Compounds in Olive Oil and Vegetables Protect Against High Blood Pressure: Study

Hypertension can be avoided by eating vegetable salads with olive oil, according to a study.

Past studies have proven the benefits of eating Mediterranean cuisine that includes wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and exotic oils in our daily diet to ward off the risk of heart diseases, cancer, diabetes and decline of mental health. Vegetables like spinach, celery, carrots and few nuts contain nitrates and nitrites while, olive oil is high in unsaturated fat.  A research by King's College in London found that unsaturated fats when combined with nitrates and nitrites form nitro fatty acids that help control blood pressure by blocking an enzyme called soluble Epoxide Hydrolase.

For the study, experts fed diet rich in unsaturated fat and nitrogen compounds to normal mice, and mice that were genetically engineered to have decreased receptivity to the blood pressure causing enzyme. It was observed that nitro fatty acids that formed in the body by eating Mediterranean diet did not inhibit the soluble Epoxide Hydrolase and had no effect on the high blood pressure levels. But in normal mice, the nitro fatty acids significantly reduced blood pressure.

"The findings of our study help to explain why previous research has shown that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular problems like stroke, heart failure and heart attacks," said Philip Eaton, study author and Professor of Cardiovascular Biochemistry at King's College London in a news release.

According to the data by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 67 million American adults have high blood pressure and less than half of the people take measures to keep it under control. The overall annual expenditure on medications, health care and hospitalization accounts for $47.5 billion.

The condition is more common in men than in women.

More information is available online in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.