STUDY: Extra Virgin olive oil kills cancer cells

Reported in Medical Daily…

A compound found in extra-virgin olive oil called Oleocanthal, has been shown to eradicate cancer cells in less than an hour, giving scientists hope that targeted drug options in the future may be possible.

A team of researchers from Rutgers University and Hunter College published their recent study in the journal Molecular & Cellular Oncology. The findings add even more firepower to the argument in favor of  extra virgin olive oil, which has been shown in prior studies to shield our bodies against air pollution, improve our immune systems, protect aging bones, and perhaps even prevent the slide into Alzheimer’s disease.

“Cancer Cells wiped out within 30 minutes  to an hour”

Under normal conditions, unnecessary cells experience a process called apoptosis, a kind of cell suicide, which takes between 16 and 24 hours. In a series of tests at Rutgers, researchers found the cells of all forms of cancer they were studying got wiped out within 30 minutes to an hour.

What they found was that oleocanthal in the olive oil was destroying the cancer cells’ waste centers. After oleocanthal did its damage, critical functions began to suffer and the cell soon died. Plus, healthy cells stayed intact.

It will still be years before oleocanthal makes its way into a clinical setting.

“The world’s healthiest diets”

Oleocanthal is just one of the many phenols — a type of antioxidant — that appears in extra-virgin olive oil. It’s no accident the stuff appears in so many of the world’s healthiest diets. In addition to the heart-healthy antioxidants, olive oil provides a rich source of healthy fats that may preserve brain health and improve memory.

“We think oleocanthal could explain reduced [cancer] incidence in Mediterranean diets where consumption is high,” said one of the researchers.

Even if consuming more olive oil won’t necessarily protect you from cancer today, budding research may help bring some of the ingredient into the hospital in the future.

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Source: LeGendre O, Breslin P, Foster D. Oleocanthal rapidly and selectively induces cancer cell death via lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP). Molecular & Cellular Oncology. 2015. Here’s the full article