Consuming a Mediterranean diet with a small amount of natural extra-virgin olive oil can reduce a woman's risk of breast cancer, based on a new study. Such a diet includes a large quantity of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts; and a small amount of cheese, fish, lean meat, and wine.
The study of 4,152 women was conducted by the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, according to Nature World Report. Findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association's (JAMA) Internal Medicine.
During the research women whose diets included extra-virgin olive oil had a risk of breast cancer that was 62 percent lower than the control group. That lasted for five years.
The study's experimental group in the clinical trial received a weekly supply of mixed nuts or extra-virgin olive oil. They also received more counseling.
Miguel Martínez-González was the lead researcher. He wrote that following an average 4.8-year follow-up, 35 cases of breast cancer were verified.
The new study's results are very solid. That is because it proved that making small changes to a healthy diet can still produce better results.
The experimental group that consumed extra oil and nuts had rates of heart attacks and strokes that were 30 per cent lower. Such foods also might have helped to prevent cognitive decline.
Breast cancer risks were also lowered by the diet. However, olive oil had a more significant effect than the mixed nuts.
In addition, the olive oil had to comprise at least 15 percent more calories to reduce cancer rates, according to NBC News. Such oil has not been processed with heat or chemicals.
The researchers explained that all types of olive oil have a high content of monounsaturated fatty acids (good fat). However, extra virgin olive oil also contains many active compounds that could prevent genetic mutations and reverse oxidation damage.
The American Cancer Society estimates that over 39,000 people in the United States will die from breast cancer this year. Only lung cancer results in more American women's deaths.
This video explains what extra-virgin olive oil is, and how it is produced: