean oil diet also showed a reduction of endocannabinoids in the gut. These cannabis-like molecules made naturally by the body regulate a wide range of physiological functions.

At the same time, there was an increase in gut oxylipins, which are oxygenated PUFAs that control inflammation. The decrease in endocannabinoids and increase in oxylipins is consistent with IBD in humans, Deol says.

Toxicologist Frances M. Sladek, a professor at UC Riverside and a co-corresponding author on the paper, notes that for good heart health, the AHA recommends 5 to 10 percent of daily calories be from omega-6 PUFAs such as linoleic acid. The soybean oil used in the study had 19 percent linoleic acid.

“Every animal has to get linoleic acid from the diet,” Sladek said. “No animal can make it. A small amount of it is needed by the body. But just because something is needed does not mean a lot of it is good for you.”

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Minimize the amount of soybean oil in your diet

Sladek notes that future studies are needed to determine the tipping point for how much daily linoleic acid consumption is safe.

Until then, Sladek and Deol recommend olive oil, given it has lower amounts of linoleic acid. Instead, olive oil consists of 70 to 80 percent oleic acid — the antithesis of linoleic acid.

“Olive oil, the basis of the Mediterranean diet, is considered to be very healthy; it produces less obesity and we have now found that, unlike soybean oil, it does not increase the susceptibility of mice to colitis,” Sladek says.

Because most processed foods in the U.S. contain soybean oil, Sladek advises staying away from those foods.

Also, since most restaurants cook with soybean oil, it’s a good idea to try to cook as much of your food as possible. Check that the oil you use to cook with doesn’t contain soybean oil, and check out this post by a colleague on 5 healthy cooking oils and how to use them.

Sources:

Widely consumed vegetable oil leads to an unhealthy gut — EurekAlert!

Diet high in linoleic acid dysregulates the intestinal endocannabinoid system and increases susceptibility to colitis in Mice — Gut Microbes

Polyunsaturated Fat — American Heart Association

US-Grown Soybean Oil Achieves FDA’s Qualified Heart Health Claim — Today’s Dietician

Soybean oil is the most widely used edible oil in the U.S. — AgHires

Trans fat is double trouble for heart health — Mayo Clinic

The post What colitis, IBD and leaky gut have in common with vegetable oil appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

It helps fight heart disease and osteoporosis, keep your arteries clear, lower dementia-causing brain proteins, heal intestinal injury, reduce your risk of diabetes and protect against depression. Also, it can lower death risk from four major causes — and help fight aging.

Olive oil’s benefits are often attributed to its minor components such as polyphenols. However, researchers are finding its principal component to be worthy of closer study…

The health-boosting power of oleic acid

Oleic acid makes up 70 to 80 percent of olive oil’s composition.  It’s the principal monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) in the human circulatory system and functions as an energy molecule and a major component of cell membranes and neuronal myelin sheaths.

To shine more light on the benefits of this vital MUFA, professors in Spain teamed up to study its main contributions to health.

Oleic acid has antioxidant properties in the body. It inhibits the expression of proteins associated with cholesterol transport, which helps reduce cholesterol absorption and prevent atherosclerosis.

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On the neurological side, the professors note that a significantly lower level of oleic acid has been found in the brains of patients suffering from major depressive disorders and Alzheimer’s disease. Less oleic acid in the body has also been associated with multiple sclerosis in previous studies.

Oleic acid is also considered an anti-inflammatory, although this quality is still being debated by investigators. But oleoylethanolamide, a derivative of oleic acid, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects and may influence the immune system by regulating cells involved in inflammation.

Oleoylethanolamide has also been proposed as a potent therapeutic agent to treat obesity.

Emerging research also suggests the oleic acid derivative may influence epigenetic mechanisms that modify DNA and DNA-associated proteins. That could help explain olive oil’s anti-aging benefits.

The professors point out that most studies of olive oil have been conducted on animals, so further research is needed in humans.

Putting olive oil at the heart of your diet

Oleic acid is produced by the diet and synthesis in the body. But if your nutrition is poor, or you have certain diseases that interfere with your body’s absorption of nutrients, you could develop a shortage of this essential MUFA.

The best way to guard against that is to make sure your diet contains plenty of olive oil and other oleic acid-rich foods like nuts, avocadoes, seeds like black cumin seeds and sunflower seeds. Oleic acid is also found in meats and cheeses, but you’ll probably want to stick with its healthier plant-based sources.

As we noted earlier, olive oil is a central nutrient of the Mediterranean diet and its main fat source. When you follow this plan, you’ll eat mainly vegetables and some fish, with limited dairy intake and low red meat consumption. Wine can also be consumed in moderation on the Mediterranean diet.

It can sometimes be difficult to adopt a new diet. Some of the problem lies with the word “diet,” which conjures up visions of deprivation and long lists of banned foods. My colleague Joyce Hollman advises us to think of it as an “eating style” that can be gradually adopted to fit your lifestyle.

Editor’s note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

The benefits of olive oil for health and wellbeing — EurekAlert!

