People aged 70-90 who follow a Mediterranean diet, are physically active, have moderate alcohol use, and are non-smokers have less than half the heart attack, cancer and overall death rate of people who eat an average Western diet and have more average habits.

This was the remarkable conclusion of the 2004 HALE study, involving people from 11 countries.

And the 2014 PREDIMED study demonstrated a 35-50% reduction in cardiovascular events by simply consuming extra virgin olive oil.

But there’s little money to be made for the pharmaceutical and healthcare establishment by promoting healthy eating habits.