Study: Olive Oil Is a Natural Cancer-Fighting Food, Daily Intake May Reduce Risk of Death

As early as the 16th century, the Chinese medicine classic “Compendium of Materia Medica” compiled by Li Shizhen, a medical scientist of the Ming Dynasty, already recorded that olives "produce body fluid, quench polydipsia, treat sore throats, and as a chewable pharyngeal juice can relieve all poisons resulting from eating fish and crabs." Shutterstock

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and younger and younger people are developing the disease year by year. And as awful as the disease is, treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy also can be excruciating.

A Harvard study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in January suggests one way to better avoid a fatal cancer diagnosis is to consume olive oil. The study found that people who consume more than seven grams (0.25 ounce) of olive oil per day exhibited a significantly lower risk of death.