Olive Oil May Help Fight Cancer Olive oil intake can lower systolic blood pressure, according to a study I told you about in the e-Alert "Big & Tall" (9/15/07). And as HSI members know, this is just the latest of many studies that have shown olive oil consumption to be beneficial to cardiovascular health. Now a new study from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark suggests that olive oil might help prevent certain cancers. Researchers asked 182 healthy men to consume a quarter cup of olive oil each day. At the beginning and end of the two-week intervention, researchers tested each subject to measure levels of a compound known as 8oxodG - a marker that indicates oxidative damage to DNA, which can set the stage for cancer development. On average, the men reduced 8oxodG by 13 percent. Researchers were surprised by one aspect of the results. The subjects were divided into three groups to receive three types of olive oil with different levels of antioxidant phenols. They expected a greater 8oxodG drop in the group that consumed olive oil with high phenol levels, but that wasn't the case, opening the question: Is there some other factor - or combination of factors - that makes olive oil a potential cancer fighter? Source: "Olive Oil May Hinder Cancer Process" Amy Norton, Reuters Health, 12/19/06, reutershealth.com | 