Update on Anti-Inflammatory Molecular Mechanisms Induced by Oleic Acid — Nutrients

What Is Atherosclerosis? — National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Oleic Acid – Uses, Side Effects, and More — WebMD

Oleic Acid — Science Direct

Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency — Nutrition Issues in Gastroenterology

The post The surprising truth about olive oil’s benefits appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And while you may think those cravings are all about your taste buds, research is telling us that they’re not really about your tongue at all…

That’s because scientists have identified a connection between other body parts that can send your fatty food cravings into overdrive.

The far-reaching effects of the gut-brain axis

While it may sound a little whack that some weird connection between your gut and brain could be to blame for unhealthy food cravings, it’s actually simple science.

In fact, researchers have not only proven the existence of what is known as a gut-brain axis, they’ve been able to demonstrate the extensive role it plays in many aspects of our lives and health.

They’ve shown it’s the key to getting better sleep.

They’ve identified it as the link between bowel problems and dementia.

They’ve found that it can be a surprising cause of chronic headaches.

And those are just the tip of the iceberg.

Now, Columbia University researchers have found that the same connection also drives our fatty food desires, which can lead to obesity and metabolic disease.

What’s really driving your desire for fatty foods

Previous research has even been able to connect our need for all things sweet to how glucose activates the gut-brain axis to make us happy. Calorie-free artificial sweeteners do not have this same effect and leave us feeling unsatisfied.

Well, it turns out, fatty foods do something similar…

The researchers set out to explore how mice respond to dietary fats in their drinking water, comparing it to water containing sweet substances that have no impact on the gut.

And they weren’t surprised when after just a couple of days, the rodents developed a distinct preference for that fatty water, leaving the sweet water sitting untouched.

But was it just because it tasted good?

Nope, the researchers had genetically modified the mice to remove their ability to taste fat on their tongues.

“Even though the animals could not taste fat, they were nevertheless driven to consume it,” said Charles Zuker, PhD.

So why were the mice craving all things fatty?

After measuring brain activity in the mice while they consumed the fats, the researchers found that fat literally made their brains light up thanks to activity along the vagus nerve, a nerve that links the gut to the brain.

“Our research is showing that the tongue tells our brain what we like, such as things that taste sweet, salty or fatty,” said Dr. Zuker. “The gut, however, tells our brain what we want, what we need.”

Help for cravings from a surprising source

So if your gut-brain connection is telling you to order another vanilla shake or reach for some deep-fried nuggets, is there anything that can be done to keep your healthy diet on track?

The answer may be in choosing healthier fats, ones that support your heart, mind and body, including your weight (not the kind in processed foods, which can make obesity a foregone conclusion).

Healthier fats include:

#1 – Omega-3s

Hands down, one of the top healthy fats to include in your diet are the omega-3s you’ll find in fish oil.

Not only can omega-3s help control your appetite, but they may also support a healthy metabolism so that you can burn off the calories you eat.

Plus, because your brain is your body’s most fuel-hungry organ, feeding it brain-loving fat could have a positive influence on the communication between your brain and your gut.

You can find omega-3s in fatty fish, like salmon and sardines, or grab more through a daily supplement.

#2 – Avocados

Avocados are packed with good fats, including oleic acid, which helps combat inflammation in the body.

#3 – Olive oil

A staple of the Mediterranean diet, olive oil is a big winner when it comes to your health.

So instead of battling your fatty food cravings, why not work with them instead?

Feed your body good fats to satisfy your desires, while supporting a healthier weight and body.

Sources:

Cravings for fatty foods traced to gut-brain connection — ScienceDaily

Fish oil-supplementation increases appetite in healthy adults. A randomized controlled cross-over trial — NIH

A diet rich in long chain omega-3 fatty acids modulates satiety in overweight and obese volunteers during weight loss — NIH

Effect of dietary fish oil on body fat mass and basal fat oxidation in healthy adults — NIH

The post Hacking your gut-brain axis to defeat fatty food cravings appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

That’s why when I’m making dinner, instead of reaching for vegetable oil, I turn to the Mediterranean secret for a healthier heart — olive oil.

Now, research out of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that looked at the diets of 92,000 people for 28 years, is proving that the decision to stick with extra virgin olive oil is providing protection far beyond my heart…

A long history of benefits

Olive oil has long been acknowledged as one of the healthiest oils.

• One observational study presented to the American Heart Association strongly suggested that consuming olive oil at least once a week is associated with less platelet activity in the blood. In other words, Mediterranean oil could reduce the risks for blood clots.
• Additional research found that adding a dash of olive oil to dark chocolate is kryptonite for heart disease.
• And a study from the University of Barcelona found that olive oil delivers potent antioxidants that guard your heart and blood vessel health, even when it’s heated.
• But heart health is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to olive oil, with research proving, again and again, its health impact on everything from pancreatitis to diabetes.
• The oil has even been shown to help reduce issues of erectile dysfunction or ED.

Now those Harvard researchers are finding how valuable olive oil is — not just for the heart — but for reducing premature death from numerous threats…

Lowering threats across the board

The researchers followed 92,000+ participants from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study for over 2 ½ decades, monitoring their diets and their consumption of olive oil versus other oils specifically.

And what they found came down to this…

Consuming just seven grams (just over a half tablespoon) of olive oil per day is enough to significantly reduce your risk of dying due to heart disease!

And those seven grams are also enough to lower your risk of death from multiple other conditions, including respiratory and neurological diseases.

