The use of other types of fat remained about the same.

Within the same period, margarine use decreased from 12 grams a day in 1990 to four grams a day in 2010. The researchers noticed a trend over time: The volunteers’ olive oil consumption more than doubled from 1990 to 2010, from 1.6 grams to four grams. The assessment also checked which brand or type of oils they used for cooking or at the table. Olive oil consumption linked to other healthy behaviorsįor the study, the researchers analyzed data from 60,582 healthy adult women and 31,801 healthy adult men from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.ĭuring the 28-year follow-up, the volunteers had a diet assessment every four years that asked them how often they consumed certain foods, fats and oils on average. These actions can help lower your risk of heart disease. Olive oil is chock-full of powerful antioxidants, which are biologically active and can reduce your risk of chronic diseases.Īntioxidants also help protect against inflammation and protect cholesterol from oxidation. This is why health experts recommend using olive oil instead of a less healthy oil or butter. These healthy fats can reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or bad cholesterol levels.Īccording to the American Heart Association (AHA), consuming monounsaturated fats can also reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. Olive oil contains different types of fatty acids, but it’s mostly composed of monounsaturated fats. In a release, lead author Marta Guasch-Ferre explained that their findings support current dietary recommendations to increase the intake of olive oil and other unsaturated vegetable oils. Findings also showed that replacing 10 grams a day (about 3/4 tablespoons ) of butter, margarine, mayo or dairy fat with the same amount of olive oil was linked to an impressive eight to 34 percent lower risk of disease-related death.

Oil consumption