SCIENTISTS have discovered why the Mediterranean diet protects against breast cancer. The secret appears to be olive oil, which is high in oleic acid.

In laboratory experiments using breast-cancer cells, a US team has shown that oleic acid cuts the levels of the breast cancer-promoting gene Her-2/ neu by up to 46 per cent.

High levels of this gene are found in a fifth of all breast cancers and are particularly active in cancers that are resistant to treatment.

Some breast-cancer drugs, such as Herceptin, work by targeting this gene. But women who consume a lot of olive oil enjoy Herceptin-like benefits.

Javier Menendez, of the Northwestern University Fein- berg School of Medicine in Chicago, who led the research, published in Annals of Oncology, said: “Our findings underpin epidemiological studies that show that the Mediterranean diet has significant protective effects against cancer, heart disease and ageing.”

Breast cancer is common in northern Europe, but much less so in the south. Studies indicate that as many as 15 per cent of breast cancer cases in Britain might be avoided by shifting to a Mediterranean diet.

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