Virtues of the Mediterranean diet

A large body of human data indicates potent health benefits in those who consume a Mediterranean diet, characterized by relatively copious amounts of fish, olive oil, fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

The predominant fats in the Mediterranean diet are the omega-3s and monounsaturated fats from olive oil. While the monounsaturated fats in olive oil are a crucial component of the Mediterranean diet, the rich mixture of polyphenols in the olive fruit appears to be equally important.17

For example, published studies have shown that the olive fruit polyphenol—hydroxytyrosol—scavenges the dangerous free radical hydrogen peroxide and reduces LDL susceptibility to oxidation.18 The oxidation of LDL plays a significant role in the development of vascular impairment.

In a randomized, double-blind, crossover study, human subjects consumed three different extra-virgin olive oils with incrementally greater levels of polyphenols. The results showed that as the polyphenol content of the olive oil increased, the oxidation of LDL decreased. Polyphenol-rich olive oil also raised beneficial HDL levels. Both effects are associated with an improved cardiovascular risk profile.19

In another study, researchers tested the effects of feeding three olive oils with incrementally greater levels of polyphenols to a group of healthy male volunteers. Subjects in this randomized, double-blind study consumed standardized doses of polyphenol-rich olive oil. The results showed that oxidized LDL decreased, glutathione antioxidant activity increased, and beneficial HDL levels increased in the participants. These effects were proportionally greater as olive polyphenol content increased. All of these changes reflect improvements in surrogate markers of cardiovascular health.20

Super Omega-3 contains a standardized olive fruit extract to provide the full spectrum of benefits associated with the ingestion of fish and olive oils, including the potent hydroxytyrosol polyphenol.

Arachidonic Acid’s Destructive Cascade

One reason people supplement with fish oil is to suppress the production of arachidonic acid in the body. To better understand how arachidonic acid can cause arthritic and cardiovascular conditions, the chart below shows how arachidonic acid cascades down into joint-destroying, pro-thrombotic compounds. Chart 2: This chart shows the pathways down which arachidonic acid cascades to form toxic inflammatory compounds. Fish oil and a healthy diet help suppress arachidonic acid production in the body.

New olive oil extract

When investigating why consumption of olive foods results in such marked reductions in human maladies, scientists uncovered another olive polyphenol that functions via specific beneficial mechanisms.

Blood platelets guard against excessive bleeding. When our platelets become over-activated, they can form clots inside arteries leading to acute circulatory disruptions. An olive fruit polyphenol called oleuropein has been shown to specifically reduce blood platelet activity in humans,21 thus providing yet another explanation as to why those who consume a Mediterranean diet have such low rates of sudden vascular events.

Oleuropein from olive fruit has additional biological properties. When administered to human fibroblast skin cells cultures, oleuropein delays the appearance of senescent (aging) structural changes and increases the life span of these cells by approximately 15%.22 The scientists who conducted this study stated: “these data demonstrate the beneficial effect of oleuropein on human fibroblasts undergoing replicative senescence and provide new insights toward enhancement of cellular antioxidant mechanisms by natural compounds that can be easily up-taken through normal diet.”

Those afflicted with certain inherited genetic mutations are predisposed to contracting disorders related to defects in cell replication. A gene of particular concern to some women is HER2. When evaluating various olive polyphenols on HER2 expression, oleuropein most effectively down-regulated HER2 expression.23 The scientists who conducted this study remarked that their findings help explain why those who consume a Mediterranean diet have such marked reductions in disorders related to excess expression of the HER2 gene.

Super Omega-3 not only contains the finest omega-3 fish oil blend in the world, but also provides an olive blend standardized for hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein.

Olive oil and fish oil work better together than fish oil alone

Patients suffering from chronic age-related discomforts were randomized into three groups. The first group received EPA/DHA-rich fish oil, the second group received the same fish oil with polyphenol-rich olive oil, while the third group received a placebo.

At the study’s end, the fish oil-only group showed significant improvement in several measurements. The group receiving both fish oil and polyphenol-enriched olive oil, however, exhibited an “accentuated improvement” across a broad-spectrum of parameters including patients’ subjective assessments and satisfaction with their daily living activities.24

This study helps further corroborate the multiple health benefits associated with the Mediterranean diet, rich in monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids, along with plant polyphenols.

The new Super Omega-3…even better quality…same low price! No drug has ever shown the broad-spectrum health benefits of fish oil.

Each year, consumers pay higher prices for patented medications that have only limited therapeutic targets. These drugs are also known to induce side effects, despite the FDA’s assurance of their safety.

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If the government ever turned dietary supplements into prescription drugs, it would not be possible to make these rapid improvements, as the FDA would mandate a new round of costly clinical testing every time a change was made. The end result might be an improved (and higher priced) drug many years down the road, depending on the FDA bureaucratic decision-making process.

Life Extension has a dual mission of providing members with the finest nutritional formulations while leading by example in showing the superiority of the free market over today’s regulatory quagmire that strangles medical innovation.

The new Super Omega-3 with Sesame Lignans and Olive Fruit Extract is a prime example of how consumers benefit when free market competition is allowed to create superior products without increasing prices.