In a recent review Tarabanis et al. summarized the current evidence for health benefits of olive oil as a whole and aiming to single out components which confer health benefits and may even extracted for supplements. The majority of research cohorts primarily followed individuals who were 55 years or older, and who had no history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) at the beginning of the study but were at high risk for it. These studies spanned a period of 4 to 10 years and involved daily consumption of olive oil ranging from 10 to 35 grams per day. Except for the PREDIMED cohort, which specifically used extra virgin olive oil, most other studies didn’t distinguish between different types of olive oil. The results indicated a connection between higher consumption of olive oil and a reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease, lower cardiovascular mortality, and a decreased risk of stroke.
The authors note that meeting the daily intake levels of outlined in the mentioned studies would be difficult with the current market formulations of olive oil supplements, which typically contain 1-1.25 grams per capsule, and therefore much less than the reported consumption of natural olive oil. There has been limited progress in identifying the specific components of olive oil responsible for the observed health benefits, mainly due to the absence of consistent reporting on the composition and differences in large-scale human studies. To address this question, the authors propose conducting practical trials using supplements with varying compositions, such as different levels of total phenolic content, while focusing on cost-effective methodologies.
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