In fact, when the researchers compared those who rarely or never consumed olive oil, those in the highest consumption category had a:

• 19 percent lower risk of cardiovascular mortality
• 29 percent lower risk of neurodegenerative mortality
• 17 percent lower risk of cancer mortality
• 18 percent lower risk of respiratory mortality

That’s a lot of bang from ½ tablespoon!

Additionally, their results showed that switching up just 10 grams of your normal margarine or butter for olive oil lets you grab an 8 – 34 percent lower risk of death from all causes.

That olive oil’s looking better and better all the time, isn’t it?

More tips for heart health

So if you want to cut your risks for these significant health threats, it seems clear that olive oil should be part of what’s for dinner tonight and every night.

If heart problems are particularly top of mind for you, don’t forget these other small changes that can provide additional support:

• Eating more fish – The omega-3s found in fish have been shown to reduce heart disease risk. If you don’t eat enough fish or are concerned about mercury and other contaminants from fish oil, krill oil is a cleaner option.
• Staying active – Exercise has been shown to strengthen your heart, even in the face of bad genes that boost your risks.
• Choosing your saturated fats wisely – While some saturated fats, like the ones in red meat, can increase your chances of cardiovascular disease, others appear to confer heart disease protection.
• Increasing your flavonoids – These potent antioxidants found in fruits like apples, blueberries and grapes, as well as teas have been found to reduce risk of death due to heart disease.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

Higher olive oil intake associated with lower risk of CVD mortality — ScienceDaily

Heart Disease Facts – CDC

The post Olive oil tied to reduced mortality from 4 major health threats appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

After all, as William Kormos, M.D., editor-in-chief of Harvard Men’s Health Watch points out, “Olive oil, regardless of type, is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, containing about 75% by volume. When substituted for saturated fat, monounsaturated fats help lower your ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of olive oil add benefits beyond cholesterol lowering.”

And those antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties with additional benefits?

Well, those could help:

• Fight free radical damage to guard against heart disease and cancer
• Reduce the inflammation that’s been linked to that heart disease and cancer, as well as diabetes, arthritis, and bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

That’s a lot of benefits from a tasty oil that you enjoy using in your cooking anyway, right?

Well, things might have just got even better…

Ivory-white and growing wild

Another study involving olive oil has given us one more way to grab all of the benefits of this healthy oil, and maybe even take it up a notch.

The research published in the journal Antioxidants specifically looked at the oil produced from wild olive trees, rather than the one produced from trees raised in those commercial groves.

And it found that this oil has “excellent sensorial, physicochemical and stability characteristics from a nutritional point of view.”

In other words, it tastes great, has all of the compounds that give you an amazing bang for your buck when it comes to your health, and it’s stable so those benefits don’t disappear as it sits on the shelf in your pantry.

The study looked at the fruits from wild olive trees of the natural reserve of the Medes islands in Catalonia. If you’re like me and need to look them up, those are islands in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain.

And the olives the trees produce there are known for being ivory-white.

Pretty amazing, right?

This ancient variety of olives is relatively rare and pretty much found growing only along the Mediterranean coast.

And there’s even some evidence that points to the fact that the special oil produced from these olives was once used to anoint emperors and kings.

 Your LDL cholesterol

According to Professor Rosa M. Lamuela, professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the University of Barcelona and the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Networking Biomedical Research Centre (one of the expert authors of the study), the oil also has a special claim on health: protecting LDL or bad cholesterol from oxidative damage.

This is important because even though LDL is considered ‘bad’ cholesterol to begin with, oxidation takes bad to a whole new level.

You see, oxidation happens when free radicals interact with your LDL particles.

Then oxidized LDL binds to macrophages and that induces cholesterol accumulation. When this happens, it kicks off a downward spiral of atherosclerosis.

And since oxidized LDL is also associated with metabolic syndrome, which goes hand-in-hand with diabetes and heart disease, it’s easy to see why preventing LDL oxidation is so important.

This means the fact that the researchers believe this wild olive oil is a great choice to avoid that LDL oxidation is major!

So if you want to take the benefits olive oil brings to your health to the next level, try an olive oil made from wild olive trees bearing the ivory-white fruit. Research says you can’t go wrong!

It may be a little harder to find and a little more expensive, but certainly worth the benefits.

Editor’s Note: If you just pay $1 to help cover the shipping costs… The Olive Oil Hunter, TJ Robinson, will send you a complimentary $39 bottle of one of the greatest olive oils I’ve ever tasted… You must check this out

Sources:

Is extra-virgin olive oil extra healthy? — Harvard Health

Healthy oil from wild olives — EurekAlert!

White Olives: The Rare Ancient Olive with Regal Roots — Finding Lovers

Antioxidants — Mayo Clinic

Understanding acute and chronic inflammation — Harvard Health

Role of Oxidized LDL in Atherosclerosis — Intech Open

Oxidized LDL in Inflammation: From Bench to Bedside — Hindawi

Oxidized LDL Is Associated With Metabolic Syndrome Traits Independently of Central Obesity and Insulin Resistance — American Diabetes Association

The post Why wild olives might provide the healthiest oil yet appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

When a person develops heart failure, it means their heart muscle is no longer able to pump enough blood to meet the nutritional and oxygen needs of their body. Ejection fraction is used to gauge the heart’s pumping function; it represents the percentage of blood pumped per beat from the left ventricle, or main pumping chamber. A measurement of 50 percent or greater is considered a normal ejection fraction.

