CLTann might be able to help here. I am strictly amateur.
This is for me fascinating. It is again pointing at the importance of omega threes, the eicosanoid pathway, and the production of cox's. See other posts on omega threes.
Clearly olive oil is a complex substance, and consequently has potential to act in many ways in the body, but this intervention in the omega three /six pathway may provide an explanation for a significant part of its impact.
The posting on the articles of interest "The importance of omega threes and sixes" provides links that provide help in understanding the fundamantal mechanisms and their impact of health generally, and the importance of balancing the omega threes and sixes.
RB
http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/128/3/570
ABSTRACT
......."Our study demonstrates that dietary fatty acids are esterified at different positions within the triacylglycerols of human VLDL after consumption of two MUFA-rich oils (olive oil and HOSO). Importantly, a decrease of (n-6) PUFA and an increase of (n-3) PUFA at the sn-2 position of VLDL triacylglycerols were specific effects of olive oil. This is of major metabolic importance, given the evidence that PUFA of the (n-3) family competitively inhibit the utilization of arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenase pathway (output of eicosanoids) (James 1996, Kinsella 1994) and the evidence that there is a link between fat quality and metabolism of triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins in atherogenesis (Benlian et al. 1996, Ginsberg et al. 1995, Reznik et al. 1996)."....
Linear Mode
