Ulcerative colitis, a dreadful disease can be prevented by olive oil as per the new report from medical researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA). The conference at the Digestive Disease Week conference at New Orleans revealed that people with a diet rich in oleic acid i. e., a constituent of olive oil are less likely to develop ulcerative colitis.

The disease which causes the inflammation of the lining of the colon or large bowel increases the abdominal pain and adds to diarrhoea and weight loss. It was an observational study performed by Dr Andrew Hart of UEA's School of Medicine, that included 25,000 respondents aged 40-65 living in Norfolk, UK.

The respondents who were selected by EPIC study (European Prospective Investigation into Diet and Cancer) not suffering from ulcerative colitis and at the same time did not have olive oil in their diets, completed detailed food diaries which were later analyzed by specially trained nutritionists working in Cambridge. Within seven years 22 complained of the disease, to which Dr. Wart said, "We estimate that around half of the cases of ulcerative colitis could be prevented if larger amounts of oleic acid were consumed. Two-to-three tablespoons of olive oil per day would have a protective effect."