Stock Up On Your Olive Oil

When I lived in Madrid for nearly  four years, Spaniards used olive oli for everything from salads, to frying eggs, to lubricating keyholes. And now, researches say, it may help battle breast cancer:

Researchers believe a fatty acid found in olive oil might cut the risk of developing breast cancer.

Researchers
from Northwestern University, found oleic acid significantly reduced
levels of a protein that is produced by the breast cancer gene known as
Her-2/neu. The gene appears in about a fifth of breast cancer patients
and is also associated with very aggressive tumors.

The researchers also found the acid contributed to the effectiveness of the breast cancer drug Herceptin.
                        
                                           
                     

Lead
researcher Dr. Javier Menendez indicated their findings may explain why
the Mediterranean diet, which just happens to be rich in olive oil,
provides protection against developing breast cancer.

The study appears in the Annals of Oncology.

For
their study, researchers looked at the effects of oleic acid on breast
cancer in a laboratory setting as well as the acid’s effect on
Herceptin, a breast cancer drug.

The
researchers found oleic acid in combination with Herceptin cut proteins
produced by the breast cancer gene by as much as 70 percent.