Mediterranean diet - what it is, benefits
For years, studies of such diets have shown them to be associated with much lower rates of heart disease than are typically found in groups following "Western" diets.
Used a control groupIn the study you are referring to, investigators in Spain advised two groups of participants to follow a Mediterranean diet, but a control group to eat a low-fat diet.
At no cost to participants, they gave one group a liter of extra virgin olive oil a week, with instructions to use at least 4 tablespoons daily.
[...] because they did not find much change in the participants' dietary patterns, the investigators concluded that the extra virgin olive oil and nut supplements must have been responsible for the observed health benefits.
The Mediterranean diet came to public attention in America in the early 1990s as a result of efforts of the International Olive Oil Council, a trade group established by the United Nations.
The council recruited a group in Boston, Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust, to promote olive oil to American chefs, nutritionists and food writers.
Olive oil, nuts criticalOlive oil or nuts seem critical to these benefits.
Besides their fat and phenol content, both are wonderful to eat.
In the early 1990s, you had to search hard for a decent bottle of extra virgin olive oil; now almost any supermarket carries several brands, many of high quality.