Olive Oil Suppresses a Breast Cancer Gene

As of today this article that I found through ABC news which focuses on research done by Spanish researchers, discovering what they say are “anti-cancer chemicals in extra-virgin olive oil” and its relation to breast cancer, is the most exciting and interesting article based on the Mediterranean Diet that I’ve seen thus far. I thought I’d share what I learned from their research. This news basically shows that the anti-cancer chemicals that are found in extra-virgin olive oil is linked to the healthiness of an olive oil-rich Mediterranean diet and how studies have shown that it reduces one’s risk of breast cancer. In terms of the study, the Spanish researchers “separated extra-virgin olive oil into fractions and tested these against breast cancer cells in the lab.” Olives contain phytochemicals which can be found in antioxidants.


During testing they were able to find that “all the fractions that contained major extra-virgin phytochemical polyphenols effectively inhibited the breast cancer gene HER2.” These major complex phenols found in the extra-virgin olive oil has shown to have a drastic effect on the cancer gene so that it “suppresses [the] overexpression” of the cancer gene. Studies are still trying to find out how this can be better applied to individuals since the amount of consumption that one would have to consume in order for this to take effect is unlikely. A positive note to this finding is that with the addition of extra-virgin oil into your diet as long as you are consuming other “significant amount of [phytochemicals]” then all-in-all this would be an “excellent and safe platform for the design of new anti-breast cancer drugs.” It’s fascinating to learn the new discoveries that researchers find everyday especially when it shows that aspects of the Mediterranean Diet are involved.





Reference:

[1] Preidt, Robert. “Phenols in Quality Olive Oil Suppress Breast Cancer Gene.”
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=6485187&page=1