Does Olive Oil Decrease Heart Attacks?

While media claims may tout olive oil as being a heart-healthy addition to the fats in your diet, nutritionists are less likely to support the claim. Olive oil, squeezed from olives, has been in use since at least 4,000 BC. Not only is it used for cooking, it has been rubbed over bodies, used as hair conditioner, lamp fuel and medicine, and included in religious rituals.

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FATS AND HEALTH

According to registered dietitian Jeffrey Novick, director of nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, Florida, olive oil, and many other fats are not actually healthful. While monounsaturated fats like olive oil are better for you than trans fats or saturated fats, that doesn't mean they actively promote or influence good heart health. You might increase heart health by replacing trans fats or unsaturated fats completely with olive oil. However, the essential fats your body needs for proper function are omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Olive oil is a high-calorie and limited source of both. Seven ounces of olive oil will meet your daily need for omega-3, but at the cost of 1,800 calories and 30 grams of saturated fat.

OLIVE OIL AND GENERAL HEART HEALTH

Two studies have shown that olive oil does not protect the heart from heart disease, nor does it increase general health. A modern study in Crete, home of the Mediterranean Diet, compared the diets of modern residents with heart disease and those free of the disease. The study concluded that those with heart disease, and therefore at greater risk of heart attacks, ate a significantly higher amount of monounsaturated fats, principally olive oil. The Nurses Health Study, an ongoing project with the Harvard Medical School and 90,000 nurse subjects, concluded that those who ate olive oil in place of other fats were only marginally healthier than people whose diets were high in saturated and trans fats.

OLIVE OIL AND ARTERY DILATION

Healthy arteries allow free blood-flow and are free of plaque. In a study by Robert Vogel, MD, et al, subjects ate several meals composed of various parts of the Mediterranean Diet. After the meal with olive oil, researchers observed that participants' dilation in their arteries was impaired. This constriction can cause damage to the lining of the arteries, leading to heart disease and possible heart attack.

OLIVE OIL AND THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

In the 1950s, researchers observed residents of Crete, finding them lean and free of heart disease. Their diets consisted of a wide range of fruits and vegetables, grains, seafood, herbs and spices and, yes, olive oil. The subjects also exercised much of the day because of their agricultural lifestyle. Diets tout olive oil as one of the key factors to health and longevity. However, University of Maryland School of Medicine researcher Dr. Robert Vogel concluded in a recent study that the true beneficial components are antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. He found these antioxidants directly responsible for providing heart protection against high-fat foods, including olive oil.

OLIVE OIL AND POLYPHENOLS

Extra virgin olive oil contains polyphenols, an antioxidant that promotes HDL, or good, cholesterol. It offers a protection against oxidative stress that can inflame the arteries and raise the risk of plaque ruptures and heart attack. Polyphenols are in all plant-based foods. One concern with relying on olive oil for your polyphenol consumption, says Novick, is that olive oil is much higher in fat and calories than other plant foods. For example, 11 calories of dark green lettuce supplies 30 mg of polyphenols -- the same as 120 calories of olive oil.