New Fish & Olive Oil Health Benefits

You don't need to be a Konformist reader to know fish & olive oils have great health benefits, but here's some new things to add to the plus list.
From CharlesPoliquin.com:

In numerous articles and in my BioSignature Modulation courses, I’ve explained that fish oil can help you burn fat by turning on lipolytic genes and reduce stored fat by turning off lipogenic genes. But for some of you, especially those of you on a budget, that may not be a good-enough reason to spend your hard-earned money on this product. That’s all about to change because now I finally have a GREAT reason for you to take fish oil:

Fish oil can help us build muscle!

Yes, you heard me right. Want bulging biceps, powerful pecs, and shoulders like boulders? Fish oil is the supplement for you...

Finally, Fish Oil Is Anabolic!
Charles Poliquin
http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/624/Finally_Fish_Oil_is_Anabolic.aspx

And from Huffpo:

Could a traditional food have pain- and inflammation-reducing effects similar to over the counter pain medicine like ibuprofen?

Scientists from Italy, Spain, the U.S. and Australia have discovered that extra virgin olive oil can provide significant health benefits, including the ability to help reduce pain and inflammation.

This robust, flavorful oil is an example of the food as medicine concept, that foods can have a powerful impact on health.

A Mythical, Sacred Oil

From ancient Greece to the Holy Land, olive oil has been treasured. Celebrated as sacred in Greek mythology, the olive branch symbolized peace in Hellenic culture. Evidence of this ancient oil was discovered in 1901 at the "Room of the Olive Press" at Knossos on the island of Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. From there olives were pressed into oil over 4,500 years ago and the olive oil was exported to North Africa and mainland Greece.

Cultivation of olive trees spread around the Mediterranean where olive oil flourished along with many early civilizations. The bible speaks of olive oil, and it has been used by Christianity and Judaism as a holy anointing oil...

Recent research has identified the antioxidant called oleocanthal, which is only found in extra-virgin olive oil. Scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, in Philadelphia, found that oleocanthal in olive oil has a potency strikingly similar to that of the drug ibuprofen in inhibiting the cyclooxygenase (Cox) enzyme that causes pain and inflammation. Their findings were published in the science magazine Nature.

Given the side effects of common pain relieving drugs, finding a nutritional way to reduce pain and inflammation could be a solution for people suffering from pain.

In another study Italian researchers explain that the characteristic pungent and bitter taste of virgin olive oil have been attributed to phenols in the oil that have potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, chemopreventive and anti-cancer benefits.

Research on Health Benefits of Olive Oil

At the meeting of the "International conference on the healthy effect of virgin olive oil" that took place in Spain in 2005, numerous benefits of virgin olive oil from the research were outlined. They looked at the consumption of olive oil from the perspective of issues such as cardiovascular health, cancer and longevity. With respect to anti-aging they noted: "The more recent studies consistently support that the Mediterranean diet, based in virgin olive oil, is compatible with a healthier ageing and increased longevity."

Consumption of olive oil has been associated with:

•Reduction of total cholesterol and an increase in the high-density cholesterol (HDL-C), which has a protective effect on blood vessels.

•Improved sensitivity of cells to insulin, which helps to prevent the Metabolic Syndrome. Preventing Metabolic Syndrome is important, because the syndrome increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

•Decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and Alzheimer's disease.

Potent Antioxidant Power of Olive Oil

Phenolic compounds are potent antioxidants found in virgin and extra-virgin olive oil. These compounds give unrefined olive oils their distinctive flavors and high degree of stability.

Studies indicate these compounds may be able to:

•Turn off the activity of genes that produce the kind of inflammation that causes coronary heart disease.

•Decrease production of inflammatory chemicals called thromboxanes and leukotrienes.

•Decrease the production of the most damaging form of cholesterol, oxidized LDL cholesterol.

•University of South Australia researchers note that compounds from the olive were found to be antimicrobial against various bacteria...

Here is a popular tangy and sweet recipe from my book The Fat Resistance Diet, an anti-inflammatory dietary program.

Pomegranate Lime Dressing
Pomegranate juice is an outstanding source of flavonoids which help to reduce inflammation.

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon unsweetened pomegranate juice

In a jar, shake together the extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, and pomegranate juice. Serves 1.

Leo Galland, M.D.
Practicing physician, author and leader in integrated medicine.
Olive Oil: A Natural Painkiller?
04/26/11
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leo-galland-md/olive-oil-painkiller-natural-painki_b_850299.html