17 Dec

Phenols in Quality Olive Oil Suppress Breast Cancer Gene

Good quality extra-virgin olive oil contains health-relevant chemicals, ‘phytochemicals’, that can trigger cancer cell death.
New research published in the open access journal BMC Cancer sheds more light on the suspected association between olive oil-rich Mediterranean diets and reductions in breast cancer risk.
Javier Menendez from the Catalan Institute of Oncology and Antonio Segura-Carretero from [...]

02 Oct

Olive oil the elixir of anti-aging?

By Liz Campbell & Sue Wakefield,
Jeanne Calment, a French woman, holds the record for the longest confirmed lifespan. She reportedly attributed her over 122 years and remarkably youthful appearance to olive oil, which she poured on her food and rubbed into her skin.

This could turn the anti-aging cosmetic industry upside down.
In fact, it turns out [...]

12 Jun

Good oil on taste and longevity

Know in ancient times as “juice of the gods”, olive oil has only enhanced its reputation over the years. While it may not be the ticket to immortality, there is evidence that it can lead to a longer and healthier life.
“The traditional Mediterranean diet is high in olive oil and certainly there’s evidence to suggest [...]

10 Jun

Fighting cancer with olive oil

By Kim Pierce,
Researchers with Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas recently partnered with their Italian counterparts in Naples to determine whether extra-virgin olive oil has anti-cancer properties.
Why did they suspect EVOO, cooking celebrity Rachael Ray’s shorthand for extra-virgin olive oil? The researchers noticed that populations that follow a Mediterranean diet have a lower incidence of [...]

02 May

The Top Diet . . . for Your Ticker

Which does the best job of protecting your heart: a Mediterranean-style diet or a low-fat plan?
Either approach is good for your health. But the Mediterranean type gives your ticker some extra protection. Here’s how.
Cholesterol Buster
The Mediterranean-type diet brought cardiovascular disease risk down 15% in a recent study, versus 9% for the low-fat plan. Why the [...]

04 Apr

Olive Oil Eases Ride For Bypass Patients

By Charlene Laino,
If you or a family member are scheduled for heart bypass surgery, stock up on the olive oil.
That’s the advice of Greek researchers who found that an olive-oil-rich diet may lower the risk of having a heart attack or stroke or dying from cardiovascular disease in the month after heart surgery.
“There’s a lot [...]

30 Mar

The new way to enjoy ancient olive

By Caroline Bellamy,
Olives lower blood cholesterol and are also full of antioxidants which protect the heart, the therapeutic benefits of olives and olive oil have been known for centuries, Mediterraneans have long prized the small fruit of the Olea Europaea for its health-boosting properties.
Now, those properties are being harnessed for use in supplements, tinctures, creams [...]

16 Mar

The humble olive

JAMES HIPKISS writes on the history, varieties and best ways to enjoy olives.
Most Malaysians are familiar with olive oil. It is now commonly available in ever increasing varieties in nearly all supermarkets and specialist shops.
However, the olive itself is not so commonly used here, and perhaps not so often seen in most Malaysian kitchens.
After all, [...]

05 Mar

Italian police crack down on olive oil fraud

By Malcolm Moore,
Police in Italy have arrested 23 people and confiscated 85 farms in an operation that has exposed the scale of the country’s fraudulent olive oil trade.
More than 400 officers took part in Operation Golden Oil after an investigation discovered as many as 91 people may have been involved in passing off low quality [...]

30 Dec

Oil of Life

Everybody knows that a Mediterranean diet is good for your health, and many equate this benefit with the heavy use of olive oil. But what hard scientific evidence supports this widespread belief? (Diet books don’t count.)
In the current issue of Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, University of Athens professor Antonia Trichopoulou, a medical doctor and [...]

16 Dec

Forgotten for more than a century, French olive oil back on top

Maussane les Alpilles, France — Thirty-five years ago olive-grower Raymond Gonfond pondered giving up on his olive trees — because olive oil was not selling. Now the whole world is enamoured of this green gold, which underpins the famed ‘Mediterranean diet’ … and olive-growers are prospering.
“When I was starting out, olive oil had a terrible [...]

09 Dec

Indians take to olive oil for healthier tomorrow

With lifestyle diseases like obesity and heart trouble becoming endemic in the country, Indians are increasingly taking to olive oil as the preferred cooking medium, prompting global manufacturers to eye this growing market.
According to the International Olive Council (IOC), a non-profit organisation, Indians today consume some 2,000 tonnes of olive oil per annum, but the [...]

08 Dec

Turkish Olive oil sector struck by internal fighting

Once ranking forth after Spain, Italy and Greece, Turkish olive oil production suffered a setback. Now it ranks sixth after Syria and Tunisia. As olive oil consumption is on the rise world wide globally, efforts are underway to increase Turkey’s share in global production. But the necessary transition to modern harvesting is slow and the [...]

24 Oct

IOC launches campaign in India

The International Olive Council (IOC) has launched a promotion campaign in India with an interactive media workshop that was held on September 20, 2007 at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi.
The workshop aimed to provide in-depth information on olive oil and table olives as well as provide about their health and nutritional aspects. Franco Oliva, deputy [...]

08 Oct

Drought to seal fate of Turkey’s black gold

Drought adversely affected agriculture everywhere around the Mediterranean this year and vegetable production has suffered one of its worst seasons. Livelihood of millions in the Marmara and Aegean regions of Anatolia, olive production has dropped dramatically due to scourging heat.
The production of the olive, commonly described as “black gold” in many provinces across Anatolia’s Marmara [...]