There are two types of heart failure: one in which the heart muscle is too weak to pump normally, which is referred to as heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF); and one in which the heart pumps normally but is too stiff to fill appropriately, which is called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about half of the estimated 6.5 million adults in the U.S. with heart failure present with HFpEF. Of those with HFpEF, more than 80 percent are overweight or obese.

To date, there are no FDA-approved drugs to improve clinical outcomes in HFpEF. However, a common household pantry item might be key to enhancing the quality of life for HFpEF sufferers…

Add some extra-virgin olive oil

A recent study found that adding extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) to the diets of nine obese study subjects with HFpEF helped improve their cardiorespiratory fitness upon cardiopulmonary exercise testing.

The participants, who had a median age of 56 years, were supplemented with unsaturated fatty acid-rich foods and had their EVOO intake estimated over 12 weeks according to their dietary recall. Five of the nine study participants were women, and six of the nine were black.

The participants were asked to recall their diets at the study’s beginning and at their four-, eight-, and 12-week visits. They also underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing at the start of the study and at the 12-week mark.

Daily EVOO intake increased from zero at the beginning of the study to 23.6 grams (about 1.5 tablespoons) on average during the study. Statistically, a 40-gram increase (about three tablespoons) in EVOO intake was shown to lead to a 6 percent improvement in peak oxygen intake (VO2) compared with predictions. Oxygen efficiency slope, a measure of cardiorespiratory function that does not require maximal exercise, also increased by about 0.1.

“Further studies are warranted to confirm this finding and establish a basis for testing the effect of EVOO on cardiorespiratory fitness as well as major cardiovascular outcomes and to explore these effects across differing baseline intakes of EVOO,” says study lead Hayley Billingsley, RD, of Virginia Commonwealth University.

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Ways to keep your heart beating strong

Doctors have long recommended people follow a Mediterranean-style diet for peak heart health. This type of diet is rich in healthy fats like EVOO, as well as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, poultry, beans and eggs. Dairy is consumed in moderation, and red meat intake is limited.

There are also natural supplements you can take to help support your heart against damage that could lead to heart failure. Here are some suggestions…

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Your body produces CoQ10, which cells use to produce the energy needed for growth and maintenance. It protects the heart and skeletal muscles and functions as an antioxidant, defending your body from cellular damage caused by harmful substances. CoQ10 can be found in organ meats like heart, liver and kidney; beef; soy oil; fish like sardines and mackerel; and peanuts.

As a supplement, CoQ10 can help lower blood pressure and protect the body from the side effects of statins, a commonly prescribed type of cholesterol-lowering drug. Statins tend to reduce the amount of CoQ10 in the body, so doctors often advise patients on these drugs to take a CoQ10 supplement to counteract this effect.

Omega-3 fatty acids. Usually consumed through fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids have numerous heart benefits. They have been shown to reduce the level of triglycerides by up to 30 percent. High levels of this unhealthy fat in the blood can lead to coronary artery disease, heart disease and stroke. Omega-3s have also shown potential for reducing blood pressure.

In one study of patients with chronic heart failure, fish oil supplementation resulted in a small but significant decrease in the number of deaths and hospitalizations for cardiovascular reasons. And another study showed that supplementation improved heart function and decreased hospitalizations in some patients.

You can get omega-3s by consuming at least two 3.5-oz servings of fish a week, as recommended by the American Heart Association. Or you can take omega-3 supplements.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Try it for $1! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

Dietary Supplementation of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction is Associated with Increases in Cardiorespiratory Fitness — Journal of Cardiac Failure

Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) — University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center

Is food the best medicine for heart failure? — VCU Health Pauley Heart Center

The Oxygen Uptake Efficiency Slope: WHAT DO WE KNOW? — Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention

Mediterranean diet: A heart-healthy eating plan — Mayo Clinic

8 heart health supplements to take – and one to avoid — PeaceHealth

6 Supplements for Heart Health — WebMD

The post Olive oil comes to the rescue for heart condition that drugs failed appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Now, a new study takes a closer look at whether eating more olive oil, one of the main components of the Mediterranean diet, is associated with a lowered risk of heart disease here in the United States. And with COVID-19 on the loose, heart disease will just make you that much more vulnerable.

Vegetable oils are always better than butter for your heart

“Mostly, these associations have been shown in the past in Mediterranean and European populations,” said Dr. Marta Guasch-Ferre, lead author of the study.

“But until now, there was no previous study that showed results in a U.S. population.”

Dr. Guasch-Ferre is a research scientist in the department of nutrition at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The study looked at almost 64,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study, a long-term study that has looked into the risk factors for major chronic diseases in women. The latest installment of the study ran from 1990 to 2014.

Food frequency questionnaires were given every four years to assess the subjects’ diet.

Not surprisingly, as far as heart health goes, olive oil came out head and shoulders above animal-based fats commonly eaten here in the United States, including butter, margarine, and mayonnaise.

What’s so special about “fresh-pressed” olive oil… and why can’t you find it in U.S. supermarkets?

