Oleic Acid

Olive oil, the elixir at the foundation of Mediterranean civilizations, features from 55 to 85 percent oleic acid and about 9 percent linoleic acid as component fatty acids. The health and therapeutic benefits of olive oil have long been appreciated as evidenced by Hippocrates, the father of medicine, singing its praises. Unlike dietary fat perceived as bad for health, oleic acid is a monosaturated fat believed to help reduce serum cholesterol levels and low-density lipoproteins or LDLs ("bad" cholesterol), while not affecting levels of high-density lipoproteins or HDLs ("good" cholesterol).