Heart Health Awareness Month – Clinical Research Finally Confirms Heart Health Benefits of Olive Oil
- Just 20ml of raw olive oil needed each day to achieve better heart health
- Study also confirmed no other so called “healthy oils” have the same benefits
Filippo Berio, the UK’s favourite Olive Oil, is launching a campaign to encourage everyone to improve their heart health with one simple dietary addition.
The Italian company has invested in two informative videos, available on YouTube, to explain the science behind definitive studies which prove the link between improved heart health and Olive Oil consumption. It focusses on the simple message that just 20 milliliters or 4 teaspoons of Olive Oil a day can improve general health and in particular heart health.
The campaign follows unique research which has proven, for the first time, that there is a link between increased consumption of Olive Oil and improved heart health.
Watch the videos here:
Olive Oil: The Unfiltered Truth – Olive Oil and Health (PART 1)
Olive Oil: The Unfiltered Truth – A Heart Health Breakthrough (PART 2)
A recent study at Glasgow University has employed a revolutionary new way to measure the benefits of olive oil on heart health. Led by Dr Bill Mullen, Senior Research Fellow of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health, this breakthrough technology, called proteomics, has helped to prove conclusively that as little as 20ml of raw olive oil, ingested daily, can improve heart health.
Dr Mullen has been working for years to prove the benefits of healthy eating on heart health, with a particular focus on the Mediterranean diet. Previously, it had not been possible to prove the cause and effect between eating certain foods and an improvement in heart health. However, working with a new ‘multi-peptide biomarker’, Dr Mullen has now been able to prove without doubt, that adding 20ml of olive oil to a daily diet improves heart health significantly.
The distinctive methodology used in Dr Mullen’s study measures tiny levels of protein fragments in urine which, when combined together are indicators, called “bio markers”, of heart health, long before any symptoms can be detected. By measuring these bio markers during the study, Dr Mullen and his team now have evidence to show that only olive oil has a positive impact on heart health.
Additionally, the latter part of the study, in part funded by the UK’s leading olive oil brand, Filippo Berio, has revealed that other oils, including rape seed oil and sunflower oil, produce no difference to health at all – another major breakthrough.
The olive oil study was carried out in Glasgow on volunteers over a six-week period, a location chosen due to a low incidence of olive oil intake and a high incidence of heart disease. The study was double blinded, the volunteers did not know what oil they were consuming and analysts processing the samples and the data did not know which oil was being used either.
Dr Mullen says: “These results were like hitting the jackpot as far as I was concerned. Although I knew the science, it is extremely rare in nutritional research to see such strikingly positive results. And when I say positive, I mean good for heart health and statistically positive as well”.
He continues: “The results of the study were spectacular. Both extra virgin olive oil and olive oil produced significant changes after only six weeks, a change of 0.3 in the CAD biomarker score. Links between diet and good health are notoriously difficult to prove. This latest breakthrough in biomarker technology is finally changing that”.
To support consumers Filippo Berio have created a series of recipes that showcase simple ways to get that all-important 20ml of raw olive oil into their diets, from breakfast smoothies to salads and sauces.
Walter Zanre, Managing Director of Filippo Berio UK Ltd says: “We’ve always believed in the health benefits of olive oil, but it’s fantastic to see this proven conclusively at last. We’re incredibly grateful to Dr Mullen and his team for their dedication to this research and look forward to supporting consumers to make simple swaps to improve their heart health.”
Featured Photo by Juan Gomez on Unsplash.
