Title: Olive Oil Consumption Effects on Cardiovascular Health
Authors: Cindy Nguyen, MAMSc; Han Le, MAMSc; Elena Granados, MAMSc
Introduction
Olive oil is a prominent cooking oil that is commonly incorporated into everyday meals. Studies have shown that the consumption of olive oil is beneficial for cardiovascular (CV) health. Due to its popular use in the Mediterranean diet, we studied the effects of olive oil specifically on inflammation in men and women of ages 19-44. Since inflammation is deleterious to CV health, various inflammatory biomarkers were measured. The purpose of this literature review is to assess the effects of olive oil consumption on these inflammatory biomarkers which provide an indicator of CV health in adults.
Methods
We collected data from the National Library of Medicine pertaining to the consumption of olive oil and its effect on CV health. We filtered for articles on PubMed from 2011-2021 and included adult men and women within the age range of 19-44. The search string consisted of keywords for olive oil cardiovascular health, olive oil cardiovascular disease, and the inflammation biomarkers of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). We found 11 articles that met our criteria.
Results
Our research indicates that olive oil’s phenolic compounds reduce the pro-inflammatory biomarkers of CRP and IL-6 which have been associated with fewer risks of cardiovascular diseases. The polyphenols from olive oil also play an important role in decreasing the CV disease (CVD) risk markers of LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and LDL-P/HDL-P (LDL- particles/ high-density lipoprotein particles). Individuals adhering to the Mediterranean diet have been associated with improved lipid profiles, significantly less CVD, and a reduction in the overall mortality by 71%-73%.
Discussion
Based on these findings, we believe that daily consumption of phenol rich olive oil helps reduce CVD risk.
Thanks for discussing this interesting topic. As one of the judges for your poster, I was wondering why you limited the age range to 19-44, especially since cardiovascular health effects may not be very common in 19 or 20 year old individuals. Also, in the articles that looked at the Mediterranean diet as a whole, how were the effects of olive oil teased out from other aspects of the diet? And is there a difference in the health benefits between the different types of olive oil? Thanks!
Thanks for this presentation, I am one of your judges. During your literature review, did you find any effect of olive oil on the increase of anti-inflammatory markers?
Thank you for your presentation. I am one of the judges evaluating your presentation. Did the literature you reviewed specifically address olive oil consumption or the Mediterranean Diet and/or population?