Consumption of Olive Oil and Specific Food Groups in Relation to Breast Cancer Risk in Greece

Abstract

Although major categories of macronutrients do not show significant associations with breast cancer risk in most studies, including the present one, vegetables and fruits are inversely, significantly, and strongly associated with this risk. There also is evidence that olive oil consumption may reduce the risk of breast cancer, whereas margarine intake appears to be associated with an elevated risk for the disease.

Flavonoid intake and breast cancer risk: a case–control study in Greece

“…An expanded version of this questionnaire has been subsequently validated . Details about the study, case eligibility and control selection procedures, as well as results concerning food groups and energy-generating nutrients in relation to breast cancer risk have been previously reported (Katsouyanni et al, 1994;Trichopoulou et al, 1995).…”

“…For this purpose, we applied recently published data on the flavonoid content of several foods and beverages (US Department of Agriculture-Iowa State University, 2002; US Department of Agriculture, 2003) on dietary information collected in the context of a large case -control study of breast cancer, conducted in Greece in the early 1990 s. In that study (Katsouyanni et al, 1994;Trichopoulou et al, 1995), no association was found between intake of energy-generating nutrients and breast cancer risk, but consumption of fruits and vegetables was inversely associated with the risk.…”

Localization of the noncovalent binding site between amyloid-β-peptide and oleuropein using electrospray ionization FT-ICR mass spectrometry

“…One interaction of this kind has been established between the Olea europaea derived bioactive compound, oleuropein (OE), and A␤ by means of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) [6]. This interaction could prove potent in inhibiting its aggregation.OE is a polyphenol extracted from the fruits and leaves of Olea europaea L. and possesses a wide range of pharmacological properties, such as antioxidant [7][8][9], anti-inflammatory [10, 11], antiatherogenic [12-14], antibacterial [15][16][17], and anticancer [18,19]. Moreover, OE and its metabolites have been shown to be potent against contemporary diseases, such as HIV [20,21] and osteoporosis [22,23].…”

Dietary factors and the risk of endometrial cancer: a case - control study in Greece

“…Monounsaturated fat in the Greek diet represents mostly olive oil. Several reports (Martin-Moreno et al, 1994;Trichopoulou et al, 1995) suggest that either monounsaturated fat in general or olive oil per se may convey some protection against breast cancer (which shares with endometrial cancer oestrogen dependence) and conceivably other cancers as well (Tzonou et al, 1993;Fortes et al, 1995). At this stage, the evidence is too limited to justify recommendations or even mechanistic speculation, but there is clearly a need for further research in this area.…”

“…Specifically, all subjects were asked to indicate the average frequency of consumption, during a period of 1 year, before onset of the present disease, of 115 food items or beverage categories per month, per week or per day. For analysis, the frequency of consumption of different food items was quantified approximately in terms of the number of times per month the food was consumed (Graham et al, 1978;Trichopoulou et al, 1995 (Breslow and Day, 1980), as ordered quartiles, after adjustment for core variables and energy intake (Willet and Stampfer, 1986). Nutrient intakes for individuals were estimated by multiplying the nutrient contents of a selected typical portion of each specified food item, by the frequency that the food item was consumed per month and adding these estimates for all food items.…”