One Diet Fad That’s Actually Paying Off!:
We all hear about different health fads & recommendations pretty regularly.
-Including crazy stuff like the Big Pasta fad in the Big 80’s.
And along with them, we’ve heard things about all kinds of crazy oils, Snake oil, Krill Oil, Fish Oil, and Olive Oil.
Well science just found out something actually worthwhile about the last one…
The Big 80’s Finally Pays Big Dividends:
And it’s perhaps one of the few good things to come out of the Big 80’s pasta craze.
We now know that tons of fast carbs are a terrible idea.
-But we did get another great introduction to The Mediterranean Diet,
And its most-recommended counterpart.
Tastes Great, Less Killing:
And not-only does it taste fantastic, it helps keep people alive longer.
In a study of about 300 of them, 3 groups were put on different diets for 1 year.
1) A Low-Fat Diet
2) A Mediterranean Diet with 1oz of Nuts a day
3) A Mediterranean Diet with 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil a day.
The Strange Cholesterol Results:
So out of all of these, we actually found some strange results.
1)None of the diets increased the Quantity of good cholesterol
2)Only the Low-Fat Diet decreased all cholesterol, including the bad stuff
But here’s the wrinkliest wrinkle of the whole thing:
The people on the Olive Oil Diet had good cholesterol that was actually More Effective than anyone else’s.
Whaaat?
Olive Oil Made The Good Cholesterol Even Better:
Yup. Somehow, a part or parts of what is in the olive oil make it into the bloodstream and increase good cholesterol’s effectiveness at doing its job.
The hypothesis is that it protects the HDL and lets it help the cardio system longer
The parts of it scientists think are doing all the helping are called polyphenols.
These good-chemicals (that even make fried food healthier) were associated with better size, stability & function of all the good cholesterols.
And That Helps Fix The Main Problem A Little:
And they slowed-down the process of hardening of the arteries in 2 different ways.
What’s most encouraging about this specifically, is that this is a counteraction of The Exact Problem good cholesterols have in people at-risk for cardio-problems.
Theirs don’t tend to actually work that well.
It really is a question of Quality as much as it is Quantity.
One More (strange) Thing…:
One of the many things good cholesterol does in addition to reducing artery problems and stopping bad cholesterol from getting worse,
-it’s also an anti-inflammatory.
And somehow, the people not on the Mediterranean Diet specifically had a reduced capacity of good cholesterol to act in that way.
So without the 1-2 punch of diet-type + Olive Oil, the good stuff won’t just miss out on the boost; something else will keep things from working how they’re even normally supposed-to.
-Yup, another WTF.
The Truth Of The Mediterranean Diet Is Out There, Somewhere…:
So there you go, not only are we finding out more actual, legit reasons one old 80s health fad is actually worthwhile,
But the mystery of the Magical Mediterranean Diet just thickens every time they research it!
And I’m sure they’ll keep finding more every time they look. -Stay Tuned!
Check out all the rest of the quirky details at the Links:
Photo Credits: “Olive Oil Tasting”, by Doniree
Links:
• Source: Reuters
• via: HuffPo
• Source Studies:
•Circulation-Mediterranean Diet Improves High-Density Lipoprotein Function in High-Cardiovascular-Risk Individuals
•ArtThromVasBio-Olive Oil Polyphenols Enhance High-Density Lipoprotein Function in Humans
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