Olive Oil Intake Tied to Reduced Mortality Marlene Busko - Medscape
go to original January 16, 2022

In an observational study of more than 90,000 US healthcare professionals, consuming even a small amount of olive oil was associated with reduced total mortality.

Compared to men and women who rarely or never consumed olive oil (the lowest intake), those who consumed greater than 0.5 tablespoon/day or more than 7 g/day (the highest intake) had a 19% lower mortality risk over a 28-year follow-up, starting from an average age of 56 years.

Moreover, compared to those with the lowest olive oil intake, those with the highest intake had a 19% lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, a 17% lower risk of dying from cancer, a 29% lower risk of dying from neurodegenerative disease, and an 18% lower risk of dying from respiratory disease during follow-up.

The researchers estimate that replacing 10 g/day of margarine, butter, mayonnaise, or dairy fat with the same amount of olive oil is associated with an 8% to 34% lower risk of death from various causes.

The study by Marta Guasch-Ferré, PhD, and colleagues was published online January 10 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Results Support Plant-Based Dietary Fat Recommendations

"Our results support current dietary recommendations to increase the intake of olive oil and other unsaturated vegetable oils in place of other fats to improve overall health and longevity," the researchers summarize.

However, "I wouldn't say that olive oil is the only way to help you live longer," Guasch-Ferré, a senior research scientist in the Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, cautioned in an interview with theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology.

"Other things are very important, such as not smoking, doing physical activity, etc, but one recommendation could be to try to eat more plant-based food including olive oil and healthy fat," she added, and to use it for cooking, salad dressing, and baking, and substitute it for saturated fat or animal fat, especially for cooking.

The study suggests that people should "consume a more plant-based diet and prioritize fatty acids such as olive oil because they have a better nutritional composition (high in phenols and antioxidants), instead of using butter or margarines or other animal fats that have been shown to have detrimental effects for health," she added, which is consistent with recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

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