Olive oil in the Mediterranean Experience

The incidence of myocardial ischaemia is higher in northern than in southern European countries. This is in agreement with the observation that most cardiovascular risk factors are over-represented in populations living in northern Europe as demonstrated by a recent study on plasma lipoprotein concentrations and other risk factors in randomly selected healthy men living in Stockholm, Sweden, and Naples, Italy. Diet certainly plays a major role in explaining differences in the cardiovascular risk between populations. The Mediterranean Diet is usually considered an example of nutritional habits associated with a low incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Olive oil has a major role in the diet of populations living in the Mediterranean region. Other important features of this diet need to be underlined, in particular the low animal fat and the high cereal consumption. The major drawback in living habits of most Mediterranean populations is a consumption of fibre-rich products (legumes, vegetables and fruit) which is below the recommended intake.