In a new study, researchers discovered a potential new way in which diet influences aging-related diseases.
They discovered that olive oil in the Mediterranean diet may hold the key to improving lifespan and mitigating aging-related diseases.
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
Early studies on the diet suggested red wine was a major contributor to the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet because it contains a compound called resveratrol, which activated a certain pathway in cells known to increase lifespan and prevent aging-related diseases.
However, the current study suggests that it is the fat in olive oil, another component of the Mediterranean diet, that is actually activating this pathway.
The team found that the way these fat works is it first has to get stored in microscopic things called lipid droplets, which is how body cells store fat.
And then, when the fat is broken down during exercising or fasting, for example, is when the signaling and beneficial effects are realized.
According to the team, merely consuming olive oil is not enough to elicit all of the health benefits.
They suggest that when coupled with fasting, limiting caloric intake and exercising, the effects of consuming olive oil will be most pronounced.
The next steps for their research are to translate it to humans with the goal of discovering new drugs or to further tailor dietary regimens that improve health, both short-term and long-term.
One author of the study is Doug Mashek, Ph.D., a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics.
The study is published in Molecular Cell.
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