Evaluation of the effect of dietary virgin olive oil on blood pressure and lipid composition of serum and low-density lipoprotein in elderly type 2 diabetic subjects.

Dietary virgin olive oil may help to reduce blood pressure in hypertensive individuals, but little is known about the effect on type 2 diabetic patients. For the present study, 17 type 2 diabetic elderly subjects and 23 healthy elderly controls received a diet rich in virgin olive oil for 4 weeks. Blood pressure, biochemical parameters, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and oxidized LDL lipids and fatty acids were measured.