A new research developed, among others, by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), has concluded that virgin olive oil enriched with its own phenolic compounds is a heart-healthy food, since it favors the physiological activity of HDL, the lipoproteins that transport cholesterol in our body.
High Density Lipoproteins (or HDL), also known as “good cholesterol”, are responsible for mobilizing cholesterol from our body to the liver in order to eliminate it. On the other side, Low Density Lipoproteins (or LDL) are known as “bad cholesterol” since a large amount of these is associated with an accumulation of arterial cholesterol.
This research, carried out in an experimental mouse model, has evaluated how the addition of virgin olive oil phenolic compounds has improved the ability of HDL to transport cholesterol and even eliminate it, thus increasing the cardioprotective functions of this food.
“The enrichment allows the consumption of a greater quantity of phenolic antioxidant compounds from the oil without increasing the consumption of fat”
Montserrat Fitó (IMIM)
The oil developed in the research presents, thanks to a new technological process, more phenolic compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties than any other oil commonly consumed.
Cedó, L. et al. “Phenol-Enriched Virgin Olive Oil Promotes Macrophage-Specific Reverse Cholesterol Transport In Vivo. Biomedicines 2020, 8(8), 266