Try It Today!

But there was one unexpected finding.

While olive oil is better for your heart than animal-based fats, so are other vegetable oils.

“While olive oil was better than animal fat …  they were not superior to vegetable oils,” Dr. Guasch-Ferre explained. “This means that other vegetable oils could be a healthy alternative compared to animal fat, especially because they tend to be more affordable in the U.S. compared to olive oil.”

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Olive oil “not a miracle cure”

These findings mean that safflower, corn or even vegetable oil are better for your heart than butter or mayonnaise.

Dr. Benjamin Hirsh, director of preventive cardiology at Northwell Health’s Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital in Manhasset, New York, would agree.

He cautions that olive oil alone is not the “miracle cure” for heart disease.

“I believe that focusing on one component of nutrition misses the benefits that derive from the change in the overall dietary pattern,” he said. “It is likely that those [in the study] who switched to consuming more olive oil as a substitute for unhealthy fats probably also enacted changes in their lifestyles to consume healthier food and be more active.”

In other words, adding olive oil to your diet is only one part of the changes you’d need to make to lower your risk of heart disease.

What else you can do

If you or a loved one are already living with heart disease or coronary artery disease during this pandemic, it’s crucial that you eat and supplement to protect your heart.

The virus is especially unkind to those with heart disease. Eating more olive oil, and sticking as closely as you can to a Mediterranean diet, are a start.

Also, supplementing with some key vitamins and minerals that protect the heart is a great idea.

Sources:

Abstract P509: Olive Oil Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease — Circulation

How Just Half a Tablespoon of Olive Oil a Day Can Improve Heart Health — Healthline

The post Research confirms: Less butter and more olive oil lowers your heart disease risk appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

When I was growing up, the only cooking oil we had in our house was old fashioned vegetable oil (or sometimes Crisco).

Yup, my mom never debated the pros and cons of different cooking oils or what they could or couldn’t do for our health. She just picked up the same oil her mom had used for cooking when she was growing up.

Yet, those oils that were once so popular have now been linked to everything from heart disease and diabetes, to obesity and even cancer.

Now, even people who once simply grabbed that bottle of vegetable oil as they walked by can be seen standing in the oil aisle trying to decide which oil to buy that not only won’t put their health at risk but may even help them get healthier…

My mom included.

And, if you’ve been struggling with the same decision, I’ll tell you what I told her…

For my money, it’s hard to beat olive oil.

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A long-term staple in Mediterranean cuisine

You’ve probably heard of the Mediterranean diet.

Basically, it brings into play the way people in countries like Italy have been eating for centuries and includes plenty of fruits, veggies, and legumes, along with a healthy dose of, you guessed it – olive oil as its primary source of fat.

And, it’s now considered one of the best diets for your health since it is linked to a lower risk of:

• Cancer, including colorectal
• Blood sugar problems
• Stroke
• Cholesterol issues
• High blood pressure

In fact, even the famed Mayo Clinic calls the Mediterranean diet “heart-healthy”.

And, you know what…

That olive oil that goes along with the diet has even been independently proven to confer all of those benefits – not just the diet as a whole, thanks to its high antioxidant content!

In fact, extra virgin olive oil shows a unique composition of fatty acids with a higher content of antioxidants, known as polyphenols, than other edible oils.

Yet, there’s always been a question…

Can you still get all the benefits from olive oil if you cook with it? Or, does it only work if you consume it straight out of the bottle… as dressing over salad or vegetables?

Now, thanks to a new study, we have the answer.

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Reduced but still potent

The study, by researchers at the University of Barcelona, was the first to analyze how heating, under the same conditions that would occur in your kitchen at home (not a laboratory), affects the antioxidants that make olive oil so healthy.

The team used the oil to sauté for both short and long periods of time at both 248°F and 338°F.

And, the results came down to this…

While the cooking process did reduce the levels of polyphenols in the oil, especially at the higher temperature, the oil still had plenty to spare.

According to the researchers, even after cooking at that 338° temperature, the concentration of antioxidants still met all of the parameters set for good health, including protecting your heart against the oxidation of bad (LDL) cholesterol.

So, it seems that even when you’re cooking, olive oil is a healthy choice for a healthy life.

However, remember a couple of very important tips when buying your oil: First, look for olive oil in a dark glass bottle or opaque tin and be sure to store it in a cool, dark place since light and heat are the enemies of oil longevity.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

What is the Mediterranean diet? — Medical News Today

Mediterranean diet: A heart-healthy eating plan — Mayo Clinic

5 healthy cooking oils and how to use them in the kitchen — Easy Health Options®

Extra olive virgin oil keeps healthy properties when used for cooking — EurekAlert

Ingredient in Olive Oil Looks Promising in the Fight Against Cancer — Rutgers University

Extra virgin olive oil lowers blood glucose and cholesterol, study finds — Diabetes

7 Superfoods that Can Reduce Your Risk of Stroke — Olive Oil Times

9 Pro Tips on How to Buy and Use Good Olive Oil — Food & Wine

The post The oil that’s packed with antioxidant power even after cooking appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Dietary fat used to be the scapegoat for heart disease, obesity, diabetes, premature aging — you name it. All the bad things got blamed on fat.

