"Popeye, Don't You Think You Should Try Something New for Lunch?"

Olive oil diet cuts your risk of cancer

A new study suggests that consuming 5 teaspoons of olive oil - either virgin, common or refined - reduces one's risk of developing cancer. Here's how they came to this conclusion:

People in Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy live longer than those in other European countries, while rates of breast, colon, ovarian and prostate cancer are much lower.

Very interesting, but we already know this. Would a volunteer please raise his or her hand and ask "Why?"

Dr [Henrik] Poulsen and his team at Copenhagen University Hospital studied a large group of healthy men aged 20 to 60 from five European countries. The scientists then added olive oil to their diet over a period of two weeks. At the end of the study, they measured levels of 8oxodG a substance in urine which indicates oxidative damage to cells.

The "oxidative damage causes cancer premise" states that carcinogens such as tobacco smoke, ionizing radiation and certain naughty foodstuffs promote the generation of reactive oxygen species which have the nerve to reshuffle our precise nucleotide pairs into mutagenic little strips of DNA that initiate carcinogenesis. 8-oxodeoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) is a biomarker of oxidative damage to DNA that is removed from the intracellular milieu and excreted in the urine as part of the body's ubiquitous damage-control policy. Studies have shown that the higher the level of 8-oxodG in the urine, the greater the risk of developing certain diseases, including cancer. So what's the deal with olive oil?

Men who consumed just 25ml of olive oil a day showed a 13 per cent drop in 8oxodG. Significantly, men from northern Europe had higher levels of 8oxodG to start with - supporting the theory that a Mediterranean diet cuts the risk of cancer

Papa, get the horses hitched up - we're going into town right now to buy a couple of barrels of the stuff - from a reputable merchant, of course.

Ah, Mama, can't I get the same health benefits from the fruit itself?

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Seems to me we N Europeans have many strikes against us, health-wise. That is the price I pay for blue eyes and blonde hair...8-)
I am learning to like olive oil.
I have already learned to like blueberries.
I did read somewhere that mushrooms have more antioxidants than even the above mentioned fruits.
Order a veggie pizza with the martini.
Happy New Year, to all!

Except I have eaten olive oil everyday for all of my adult life; I even breastfed my babies and I still got breast cancer. They need to keep trying.

Hey, Emmy --

They studied men. Let them try it in women and see what kind of results they get. BTW: I breastfed and got the same result as you. Hang in there.

Oh no!! I don't have "permission" to view your link for "naughty foodstuffs" but would be really interested in seeing what it says. Which naughty foodstuffs is the article discussing??

Jo's Boys:

The hair-raising menu item (loaded with carcinogenic heterocyclic amines) that I intimated was a well-grilled hamburger patty.

Yikes!

A grilled hamburger is carcinogenic? How is that possible? Is it the meat itself or the grilling of the meat? And does it have to be "well grilled" or can it be medium rare? Because I like mine medium rare, and therefore I'm sure there's less harm, right? :)