The Mediterranean Diet

MEDITERRANEAN DIET AND EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL


Having established that there are valid certainties to affirm that the Mediterranean Diet is able to protect from many and serious diseases, it is appropriate to reiterate an important concept. The Mediterranean food model, or the Mediterranean diet if we want to define it that way, includes in all the regions considered (Italy, Spain, Greece) a common characteristic, that is, extra virgin olive oil .


We can outline the following in summary:




  • 1. Epidemiological studies suggest that the Mediterranean diet, rich in extra virgin olive oil , reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

  • 2. The Mediterranean diet is able to positively modulate those variables that constitute risk factors and conditions for cardiovascular diseases such as lipid profile, arterial hypertension, and glycemic metabolism (or blood sugar metabolism)
La Dieta Mediterranea

  • 3. In the countries generally considered (Italy, Spain, Greece), where extra virgin olive oil is the main source of dietary fat, the incidence of tumors is significantly lower than in Northern European countries.

  • 4. According to recent studies, the Mediterranean Diet, based, as we repeat, on the presence of extra virgin olive oil as the main source of dietary fats, is compatible with a healthy life and increased longevity.



    • In this regard, a very interesting observation consists in the presumed protective action of olive oil from some neoplasms. It is possible to hypothesize a molecular action of olive oil that concerns the monounsaturated fatty acid (oleic) that would possess the capacity to specifically regulate the expressivity of cancer-related oncogenes. It has been observed that the addition of physiological concentrations of oleic acid to breast cancer cell cultures has suppressed the super expressivity of a well-defined oncogene that plays a key role in the onset, progression, evolution, and response to chemotherapy and endocrinological therapy in approximately 20% of breast cancer cases (Colomer and Menendez, 2006).



    By Dr. Claudio Massimo De Micheli,
    endocrinologist and diabetologist


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