Mediterranean Diet Polyphenols

The Mediterranean Diet (MD) has become a cornerstone for prevention of chronic disease. The MD is a plant-based diet particularly rich in phytochemicals named polyphenols. A high consumption of polyphenols has been suggested to have beneficial effects on human health. Although single food or extract can't replace the combination of natural phytonutrients in the MD, olives and olive oil offer unique and powerful health-promoting components. Olive oil polyphenols (OOP), similarly to other MD polyphenols, exhibit multiple protective effects (inhibition of oxidative stress, reduction of ox-LDL and other cardiovascular risk factors and inhibition of inflammation) which occur also through the regulation of genes involved in atherosclerosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress. The healthy properties of OOP give a further explanation of the olive oil as a functional food and the MD as the best wholesome diet to counteract chronic and degenerative disease, not only in Mediterranean lands but also globally.