Great info here. I come from a family wherein many people have high cholesterol. However, whenever I get a CBC and the lab calculates my heart disease risk based on my lipid profile, my risk is usually off-the-charts low (as in, my heart disease risk ratio tends to fall outside the lowest end of the range indicated as "low").

What do I do differently than my family? Well, for one, I walk more and eat more fiber (both of which are healthy).... but I also consume olive oil without moderation: I add extra to pasta sauces, fry eggs in it, grill bread in it, drizzle it over salads, etc. It's entirely normal that I might have olive oil with breakfast and lunch... and sometimes also dinner.

And yet even though olive oil is a fat high in calories, I'm also (lucky to be) the only person in my family who is not overweight. All in all, olive oil is a miracle for me, and I hope I can always afford it.