New Research Links Olive Oil Consumption and Reduced Autoimmune Occurrence

Researchers have found a pos­i­tive cor­re­la­tion between fol­low­ing the Mediterranean diet and decreased preva­lence of autoim­mune dis­eases.

One such find­ing is the rela­tion­ship between phe­no­lic com­pounds found in olive oil and the sup­port­ing func­tion of immune cells.

A new study pub­lished in Frontiers in Immunology found that olive oil has anti-micro­bial prop­er­ties that work against gut pathogens, pre­vent­ing col­o­niza­tion and allow­ing for the pro­lif­er­a­tion of immune func­tion.

The dietary omega‑3 poly-unsat­u­rated fatty acids in olive oil sup­press inflam­ma­tion and pro­mote ben­e­fi­cial gut micro­biota.

The study fur­ther explained that omega‑3 poly-unsat­u­rated fatty acids decrease the pres­ence of pro-inflam­ma­tory bac­te­ria lead­ing to a reduc­tion in an autoim­mune response.

The preva­lence of autoim­mune dis­ease has increased annu­ally since the 1960s. There are now more than 100 named autoim­mune con­di­tions.

Autoimmune dis­ease is caused by an over­ac­tive immune sys­tem that mis­tak­enly attacks healthy cells in the body.

The increase in autoim­mu­nity has been linked to a low-qual­ity diet, a seden­tary lifestyle and an imbal­anced gut micro­biome. A diet rich in processed food and fast food are trig­ger­ing fac­tors for autoim­mune dis­ease.

Researchers are now focused on includ­ing meta­bolic path­ways, as most autoim­mune cases are
paired with meta­bolic syn­drome.

Metabolic syn­drome is the name of a group of con­di­tions, namely dia­betes, obe­sity, and heart dis­ease. The com­mon­al­ity between autoim­mune dis­ease and meta­bolic syn­drome is inflam­ma­tion caused by immune cells.

A sep­a­rate study pub­lished in Frontiers in Immunology focused on the con­sump­tion of polyphe­nols, includ­ing those found in extra vir­gin olive oil, and its anti-inflam­ma­tory effects.

Some ben­e­fits include reduc­ing body weight, waist cir­cum­fer­ence, sys­tolic blood pres­sure and insulin resis­tance.

The ben­e­fits indi­cate an abil­ity to reduce meta­bolic syn­drome by reduc­ing the con­trib­u­tors. The ben­e­fits would also include those that are linked to autoim­mune dis­eases.

Extra vir­gin olive oil con­sump­tion acti­vates mul­ti­ple meta­bolic path­ways through its polyphe­nols and phe­no­lic com­pounds, induc­ing immune pro­tec­tion.

Research has indi­cated that con­sum­ing olive oil daily and fol­low­ing a Mediterranean-style diet can com­bat autoim­mune con­di­tions and meta­bolic syn­drome together.

It is not yet clear if the daily con­sump­tion of olive oil can reverse exist­ing autoim­mu­nity. Still, it has been proven to reduce inflam­ma­tion, allow­ing for a reduc­tion of autoim­mune symp­toms.

• Frontiers in Immunology, 13
• Frontiers in Immunology, 14