July 22, 2010
The health benefits of a Mediterranean-style diet have been the subject of several studies.
Now Spanish researchers have found new reasons to add olive oil to your diet.
They found that virgin olive oil specifically helped slow the growth of breast cancer tumors in animals.
Olive oil seems to work by putting the brakes on a gene that drives out of control cell production and stimulates tumor growth.
They also found olive oil prevented DNA damage within cells.
On the other hand, the researchers discovered corn oil stimulated the growth of tumor cells and made them more aggressive.
Human cell studies confirm that olive oil has the same effect on people as it does on animals. In the meantime, most experts recommend around 3 tablespoons of olive oil a day to get the protective benefits.