Focus on promoting health aspects of disease-preventing olive oil, including 
health benefits of use in Japanese food said to contribute to life expectancy

Olive Oils From Spain (https://oliveoilworldtour.jp/), in collaboration with 
the EU,  has kicked off the third year of the Olive Oil World Tour in Japan, 
informing Japanese audiences about how olive oil contributes to health. 

Japan and Spain ranked first and third, respectively, in the 2019 world life 
expectancy rankings from the World Health Organization (WHO). The Institute for 
Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington made a prediction 
[https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2818%2931694-5 ] in 
2018 that Spain will beat out Japan for first place in life expectancy in the 
year 2040. One of the reasons of such great life expectancy is dietary habits. 
What people call the "Mediterranean diet" is a product of Spain's culture and 
society. It is the mainstream food there, much like the place washoku (Japanese 
cuisine) has in Japan. The Mediterranean diet is characterized by plentiful 
portions of whole grains and cereals, seasonal fruits and vegetables, beans, 
and nuts. The food also contains plenty of olive oil and involves little 
consumption of the saturated fatty acids that lead to the obesity and lifestyle 
diseases associated with a heavy intake of meat-based fats. 

The basic structure of a Japanese meal is soup, rice, and three side dishes. 
These meals come with ample portions of grains and fish, helping to achieve an 
ideal nutritional balance. Like the Mediterranean diet, Japanese cuisine 
contains little saturated fatty acid, which reportedly contributes to the 
longevity of the Japanese people.

When the PREDIMED [http://www.predimed.es/ ] study conducted in Spain tested 
the effects of a Mediterranean diet using healthy ingredients and extra-virgin 
olive oil on people at high risk for various ailments, it found a 30% reduction 
in the risk for vascular disease and stroke and a 40% reduction in the risk for 
diabetes. Oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that is olive oil's primary 
ingredient, helps improve blood cholesterol level, while extra virgin olive 
oil's polyphenols reduces blood cholesterol content, a risk factor for 
cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, extra virgin olive oil also contains 
vitamin E, a natural antioxidant that protects cells from damage caused by 
oxidation.

Dietician Kumiko Yoneyama provided some comments on using olive oil in washoku, 
a cuisine that reportedly extends life. "Olive oil goes great with Japanese 
foods. This of course includes fish, as well as tofu, natto, and other soybean 
products, along with pot herbs like perilla, and yuzu, a citrus fruit. Most 
people think of olive oil as something that you use in dishes like salads, but 
because the oleic acid is resistant to heat and oxidation, I would also 
recommend it for fried foods like tempura. Furthermore, since olive oil 
contains abundant amounts of antioxidants that helps to prevent arterial 
sclerosis and aging, I would expect daily use of a quality oil like olive oil 
in Japanese cuisine to amplify its effects."

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1249811/Olive_Oils_from_Spain.jpg 

Source: Olive Oils from Spain