Extra-virgin olive oil and additional cardiovascular outcomes in the PREDIMED Trial: An outcome-wide perspective
Researchers followed 7,102 adults at high cardiovascular risk and evaluated their extra-virgin olive oil intake over time. Higher EVOO consumption was associated with a lower risk of a broad group of cardiovascular events. Participants in the highest intake group had about a 25% lower adjusted risk than those in the lowest group, while the highest-versus-lowest decile comparison showed a 48% lower risk. Regular/refined olive oil did not show the same strength of association.
The findings support the idea that extra-virgin olive oil may offer cardiovascular benefits beyond simply being a source of monounsaturated fat, with the authors pointing to EVOO's polyphenols and other bioactive compounds as an important distinction from refined olive oil. PREDIMED (2)