Olive Oil Slips Into Grace

The Mediterranean diet became even sunnier recently when the FDA granted bottlers of olive oil the right to claim that it may help reduce the risk of heart disease. The Washington Post reports that olive oil contains mono-unsaturated fatty acids, which lower the dangerous type of blood cholesterol known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and that the tasty lubricant appears to reduce the inflammation tied to artery damage and seems to keep the inner lining of arteries calm and less likely to contract in a dangerous way. If you’re one of those readers who finds qualifiers like "appears to" and "seems to" less than reassuring, it may be because you’re more demanding than some officials at the FDA.