The benefits of the olive oil , the main ingredient in the Mediterranean diet and the Mediterranean diet has been underestimated when it refers to HER-2 breast cancer.
A laboratory study published in the Annals of Oncology, tells us that the main monounsaturated fatty acid, -the oleic acid-, in olive oil, has been proven to reduce the formulation of the Her-2/neu oncogene, which is associated with the growth of breast cancer tumors.
The Her-2/neu levels in breast cancer are usually very resistant to treatment.
In a study at the Northwestern University of Chicago, Dr. Menendez proved that when two strains of aggressive breast cancer cells, exposed to oleic acid, the Her-2/neu levels dropped nearly by fifty percent.
When oleic acid was mixed with lower levels of Herceptin, a drug used for cancer treatment, oleic acid boosted the effectiveness of the drug, dropping the Her-2/neu expression about seventy per cent. The oleic acid kills the resistant to treatment cancer cells.
Another two year long study in the Canary Islands, of 750 women, whose monounsaturated fat consumption and mainly olive oil, exerted a protective effect against breast cancer. In this study the participants had fifty per cent lower risk of breast cancer. Women who consumed about ten grams of olive oil daily, and especially extra virgin olive oil, had 70% lower risk of breast cancer.
Olive oil has been researched for many years and has been documented scientifically that because of its high content in poly-phenols, has the ability to prevent many types of cancer. Researchers have proven repeatedly that olive oil is effective against HER-2 positive breast cancer, which is a form of cancer that there is not much treatment offered.
Researchers have found that the poly-phenols in extra virgin olive oil have tumor killing effects. They degrade and deplete HER-2 protein. People who are ingesting poly-phenols by consuming olives and olive oil, they they get an excellent treatment targeting HER-2.
Once again the Mediterranean diet with olive oil, the “liquid gold” as key factor, lowers the breast cancer risk. Olive oil, a super food with countless health benefits.