Health

Olive oil can prevent breast cancer

Do you consume 10 teaspoons of high-quality, extra-virgin olive oil a day? New research from Spain suggests this is exactly what you should do to protect yourself against breast cancer.

New research by scientists at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona found that olive oil can work towards preventing and fighting against a gene that drives the growth of breast tumours, the Daily Mail reported.

Olive oil was found to stunt the growth of the tumour causing their cells to implode. It also protected against potentially cancerous damage to DNA.

The scientists, who carried out their experiment on rats, also found that olive oil switched off proteins that cancer cells rely on to stay alive.

Dr Eduard Escrich, who led the research, said having 50ml or 10 teaspoons of high-quality, extra-virgin olive oil a day over a long period of time would help to protect against breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Australian women, with the number of Australian women diagnosed with breast cancer increasing from 5289 in 1982 to 12,614 in 2006.

This number is set to grow to 15,409 by 2015, the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre reported.

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