Virgin Olive Oil Does the Trick

New research suggests that, when it comes to oil, virgin olive is the healthy way to go. Reuters reports that researchers at the
Municipal Institute for Medical Research in Barcelona, Spain, had 200 young and
middle-aged men use each of three olive oils for three weeks
apiece in place of other dietary fats. One oil was a virgin olive oil high in polyphenols; the
other two were more heavily processed varieties with moderate
to low polyphenol levels. At the end of the study, the
men’s levels of "good" HDL cholesterol were highest after their
three weeks on virgin olive oil. They also showed a greater
decline in markers of so-called oxidative stress — a process
that helps deposit particles of "bad" LDL cholesterol on the
artery walls and can lead to a hardening and narrowing of the
vessels supplying the heart.  Doubtful? Read an abstact of the study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.