Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2020
Olive Oil Consumption and Cardiovascular Risk in U.S. Adults
Olive oil has been traditionally used as the main culinary fat and cooking oil in Mediterranean regions, and recently, has become popular worldwide.
Compared with men in the HPFS who consumed no olive oil, those who consumed at least one-and-a-half teaspoons of olive oil per day had a 14% lower risk for cardiovascular disease, and an 18% lower risk for coronary heart disease. Olive oil was better in reducing cardiovascular disease than most animal fats and margarine, although other vegetable oils appeared to have similar benefits in this study population. Findings support current recommendations to replace saturated and animal fats with unsaturated plant oils, such as olive oil, for the prevention of cardiovascular disease