|
The
results of a case-control study (Linos et al, 1999)
confirms the finding of a previous study in Greece,
which showed that risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
is inversely associated with consumption of olive oil.
Moreover, this study extend these observations by showing
that lifelong consumption of olive oil and consumption
of cooked vegetables is independently associated with
risk of developing RA. There is a strong possibility
that this protective effect is attributed to the relatively
high unsaturated fatty acid content of olive oil. The
dietary benefits of olive oil may also be attributed,
at least in part, to the presence of natural antioxidants.
This
study showed that lifelong consumption of olive oil
and consumption of cooked vegetables is independently
associated with risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
A
study develop by Serrano, et al (1997) provides evidence
in man that a 30-day period of diets containing olive
oil, a source of dietary lipids with the highest proportion
of oleic acid, results in attenuated gastric acid secretion
in response to a liquid meal when compared with those
containing sunflower oil, a fat high in polyunsaturated
fatty acid content. This was indicated by the slower
drop in intragastric pH after the ingestion of the meal.
|
 |
Solfrizzi
et al. (1999) studied the relationships between dietary
macronutrient intakes and age related changes in cognitive
functions. They investigated these associations in the
prevalence survey (1992 through 1993) of the Italian
Longitudinal Study on Aging. The population-based sample
was 5,632 subjects, ages 65 to 84 years. There was an
inverse relationship between monounsaturated fatty acids
energy intake and cognitive decline. They concluded
that in an elderly population of Southern Italy with
a typical Mediterranean diet, high monounsaturated fatty
acids intake appeared to be protective against age-related
cognitive decline.
References
|
Garg,
A. High-monounsaturated-fat diets for patients
with diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 67(suppl):
577S-582S, 1998.
Griffin
M. E., et al. Non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus:
dietary monounsaturated fatty acids and low-density
lipoprotein composition and function. Quarterly
Journal of Medicine, Vol. 89: 211-216, 1996.
Gumbiner
B., et al. Effects of a Monounsaturated fatty
Acid-Enriched Hypocaloric Diet on cardiovascular
Risk factors in Obese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.
Diabetes Care, Vol. 21, Number 1, January 1998.
Hu
F., et al. Dietary fat intake and the risk of
coronary heart disease in women. The New England
Journal of Medicine. Vol. 337, pages 1491-1499,
1997. Keys A., et al. The diet and 15-year death
rate in the Seven Countries Study. American Journal
of Epidemiology. Vol. 124, pages 903-915, 1986.
Lahoz
C., et al. Las dietas enriquecidas en ácidos grasos
monoinsaturados y ácidos grasos poliinsaturados
omega-3 disminuyen la presión arterial, sin modificar
la concentración de insulina plasmática en sujetos
sanos. Medicina Clínica (Barcelona). Vol. 112,
pages 133-137, 1999.
|
|
Overall,
high monounsaturated fat diets increase HDL cholesterol concentrations
without adversely affecting LDL cholesterol concentrations.
High monounsaturated fat diets may also reduce the susceptibility
of LDL particles to oxidation and therefore reduce their atherogenic
potential. Furthermore, a high monounsaturated fat diet should
not induce weight gain in patients provided that energy intake
is controlled. Therefore, this dietary approach can be recommended
to type 2 diabetes patients who are trying to maintain or
lose weight (Garg, 1998; Gumbiner et al, 1998).
