Heart Health Claim Approved for Olive Oil

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Heart Health Claim Approved for Olive Oil

By Maureen Williams, ND

 

Healthnotes Newswire (December 2, 2004)—The US Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) recently decided to allow a limited health

claim to appear on labels of foods that contain olive oil, according

to a report issued on November 1, 2004.

 

The FDA has announced that packaging labels on olive oil and foods

made with olive oil can now state that eating them might reduce the

risk of heart disease. This is the third qualified health claim made

available since the process for approving them was established in

2003. Under the provisions outlined in the FDA's " Interim Procedures

for Qualified Health Claims in the Labeling of Conventional Human

Food and Human Dietary Supplements, " qualified health claims are

granted when the scientific evidence supporting a health benefit is

considered to be limited but not conclusive.

 

Olive oil is an important component of the Mediterranean diet. A

wealth of evidence suggests that the Mediterranean diet is linked to

low risk of heart disease. In people with heart disease, switching

to a Mediterranean-type diet, low in saturated fat and rich in olive

oil, vegetables, and fiber, was shown to reduce the risk of death

from cardiac disease and all other causes by 70%. Studies have found

that olive oil may have many beneficial effects, including lowering

blood pressure, lowering total- and LDL-cholesterol levels, reducing

plaque formation in the arteries, preventing dangerous abnormal

heart rhythms, reducing inflammatory activity in the body, improving

blood sugar stability, increasing longevity, and reducing risk of

some cancers. Some studies have suggested that olive oil is most

likely to improve health when it is used to replace saturated fats

and when its use does not increase the total calories eaten per day.

 

Olive oil is known for its high levels of an omega-9 monounsaturated

fatty acid known as oleic acid. Olive oil has about 75% oleic acid

and this is believed be a major reason for its heart-disease-

preventing properties. Some of the other components in olive oil—

including squalene (a fatty acid), vitamin E, and antioxidant

bioflavonoids—have also demonstrated beneficial effects on heart-

disease risk. At least 30 different antioxidants have been

identified in olive oil.

 

Despite the overwhelming positive evidence, the FDA finds it

inconclusive and has therefore qualified the health claim attached

to foods with olive oil: " Limited and not conclusive scientific

evidence suggests that eating about 2 tablespoons (23 grams) of

olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to

the monounsaturated fat in olive oil. To achieve this possible

benefit, olive oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat

and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day. One

serving of this product [Name of food] contains [x] grams of olive

oil. " It is hoped that the printing of a qualified health claim on

labels will help people to make good choices about what fats to

include in their diets and help to dispel the misguided belief that

all fats are bad for health.

 

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Maureen Williams, ND, received her bachelor's degree from the

University of Pennsylvania and her Doctorate of Naturopathic

Medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle, WA. She has a private

practice in Quechee, VT, and does extensive work with traditional

herbal medicine in Guatemala and Honduras.

 

 

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