According to European researchers at the Municipal Institute of Medical Research (IMIM) virgin olive oil, a rich source of polyphenols, is the best vegetable oil for heart health.rnrnResearchers assigned 200 healthy males to one of three interventions. Researchers replaced their normal dietary fat with olive oils containing differing phenolic contents for three weeks. This was followed by a two week wash-out period and then assignment to another intervention.rnrnParticipants had blood samples taken before and after each intervention to measure a variety of markers, including plasma lipids, oxidative damage to lip0id levels and antioxidant levels.rnrnResearchers observed an increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or �good� cholesterol with increasing phenolic content of the olive oils, suggesting the phenolic content of virgin olive oil can provide benefits for plasma lipid levels and oxidative damage.rnrnThese most recent findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, support previous findings that have also linked the Mediterranean diet (of which olive oil is a key part) to a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer. rn
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