How to Add Olive Oil to Your Diet

There are many benefits to a diet rich in olive oil. Known to promote heart health by reducing "bad cholesterol" and increasing "good cholesterol", olive oil is full of antioxidants and vitamin E, which may also provide protection against certain cancers and signs of aging. Mediterranean cuisine, such as Italian and Greek dishes, are frequently made with olive oil, so it's easy to find foods cooked with olive oil in many restaurants, and it's also easy to find recipes to cook with olive oil at home.

Steps

1. 1
   Use olive oil instead of butter for sautéing and to spread on fresh-baked bread. The goal when using olive oil is to replace other fats, not add the olive oil to them.
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2. 2
   Make pesto sauce for pasta dishes by combining salt, garlic, fresh basil, and pine nuts in a food processor until the mixture forms a paste. Slowly add small amounts of olive oil until the mixture reaches the consistency of a thick sauce. In addition to serving over pasta, pesto can also be eaten with fish, salads, and spread on sandwiches. Store any unused pesto in a glass jar with a lid with more olive oil.
3. 3
   Make fresh salad dressings for garden salads, pasta salads, and cooked vegetables by combining 2 parts olive oil with 1 part balsamic vinegar. Add salt, ground pepper, crushed garlic, and fresh herbs. The same ingredients can also be used to make a tasty marinade for meats.
4. 4
   Rub a generous coating of olive oil on fish and meat before baking, grilling, or frying them. In addition to helping your heart, the olive oil will help keep the meat soft and moist.
5. 5
   Use olive oil instead of butter, sauces, creams, and gravies.

   • The "American Society for Clinical Nutrition" article in 1999 on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet compared to other diets. But the original data of that study was collected on the island of Crete in 1958. Most people there were eating fish and growing their own vegetables.
   • A study in "The New England Journal of Medicine", 2003, concluded that olive oil showed no significant reduction in overall death rates. The reason for the reduction in heart disease had to do with high veggies, fruits, legumes, unrefined grains, and low amounts of meat and dairy.
   • In another study in the "British Journal of Nutrition", 2004 (Jun;91 (6): 1013-9), on the island of Crete, of 254 patients, "half had heart disease." These heart patients were eating large amounts of olive oil. Those without heart disease ate lots of vegetables.
     • All oils, including olive oil, have about 120 calories per tablespoon and give you essentially empty calories.