A discovery has been made that should be making headlines, we all know it won’t but it should! A team of nutritional scientists have found that an ingredient found in extra-virgin olive oil kills a variety of human cancer cells without harming healthy cells in a short period of time!
By the time you finish watching your favorite television show or whipping up a batch of your favorite cookies, somewhere is a lab the cancer cells could already be dead.
Oleocanthal, the primary phenolic compound found in extra-virgin olive oil, has been shown to eradicate cancer cells in less than an hour! A recent study was published by a team of researchers from Rutgers University and Hunter College. The study found that the cancer cells exposed to oleocanthal were dying in a mere matter of 30-60 minutes, all because of the way olive oil compounds use the enzymes of the cancer cells. This wonderful study adds even more firepower to the argument in favor of olive oil, which can help shield our bodies against air pollution, improve the immune system, protect aging bones, and perhaps even Alzheimer’s disease.
“We think oleocanthal could explain reduced [cancer] incidence in Mediterranean diets where consumption is high,” Foster told Medical Daily in an email. “And it is also possible that purified (higher-dose) could possibly be used therapeutically.”
Researchers say that the next logical step would be to go beyond laboratory conditions and show that oleocanthal can kill cancer cells and shrink tumors in living animals. “We also need to understand why it is that cancerous cells are more sensitive to oleocanthal than non-cancerous cells,” Foster said.
It will be interesting to learn what the future holds for this research.
Sources:
http://www.kurzweilai.net/an-ingredient-in-olive-oil-that-appears-to-kill-cancer-cells
http://reset.me/story/compound-found-in-olive-oil-kills-cancer-in-30-minutes/
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0215/olive_oil_cancer.php3
