Plant-Based Diet With or Without Olive Oil - Which Is Better?

A new clinical trial examined the effects of a whole food, plant-based diet containing minimal to no olive oil compared with the same diet but with 4 tablespoons of olive oil added each day. Participants consumed both diets for four weeks each. Both diets resulted in improved metabolic health compared with an omnivorous diet, but when participants removed the olive oil, they experienced greater weight loss and lower total and LDL cholesterol levels. The researchers suggested that the higher cholesterol levels are, in part, due to the extra saturated fat found in the olive oil.