A Mediterranean style diet, one rich in fruits and vegetables, supplemented with olive oil for two years, may have a protective effect on your bones, suggests a Spanish study.
"The intake of olive oil has been related to the prevention of osteoporosis in experimental and in vitro (lab) models," said Jose Manuel Fernandez-Real, from Hospital Dr. Josep Trueta in Girona, Spain, who led the study. "This is the first randomized study which demonstrates that olive oil preserves bone, at least as inferred by circulating bone markers, in humans," added Fernandez-Real. (A randomized study is a clinical trial in which all patients are assigned randomly to be in experimental group), according to a Josep Trueta statament. The study participants were 127 community-dwelling men aged 55 to 80 years randomly selected from one of the Prevencion con Dieta Mediterranea (Predimed) study centers who had at least two years of follow-up. The Predimed study is a large, parallel group, randomized, controlled trial aimed to assess the effect of the Mediterranean diet on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.