Does Olive Oil Lower Cardiovascular Risk in U.S. Populations?

Does Olive Oil Lower Cardiovascular Risk in U.S. Populations?

Definitely maybe.

This study confirms what most of us likely recommend to our patients — replace saturated fats with olive oil. The CVD prevention benefit of olive oil seems to extend to all populations, including Americans, who consume far less olive oil on average than Mediterranean populations. As with all observational studies, residual confounding might explain some of the associations, and the healthcare professionals studied may not be generalizable to other more diverse groups. However, results from the PREDIMED trial (N Engl J Med 2018; 378:e34) support this well-conducted study. Recommending routine use of olive oil seems like a no-brainer.