Olive Oil

by Charles Platkin, PhD

Mix with Your Veggies
Researchers at King’s College London report that a combining unsaturated fats with nitrite-rich vegetables, such as olive oil and lettuce, can protect you from hypertension.  The study also explains why several prior studies have shown that a Mediterranean diet can reduce blood pressure. According to researchers, the Mediterranean diet typically includes unsaturated fats found in olive oil, nuts and avocados, with vegetables like spinach, celery and carrots, which are rich in nitrites and nitrates. “When these two food groups are combined, the reaction of unsaturated fatty acids with nitrogen compounds in the vegetables results in the formation of nitro fatty acids. The study, supported by the British Heart Foundation, used mice to investigate the process by which these nitro fatty acids lower blood pressure, looking at whether they inhibited an enzyme known as soluble Epoxide Hydrolase, which regulates blood pressure.”

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