Now we know the opposite is true… eating fat is one of the best things you can do to stay young and healthy. In fact, healthy fats may even top antioxidants as the most effective nutrient for fending off disease and aging.

I know that’s a bold claim considering antioxidants are powerful compounds proven again and again to decrease disease risk and ward off the oxidative stress that contributes to physical aging. But I’m feeling bold. And here’s why…

A new study found that the fat in olive oil may be the reason the Mediterranean diet increases your lifespan.

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Olive oil is the shining star of the Mediterranean diet… but there’s a catch

Whether you’ve tried the Mediterranean diet yourself or not, I’m sure you’ve heard good things about it. Study after study shows this diet can reduce your risk of age-related diseases like heart disease, dementia, and diabetes and lengthen your lifespan.

Now, for a long time, researchers gave the credit for these amazing benefits to a powerful antioxidant in red wine, berries, and grapes — resveratrol. But now they’re taking back all the accolades they gave to resveratrol and giving them to olive oil instead. Why?

Related: 5 healthy cooking oils and how to use them in the kitchen

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School performed a study that found olive oil activated a certain pathway in cells known to increase lifespan and prevent aging-related diseases… the same pathway researchers used to believe resveratrol activated.

The study was performed on animals and in test tubes, so researchers still have to figure out how it translates to humans. But if it does, it could mean that olive oil is the shining star of the Mediterranean diet.

But there’s a catch…

Olive oil only has its disease-fighting, age-defending powers if it’s combined with fasting, calorie-cutting and/or exercising. Let me explain how it works…

Researchers found that the fat in olive oil gets stored in lipid droplets in our cells (lipid droplets are like little fat storage containers). When you fast, exercise or cut calories, the fat gets broken down and signals that pathway I mentioned earlier that increases lifespan and prevents age-related diseases. So, if you have the fat, but it doesn’t get broken down, you don’t get the same benefits. That’s why you need exercise or a calorie reduction too.

Eat more olive oil… Mediterranean diet or not

Most people who switch to the Mediterranean diet automatically get the age and disease-defying benefits of olive oil. Why?

Because people tend to move to the Mediterranean diet from less healthy diets that include junk and processed foods. When they start eating mostly fresh, whole foods, they eat fewer calories… Whether they intentionally cut calories or not. People on the Mediterranean diet are also trying to live a healthy lifestyle, which usually means they’re exercising already too.

But if you’re not interested in going fully Monty Mediterranean, based on this study, you could hypothetically reap the disease and aging benefits of the Mediterranean diet just by eating more olive oil… as long as you watch your calorie intake and exercise. Just buy a bottle of EVOO, download a calorie counting app and call it a day.

Get a $39 bottle of Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil for a buck

Just $1 — Click here!

You should know, however, that extra virgin olive oil is best eaten raw. You can drizzle it over salads and other dishes. You can even add a tablespoon or two to a smoothie without affecting the taste.

But because it has a low smoke point — 325 to 375 degrees F. — it starts to oxidize or break down if cooked at this temperature and loses some of its health benefits. If you want to cook with olive oil, use pure olive oil, which can withstand the heat a little better.

Editor’s Note: If you just pay $1 to help cover the shipping costs… The Olive Oil Hunter, TJ Robinson, will send you a complimentary $39 bottle of one of the greatest olive oils I’ve ever tasted… You must check this out

Sources:

Researchers discover Mediterranean diet ingredient may extend life — MedicalXpress

Lipid Droplet-Derived Monounsaturated Fatty Acids Traffic via PLIN5 to Allosterically Activate SIRT1 — Molecular Cell

What is the Mediterranean diet? — Medical News Today

The post Move over resveratrol, this healthy fat fights aging better appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Should you go with classic — but controversial — canola? Hip hempseed? Antioxidant-rich avocado?

Personally, I’d stick with an old standby — olive oil. But even then, you have to decide whether it’s worth it to splurge for the “extra virgin” variety. My advice? It is.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is lower in chemicals and free radicals and higher in antioxidants and healthy fats. That’s probably why it’s tied to so many impressive health benefits…

Like lower cholesterol, a reduced risk of heart disease and even a lower risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

The last one on the list is a biggie. Losing memory and cognitive abilities is a huge fear for most people. So, if a spoonful of EVOO here and there can make a difference in your dementia risk, it’s very good news…

How EVOO protects the brain

Researchers from Temple University just discovered that extra virgin olive oil can help protect mice from dangerous protein build-up in the brain.

There’s a popular theory that the accumulation of a protein called tau in the brain contributes to cognitive decline and dementia. And in this study, researchers found that extra virgin olive oil helps reduce the accumulation of tau.

In the study, researchers modified the genes of mice to make them prone to tau build-up. Then they split these mice into two groups. One group received a diet that included lots of extra virgin olive oil and the other received a normal diet.

Researchers started these diets when the mice were six months old and had them follow the diets for a year. That would be like starting an extra virgin olive oil-rich diet at 30 years old and continuing until about 60 years old as a human.

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After that year was up, researchers checked the mice’s brains for tau deposits. And guess what?

Mice getting plenty of EVOO had less tau build-up in their brains. They also had better cognitive abilities. And they scored higher in memory tests.

