Olive oil helps reduce inflammation in heart disease patients More evidence is in: It's hard to go wrong with a little olive oil. First a quick recap… In the e-Alert "Lower Your Blood Pressure Without Side Effects" (8/23/01), I told you about a blood fluidity study that showed how regular consumption of olive oil sautéed with chopped onions prompted a significant decrease in blood pressure. And in the e-Alert "Extra Special" (9/26/06), I looked at a study in which daily intake of extra virgin olive oil (very rich in vitamin E) raised HDL cholesterol, lowered triglyceride levels, and reduced oxidative stress markers. Recently, I happened on an olive oil study reported last year in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. When researchers in Spain tested virgin olive oil against refined olive oil on nearly 30 patients with stable coronary heart disease, they found that only the virgin olive oil reduced two key inflammation markers: C-reactive protein and interleukin-6. The Spanish team wrote: "Consumption of virgin olive oil, could provide beneficial effects in stable coronary heart disease patients as an additional intervention to the pharmacological treatment." Extra virgin olive oil is made from the first press of freshly harvested olives. The olives are cold-pressed with a minimum of refining (no heat or chemicals are used). The result is an oil with very low acidity and high levels of phenols, which contain flavonoids - biologically active compounds that are remarkably high in antioxidants. Source:
"Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Virgin Olive Oil in Stable Coronary Disease Patients: A Randomized, Crossover, Controlled Trial" European Journal of clinical Nutrition, Published online 3/21/07, nature.com | 
