There is wide evidence of the health benefits of olive oil, especially for cardiovascular health and its risk factors. In this sense, a recent randomized, controlled, crossover trial studied the effect of olive oil on HDL cholesterol. The authors found that olive oil increases HDL cholesterol levels although no significant effect was found on the ability of this molecule to extract cholesterol from macrophages –also known as cholesterol efflux capacity– particularly in the blood vessel wall. In addition, a previous intervention study in rats suggests that table olives could reduce blood pressure regardless of body composition. During 7 weeks, table olives were administered to a model of spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive controls. After the intervention, hypertensive rats suffered a transient reduction in BP whereas no effect was found on normotensive rats. These results suggest that daily intake of olives could contribute to improving cardiovascular health through alternate mechanisms to body weight. On the other hand, inflammation is a concomitant status in cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases.
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