Researchers said the EVOO improved synaptic activity (the connection between brain cells) and short‐term neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to change, grow and learn new things) too.

This isn’t the first study these researchers conducted on brain health and extra virgin olive oil. In a past study, they found that mice prone to Alzheimer’s disease had less memory loss and cognitive impairment when they ate extra virgin olive oil. It also reduced the amount of amyloid protein in the brain, another protein tied to Alzheimer’s disease.

“EVOO has been a part of the human diet for a very long time and has many benefits for health, for reasons that we do not yet fully understand,” said senior researcher Domenico Praticò. “The realization that EVOO can protect the brain against different forms of dementia gives us an opportunity to learn more about the mechanisms through which it acts to support brain health.”

Going gung-ho for EVOO

Clearly, EVOO has amazing potential when it comes to brain health. In fact, it’s part of the reason the Mediterranean diet is considered so good for the brain. The Mediterranean diet is chock-full of EVOO, after all.

If you want to incorporate more extra virgin olive oil in your diet, there’s no better time. And there are plenty of simple ways to do that…

You can make (or buy) salad dressing that includes EVOO. Use EVOO for cooking instead of other oils or butter. Or dip bread in EVOO (my personal favorite) for an appetizer or snack. You can even add a spoonful or two of EVOO to your fruit smoothie without it changing the taste.

If you need more EVOO inspiration, here are a few specific recipes to get you started:

• Marinated Cannellini Beans
• Superfood Detox Salad
• Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions
• Cucumber, Tomato, and Onion Salad

Editor’s Note: If you just pay $1 to help cover the shipping costs… The Olive Oil Hunter, TJ Robinson, will send you a complimentary $39 bottle of one of the greatest olive oils I’ve ever tasted… You must check this out

Sources:

Temple study shows extra virgin olive oil staves off multiple forms of dementia in mice — EurekAlert

Extra virgin olive oil may protect against various dementias — Medical News Today

Is extra virgin olive oil better than olive oil? — Medical News Today

The post A lot more EVOO means a lot less dementia-causing brain protein appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Stroke is the third most frequent killer, and the leading cause of serious, long-term disability.

This isn’t news to you, I’m sure. Here are some other grim statistics:

• About 610,000 people die of heart disease yearly. That’s 1 in 4 deaths.
• More than 140,000 people each year suffer a fatal stroke.
• Every year, 735,000 Americans have a heart attack.

Of those 735,000 heart attack victims, 525,000 have never had a heart attack before.

The good news there is that if you’ve already suffered a heart attack, you don’t have to become a sad statistic. But better than that would be avoiding ever having one in the first place.

One thing that might help you do that is adding this heart-loving oil to your diet…

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Add this oil to your diet to avoid blood clots

The results of an observational study presented to the American Heart Association this month strongly suggest that eating olive oil at least once a week is associated with less platelet activity in the blood.

Platelets are those pesky little things that tend to stick together and clot, blocking arteries and causing strokes and heart attacks.

Dr. Sean P. Heffron of the NYU Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease used food frequency surveys to find out how often a group of 63 obese, non-smoking, non-diabetic adults was eating olive oil.

Those who reported eating olive oil at least once a week had lower platelet activation than those who ate it less frequently.

“People who are obese are at increased risk of having a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular events, even if they don’t have diabetes or other obesity-associated conditions. Our study suggests that choosing to eat olive oil may have the potential to help modify that risk, potentially lowering an obese person’s threat of having a heart attack or stroke,” Heffron said.

In 2017, a similar study was carried out on a smaller level. That study, published in the Journal of Functional Foods, found that olive oil demonstrated anti-platelet effects in 10 healthy men in a randomized trial.

Does this mean that, if you eat more olive oil, you won’t have a stroke or heart attack?

It definitely supports other evidence that we already have…

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Is olive oil better than statins?

A 2013 study at the University of Barcelona looked at almost 7500 people, all of whom were at risk for heart attack because they were smokers, were obese, or had diabetes.

Subjects were divided into three groups and assigned one of three diets:

• A Mediterranean diet supplemented by 4 tablespoons of olive oil daily
• A Mediterranean diet supplemented by nuts
• A control diet

The people who added olive oil to their diet reduced their chances of heart attack by 30 percent. The results were so clear that the study was ended early!

Now, most of the people in the study were already taking statins, yet still saw a reduction in their risk. That’s because we know that a Mediterranean diet can make statins more effective.

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

Heart Disease Facts — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Stroke Statistics — Internet Stroke Center

Once a week Olive oil may lower risk of heart attack or stroke in obese — Speciality Medical Dialogues

Oleocanthal-rich extra virgin olive oil demonstrates acute anti-platelet effects in healthy men in a randomized trial — The Greek Olive Estate

Eating olive oil once a week may be associated with making blood less likely to clot in obese people — Medical Xpress

Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet — The New England Journal of Medicine

Mediterranean Diet Shown to Ward Off Heart Attack and Stroke — The New York Times

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Maybe you thought you were counteracting all the health benefits of those fresh veggies with something fat-filled and tasty.

Well, you weren’t.

Sure, dressing adds more calories to your meal, but it also adds more nutrients…

And I’m not just talking about the nutrients within the dressing itself. It turns out, the fat in salad dressings can help you absorb the nutrients from your vegetables better, too.

