Olive Oil Has Protective Effect on Colorectal Cancer
The Mediterranean diet, in which olive oil is the principle contributor to dietary fat (about 30%) has been shown to reduce the risks of heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer. This further supports this dietary pattern as being one of the healthiest on the planet. What is interesting in this study was that fish increased the risk of colon cancer. It would be interesting to compare types of fish to risks, as many types of fish have become contaminated with heavy metals.
J Epidemiol Community Health 2000;54:756-760 Olive oil, perhaps through its influence on secondary bile acid patterns in the colon, appears to protect against the development of colorectal cancer, according to research from Oxford University, in the UK. Meat and fish consumption, on the other hand, are positively associated with bowel cancer. “The model of meat, fish and olive oil accounted for 76% of the variation in colorectal cancer incidence between countries,” the investigators write. Vegetable consumption lost significance in the model once olive oil was included. The authors suggest that meat increases deoxycholic acid in the colon and rectum, inhibiting diamine oxidase, which is thought to have a role in colonic mucosal proliferation. Olive oil may reduce deoxycholic acid, increasing the availability of diamine oxidase and protecting against “mucosal turnover, polyp formation, and the adenoma/carcinoma sequence.”