The Jewish population in Israel consumes only ½ liter per capita per annum, compared to 30 liters of other vegetable oils. The reasons are the  relatively high price of olive oil on the one hand, and consumption habits and preferences on the other. All the other vegetable oils have different chemical compositions and are distilled. This makes them much less healthy and useful to humans.

Olive oil is the foodstuff most similar in its fatty acid composition to mother’s milk. There is no substitute to olive oil in any other vegetable oil. Its diverse range of characteristics cause it to be  required consumption on a daily basis. The optimal amount is 40 ml. per day per adult. Consumption at this level will not cause obesity.

Following is a list of some of the beneficial qualities of olive oil:
    
1. Improvement of bowel movements
2. Reduction in area of internal ulcers
3. Increase in secretion of gall bladder fluids and decrease in susceptibility to gall bladder stones
4. Improved blood flow, reduces risk of heart disease
5. Skin softening, reduced risk of skin inflammation, treatment of burns, reduction in dandruff.
6. Delay of cell ageing process
7. Reduction in susceptibility to various types of cancer.
8. Reduction in deterioration of mental processes due to increased age.
9. Reduction in calcium loss.
10. Improvement in growth and development of children.

No other foodstuff contains so many preventing and healing characteristics. It is advisable to remove most of the distilled, non-saturated vegetable oils from the daily menu, and replace them with olive oil.

Can Olive Oil Prevent Cancer?

Adi Gutman-Abramson

Can olive oil prevent cancer of the breast or colon?

Research is still underway, but it is already apparent that the results should be positive.

Professor Zechariah Mader of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s School of Nutrition Science initiated such research several years ago.

The scientists involved in the research observed the influence of various vegetable oils such as avocado oil, soy oil, and olive oil on the development of cancer of the breast in laboratory rats.

The results to date indicate a reduction of 50% in the number of recorded cases of breast cancer in rats fed with olive oil, while the other oils indicated no effect whatsoever.

One of the tests carried out by the researchers, was an attempt to discover the source of these results according to the profile of fatty acids in the blood. The results clearly showed that the amount of Oleic Acid, a main ingredient of olive oil, was high in those rats that did not develop cancer.

This result allows the scientists to conclude that there is a negative correlation between the amount of Oleic Acid in the bloodstream to cancer cases. An additional study tried to determine if olive oil in the bloodstream of the mother would be transferred to offspring and if so would serve as a deterrent to cancer?

The researchers are currently testing two main hypotheses:

The first continues to check the effects on the offspring, while the second is aimed at checking the effect of virgin oil taken in conjunction with other medications in differing proportions.

Prof. Mader believes that the mix will reduce dependence on the drugs, causing a large financial saving but mainly serving to reduce drug-induced side effects. It might also prove true that the use of olive oil will provide a synergetic effect  - the research team believes that the various olive oil ingredients such as Oleic Acid and Phenolic Compounds are responsible for the positive influence of olive oil on disease.