Olive oil consumption is associated with benefits for the prevention of peripheral arterial disease, while pomace oil could promote its development.
New evidence shows that daily consumption of extra virgin olive oil offers something of a shield against peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
A newly published research on the subject led by the Spanish University of Jaén also hints at the possibility that pomace oil could pave the way to PAD.
The research was conducted by a cross-sectional analysis carried out in 4,330 participants in a wide trial involving volunteer recruitment centers and obesity support groups throughout Spain and known as PREDIMED-Plus, considered the largest Spanish trial on nutrition.
According to the study published by the magazine Atherosclerosis, the goal of the scientists has been to understand the association between the ankle-brachial index (ABI), considered a PDA marker, and olive oil and olive pomace oil consumption.
PREDIMED-Plus, a trial of lifestyle modification in individuals with overweight or obesity harboring the metabolic syndrome, has the ambition to document the health benefits of olive oil and the Mediterranean diet.
“Consumption of any category of olive oil and olive pomace oil was assessed through a validated food-frequency questionnaire,” explained the authors of the research introducing their results, and “multivariable linear regression models were fitted to assess associations between olive oil consumption and ABI.”
“Among 4,330 participants,” wrote the researchers, “the highest quintile of total olive oil consumption (sum of all categories of olive oil and olive pomace oil) was associated with higher mean values of ABI”. Still, logistic models comparing the consumption of the different olive oil types and olive pomace oil revealed an inverse association between virgin olive oils consumption and the likelihood of a low ABI, while consumption of olive pomace oil was positively associated with a low ABI.
“In this way,” the University note reads, “the researchers concluded that, in patients with high cardiovascular risk, the consumption of olive oil is associated with benefits for the prevention of peripheral arterial disease, the opposite of the consumption of pomace olive oil, which could promote its development.”
Those findings confirm the hypothesis of previous studies that hinted at a possible positive effect of the Mediterranean diet on PAD patients.
PAD is a progressive disease that brings to the narrowing of the arteries with consequent impact on the blood flow, especially on human limbs, but it can also impact on heart and brain.
A healthy diet is considered essential to a successful recovery from the condition which often follows atherosclerosis.
Source: Olive Oil Times
