Embrace Olive Oil!
More good news for the Mediterranean diet! Researchers have found that olive oil increases satiety—that nice feeling of fullness that makes you stop eating sooner.
In a three-month study, people ate low-fat yogurt enriched with one of four different types of edible fats and oils: lard, butterfat, rapeseed (canola) oil, or olive oil.
The people who ate the olive oil-enhanced yogurt showed the highest amounts of serotonin—a satiety hormone—in their blood. This puzzled the researchers because rapeseed oil and olive oil contain the same level of fatty acids.
After more research, they found that olive oil has aroma components that help people feel full. These substances in the oil helped slow down how fast people's cells were absorbing glucose. (The faster this process happens, the sooner you feel hungry again.)
Of all the olive oils tested from Spain, Greece, Italy, and Australia, it was the olive oil from Italy that contained the highest concentration of the aroma compounds. So stock up and feel good about it!
SOURCE
"Olive Oil Makes You Feel Full," www.sciencedaily.com, 3/14/13