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Fats ramp up nutrient absorption

Researchers from Iowa State University recently confirmed that adding oil to salad vegetables increases your absorption of eight health-giving micronutrients.

These nutrients include the disease-fighting carotenoids alpha and beta carotene, lutein and lycopene, as well as vitamin A and two forms of vitamin E and vitamin K.

The study included 12 young women who ate salads with varying amounts of soybean oil, which is the oil typically used in salad dressings. Surprisingly, researchers found that the more dressing the women ate, the more nutrients they absorbed.

“The best way to explain it would be to say that adding twice the amount of salad dressing leads to twice the nutrient absorption,” said lead researcher Wendy White, an associate professor of food science and human nutrition at Iowa State.

Of course, moderation is still important when it comes to dressing. Although researchers said that nutrient absorption continued to increase as the amount of oil on the salad did, they only measured the correlation with a maximum of 32 grams of oil. That’s a little more than two tablespoons.

Two tablespoons should be plenty for most salads, so don’t dump that bottle of dressing out onto your salad haphazardly. It will add a lot more calories (not to mention make your salad soggy), without necessarily adding more health benefits.

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The healthiest fat for your salad

Now, this study used soybean oil, but I’m willing to bet the results could be duplicated with other oils too — it’s all about getting those healthy fats.

You see most vegetables contain little to no fat, but some of the nutrients in vegetables — like carotenoids — are fat soluble. That means, your body needs fat to absorb them.

When it comes to dressing your salad, soybean oil probably isn’t the healthiest choice. It does hypothetically have some health benefits. It contains nutrients like vitamin E, vitamin K and omega fatty acids.

But soybean oil is used in tons of processed food, including less-than-healthy processed salad dressings. It’s often partially hydrogenated and genetically modified. Studies even show that it can lead to metabolic imbalances, insulin resistance, diabetes and weight gain in mice.

So opt for healthier oils on your salad like extra virgin olive oil, walnut oil or grapeseed oil. They’ll give you the fat you need without any hidden health risks.

The post For health’s sake, stop scrimping on the salad dressing appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

It fights heart disease, reduces your risk of diabetes, fights osteoporosis, and wards off depression, among other remarkable feats.

But if all that weren’t enough, olive oil has one more enticing trick up its sleeve…

It’s a powerful cancer-fighter.

You may have heard that taking just a tablespoon of olive oil per day could help you prevent breast cancer.

In fact, my colleague Jedha Dening shared some impressive information on this very subject, including one randomized controlled study that found olive oil can reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer by 68 percent.

She also shared information about a 2015 study in which a compound in olive oil known as oleocantha was shown to cause rapid death in cancer cells.

And now, additional evidence has come to light supporting the notion that more olive oil may mean less cancer…

Olive oil vs. brain cancer

University of Edinburgh researchers recently discovered that a compound in olive oil called oleic acid could potentially prevent brain cancer.

In their study, these researchers found that oleic acid impacts the production of a cell protein, known as miR-7. This particular protein, which is present in your brain, is known to prevent the formation of tumors. Olive oil supports the production of miR-7 by stopping another protein, MSI2, from hampering its production.

Researchers tested the oleic acid on human cells in a lab, so there’s no way to know for sure what impact oleic acid would have on preventing cancer in an actual human brain. But these results seem encouraging, especially considering the other studies that point toward olive oil’s cancer-fighting abilities.

“While we cannot yet say that olive oil in the diet helps prevent brain cancer, our findings do suggest that oleic acid can support the production of tumor-suppressing molecules in cells grown in the lab. Further studies could help determine the role that olive oil might have in brain health,” said researcher Dr. Gracjan Michlewski.

Understanding olive oil’s beneficial compounds

Oleic acid (also known as omega 9) is one of three fatty acids found in olive oil. It also contains omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, which have worthwhile benefits in their own right. These three oils combined create a powerful anti-inflammatory effect that likely contributes to olive oil’s health benefits, including its impact on cancer.

Besides these essential fatty acids, olive oil also contains a host of antioxidant polyphenols. As you know, polyphenols are one of the most powerful and scientifically-proven cancer-fighters around, so these also have a hand in olive oil’s cancer-fighting power. In fact, one of olive oil’s polyphenols is oleocantha — the compound that killed cancer cells in a laboratory setting.

So, if you want to play it safe when it comes to cancer, get your daily dose of olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is best because it has the most polyphenols. You can cook with it, but it’s an even better idea to eat it raw. You can drizzle it over any dish you’d like, including salads, pasta or hummus. Or you can even eat it by the spoonful to reap its benefits. You don’t need a lot. One to two tablespoons per day should do the trick.

Sources:

1. “Olive Oil Health Benefits.” — Olive Oil Times. Retrieved June 2, 2017.

2. “Olive oil nutrient may help prevent brain cancer.” — MedicalXpress. Retrieved June 2, 2017.

3. Kumar, et al. “Oleic Acid Induces MiR-7 Processing through Remodeling of Pri-MiR-7/Protein Complex.” — Journal of Molecular Biology, 2017.

4. “Omega-3, 6, and 9 and How They Add Up.” — University of Colorado- Colorado Springs. Retrieved June 2, 2017.

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