Extra-virgin olive oil
The fat with the strongest cardiovascular evidence. 2–4 tablespoons/day in PREDIMED.
Why
EVOO is the dominant fat in the Mediterranean pattern. Polyphenols (especially oleocanthal) have anti-inflammatory effects. PREDIMED used 4 tablespoons/day and showed cardiovascular event reduction even vs. nut-supplemented Mediterranean diet. Cooking degrades polyphenols somewhat but the fatty-acid profile remains beneficial.
Slot in your day
How to do it
How
Use as primary cooking fat and salad dressing. Look for harvest date within the last year. Real EVOO has a peppery throat catch when tasted neat. That's the polyphenols.
Markers this may influence
Evidence
Guasch-Ferré 2022 J Am Coll Cardiol (Nurses' Health Study + Health Professionals Follow-up, n=92,383, 28-y follow-up): >½ tablespoon/day olive oil consumers vs never/rarely had 19% lower all-cause and CVD mortality and 29% lower neurodegenerative mortality. PREDIMED used ~4 tablespoons/day with a ~30% major-CVD-event reduction.