A surprising upshot of the use of olive oil is the fact that Mediterranean people rarely suffer from heart disease. Only recently has this been attributed to the use of olive oil in their cooking.
There is a big difference between the use of animal fat and olive fat. Animal fat contains cholesterol, which clogs the coronary arteries. Olive oil does not. Olive oil also helps to stimulate the body's production of HDL, or "good cholesterol." HDL helps to rid the body of the bad cholesterol. It actually transports the bad stuff back to the liver where it belongs. Another important factor is the quantity of poly-unsaturated fat found in fish, which helps to lower cholesterol. In addition, cold water fish containing large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids were found to prevent blood clotting, which is why Eskimos were found to rarely suffer heart attacks.
"The rise of coronary heart disease in the United States paralleled the changes in U.S. dietary habits. As the consumption of animal fat and cholesterol began to rise during this century, so did the incidence of coronary heart disease. People in most of the world-the "underdeveloped countries"-have never increased their consumption of animal products. In these countries, coronary heart disease is still a rare illness. The average cholesterol level in these countries is around 140-160 mg percent. In contrast, the average cholesterol level in Americans is about 210-230 mg percent."
--from Stress, Diet, & Your Heart, by Dean Ornish
The Omega-3 fatty acids found in certain cold water fish were found to prevent blood clotting, which is why Eskimos were found to rarely suffer from heart attacks. In addition the quantity of poly-unsaturated fat found in fish helps to lower cholesterol. Recommended: two servings per week
Fish containing the highest levels of Omega-3 fatty acids:
- Atlantic Mackerel 2.5 (g)
- Anchovies 2.1
- Atlantic Salmon 1.7
- Atlantic Herring 1.7
- Sablefish 1.5
- Whitefish 1.4
- Fresh bluefin tuna 1.2
- Shark .09
- Striped Bass .08
- Bluefish .08
- Swordfish .08
- Freshwater Bass .07
- Rainbow Trout .07
--from Healing Foods by Patricia Hausman and Judith Benn Hurley
High density lipoproteins protect against arterial disease. They carry cholesterol back to the liver for processing and excretion. Cholesterol and fats are transported about the body in the form of lipoproteins, particles with a core, made up of cholesterol and triglycerides in varying proportions, and bound to a protein.
The Seven Countries was a massive ten-year study of more than twelve thousand men in-not surprisingly-seven countries: the United States, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Finland, and Japan. The investigators found that diet, blood pressure, and blood levels of cholesterol were strongly related to coronary heart disease.
The people of Finland had the highest percentage of saturated animal fats in their diet, the highest cholesterol levels in their blood-and the highest death rate from coronary heart disease. However, in countries such as Italy and Greece, where much of the diet is derived from plants(including most of the oils used in cooking), the death rate for coronary heart disease was much lower.