The Mediterranean Diet has been known for a long time to be associated with greatly improved cardiovascular health. Now a new study done by Dr. Miguel Martanez-Gonzalez of the University of Navarra in Spain indicates it might lower a women’s risk of breast cancer by as much as 62%.

Scientists being scientists, no one is yet willing to say the Mediterranean Diet is responsible for this decrease. Heck, they’re not even willing to say yet that it is  improves cardiovascular health. They’ll only say the improved health and the diet happen together. Until they isolate the compound that has these beneficial effects, that’s as far as they’re willing to go. But you and I know the diet is great for your heart. And now it’ll lower your risk of certain cancers, including breast cancer.

Study subjects eat 4 ounces of oil a day. Sounds great, doesn’t it? It’s good for you to eat oil. Isn’t that like finding out chocolate is health? Well, not exactly. It has to be extra virgin olive oil, for one thing, and you can’t use it deep fry stuff in. Heat that high breaks down the oil and destroys it’s healthful qualities. So you have to eat half a glass of oil a day. That’s 8 tablespoons. How do you do that?

Salad dressing is great. But for all our salad bars and salad options at fast food places, we are not a country that is huge on making salad at home, much less making a dressing. You can use it to sauté. Vegetables, chicken, fish. But you don’t get to count the oil left in the pan. So, it might not be quite as much fun as you were envisioning.

But you can at least try. You can get a little extra virgin olive oil into your body. Grow to like olives and other stuff you find at olive bars. The main thing to remember is that the Mediterranean Diet is a very healthy all ’round lifestyle choice. It’s high in fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, and whole grains as well as the oil. Give a shot. I mean, there’s no downside. And you may find you like it. And remember. It’s good for your boobs.