MORE PR FOR THE SUPPOSED WONDERS OF OLIVE OIL, AGAIN

A new study adds to the "Mediterranean diet" mythology. Report from "Yahoo":

"People who use plenty of olive oil in their diets may be helping to prevent damage to body cells that can eventually lead to cancer, new research suggests. In a study of 182 European men, researchers found evidence that olive oil can reduce oxidative damage to cells' genetic material, a process that can initiate cancer development. They say the findings may help explain why rates of several cancers are higher in Northern Europe than in Southern Europe, where olive oil is a dietary staple...."

But look at something the actual original research summary mentions:

At study baseline the urinary excretion of 8-oxo-guanosine (RNA oxidation) and 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine (DNA oxidation) was higher in the Northern regions of Europe compared with Central and Southern European regions (P=0.035).... The higher DNA and RNA oxidation in Northern European regions compared with that in Central and Southern regions supports the contention that olive oil consumption may explain some of the North-South differences in cancer incidences in Europe.

Maybe I am missing something here but it seems to me that the different physiological response to olive oil observed in Northern and Southern Europeans might indicate genetic differences between the two populations and it may be the genetic differences that account for the different disease patterns in Northern and Southern Europe rather than diet. Many cancers have been PROVEN by scientific research to have a strong genetic component. MORE ON OLIVE OIL AS CANCER PANACEA HERE FROM THE BBC.