Sunflower Oil - A Healthy Way to Eat!

Health Related Study: Sunflower Oil Improves Lung Function

Summary: Joan Cook-Mills, an associate professor of medicine in allergy/immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, reports there are drastically different health effects of vitamin E, depending on its form. The form of Vitamin E called alpha-tocopherol is found in sunflower and olive oils is associated with better lung function. The other form of Vitamin E is called gamma-tocopherol and is associated with decreased lung function, and possibly even asthma. Cook-Mills' study examined 4,526 individuals from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA).

Findings: People who consume alpha-tocopherol, which is rich in sunflower oil and olive oil, have better lung function. In the U.S., the average blood plasma level of gamma-tocopherol is four or more times higher than those of European and Scandinavian countries that consumer sunflower and olive oil. The research is published in the journal of Respiratory Research. This study was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health grant R-1 AT004837.

Authors: Joan Cook-Mills, Michelle Marchese, Rajesh Kumar, M.D.; Kiang Liu; Laura Colangelo; and Pedro Avila, M.D.

Health-Related Study: Heart Disease Risk Lower When Frying With Olive, Sunflower Oil

Summary: Pilar Guallar-Castillón, M.D., Ph.D., of the Autonomous University of Madrid, and colleagues report eating foods fried in olive or sunflower oil will does not increase the risk of heart disease or premature death, according to a study of 40,757 adults over an eleven-year period.

Findings: In Spain, a Mediterranean country where olive or sunflower oil is used for frying, the consumption of fried foods was not associated with coronary heart disease or with all cause mortality. A more detailed abstract of this research is available via the British Medical Journal (BMJ.com). The research appeared in the January 24, 2012 issue, BMJ2012;344:e363.

Authors: Pilar Guallar-Castillón, M.D., Ph.D. (primary), others