`Olive Oil Polyphenols Reduce Bad Cholesterol and Plaque Formation - Olive Oil Times

Olive Oil Polyphenols Reduce Bad Cholesterol and Plaque Formation

By Isabel Putinja
Jul. 20, 2015 10:14 UTC

The results of a recent study have again shown that the polyphe­nols found in olive oil reduce car­dio­vas­cu­lar risks.

Published this month in the Journal of Nutrition, the study Olive Oil Polyphenols Decrease LDL Concentrations and LDL Atherogenicity in Men in a Randomized Controlled Trial” was con­ducted by a team of Spanish, Finnish and German researchers.
See Also:Olive Oil Health Benefits
The objec­tive of the study was to deter­mine if con­sum­ing olive oil could have an effect on LDL con­cen­tra­tions and reduce them. LDLs are low-den­sity lipopro­teins, bet­ter known as bad” cho­les­terol. High LDL lev­els are asso­ci­ated with an increased risk of blocked arter­ies and heart attack.

As part of the study, 25 healthy European men aged 20 to 59 were asked to con­sume doses of olive oil which were either low in polyphe­nols (2.7mg/kg) or high in polyphe­nols (366mg/kg) for a three-week period.

Tests were then taken on the vol­un­teers to deter­mine the effects of the olive oil polyphe­nols on plasma LDL con­cen­tra­tions and athero­genic­ity, i.e. the for­ma­tion of abnor­mal fatty or lipid masses in arte­r­ial walls.

Those who con­sumed olive oil high in polyphe­nols expe­ri­enced a 12 per­cent reduc­tion in LDL con­cen­tra­tions while those tak­ing the low dose had only a 5 per­cent decrease.

The study tested on healthy young men con­cluded that the polyphe­nols in olive oil can reduce car­dio­vas­cu­lar risks by decreas­ing bad cho­les­terol lev­els and athero­genic­ity.

Polyphenols are nat­u­rally occur­ring micronu­tri­ents found not only in olive oil but also many other plant foods. Their antiox­i­dant abil­i­ties can play an impor­tant role in the pre­ven­tion of can­cer and car­dio­vas­cu­lar dis­eases.



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