Eat Your Way to a Healthier Heart

Are you one of the 105 million Americans estimated to have high cholesterol? "Good" fats—monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oil—can reduce your risk of disease. Olive oil contains a potent mix of antioxidants that can lower LDL while not negatively affecting your HDL. To get its heart-healthy benefits, the Food and Drug Administration recommends substituting about 2 tablespoons of olive oil a day for other fats. Use it in salad dressings, drizzle it on vegetables or bread, add it to a marinade, or use it instead of butter to baste fish or chicken. Olive oil is high in calories, though; so don't eat more than the recommended amount. (You might think it's even better to choose "light" olive oil, but these are more processed and the word "light" only refers to the taste.) Look for extra-virgin olive oil, which contains more heart-healthy antioxidants.