Study Finds Olive Oil Better than Medication for Heart Disease

According to preliminary results of a Spanish study part of PREDIMED, a long-term nutritional intervention study aimed to assess the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet in the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, virgin olive oil is more effective in reducing heart disease than drugs.

Researchers are reporting that a Mediterranean diet enriched with virgin olive oil or nuts can reverse arteriosclerosis in carotid arteries in just one year.

The study included 187 participants over the age of 55 who were randomly assigned to 3 groups; the olive oil group followed the Mediterranean diet supplemented with 15 liters of virgin olive oil per three months which corresponded to about 10 tablespoons a day, the nut group also followed the Mediterranean diet with 30 grams (about 1 ounce) a day of walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts, and the low fat diet group which were given instructions and material to follow a low-fat diet.

All the volunteers had the thickness of the artery walls of their carotid arteries measured, both at the beginning of the study and at the end of a year. “We thus observed who had suffered the greatest thickening of this layer, due to arteriosclerosis, a significant improvement and regression of lesions having taken place in those cases that had followed a Mediterranean diet enriched with virgin olive oil or nuts. This improvement was not observed amongst those who did not have thickening of the artery wall at the start of the study,” according to Dr. Ana Sánchez-Tainta, one of the researchers.

From the results it was concluded that “a modification in the entire diet pattern managed to achieve, in just one year, results that pharmaceutical drugs did not – even after two years of treatment.”

Lower Risk of Alzheimer's Disease with The Mediterranean Diet

Q. We have heard that people who drink fruit and vegetable juice have a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. Are veggie juices as good as fruit juices? What about wine?
A. Several studies suggest that food could play a role in the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. A Mediterranean diet has been associated with less cognitive impairment and dementia (Current Alzheimer's Research, August 2011). In particular, a diet high in nonstarchy vegetables, fruits, nuts and berries seems to be somewhat protective (Journal of Nutrition, Sept. 1, 2009).
Tomatoes are rich in antioxidant compounds, and so are berries, tea, cocoa, pomegranates and wine. New research suggests that moderate social drinking, particularly wine, also may reduce the likelihood of developing cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease (Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment online, Aug. 11, 2011).

Q. Back in 2005, I had a horrible persistent cough. After a CT scan, I was told it looked like lymphoma and referred to a specialist to evaluate the swollen lymph nodes and multiple nodules in my lungs.
The specialist did a biopsy and diagnosed sarcoidosis. We knew nothing about this disease and immediately began online research. The doctor wanted to start me on corticosteroids, but I am already overweight and have mild high blood pressure, and feared the steroids would make that worse.
My wife, Pam, came across some reports of sarcoidosis being treated effectively with low doses of antibiotics. At my next visit, she gave the doctor printouts of her research. He looked it over and described it as "quackery."
Pam is quite persuasive, however. She convinced the doctor just to try the treatment. He prescribed minocycline, a drug commonly used for acne.
Within six weeks, my cough was gone. X-rays showed no lymph-node swelling and no nodules. The doctor is now using the treatment on other patients with sarcoidosis.
A. Sarcoidosis is a systemic autoimmune disease in which small clumps of inflammatory cells lodge in various tissues. The lungs and the lymph nodes are most frequently affected, but these granuloma clumps can appear anywhere. Successful treatment of some sarcoidosis patients with doxycycline or minocycline has been attributed to the immune modulating effects of these drugs (Clinical Rheumatology, September 2008