Lovers of olive oil take heart.

There’s now even more evidence that the golden, flavorful stuff — a favorite in the kitchens of many cooks — is good for you.

And it doesn’t even take that much of it to make a difference to your health.

Food containing olive oil can now carry labels saying it may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, the government announced earlier this month, citing limited evidence from a dozen scientific studies about the benefits of monounsaturated fats.

As long as people don’t increase the number of calories they consume daily, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed a reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease when people replace foods high in saturated fat with the monounsaturated fat in olive oil.

That means a change as simple as sauteing food in two tablespoons of olive oil instead of butter may be healthier for your heart.

That’s important news American consumers should know about, according to the FDA, since coronary heart disease is the No. 1 killer of both men and women in the United States.

Nutrition and medical experts in Lawrence agree that consumers should take note of this latest information about olive oil.

“It’s a pretty big deal when the FDA concludes that a product has heart-healthy properties and manufacturers can say that. This would be an example of one more bit of evidence supporting the use of olive oil,” says Ann Chapman, coordinator of nutrition services at Kansas University’s Watkins Memorial Health Center.

But experts like Chapman, a registered dietitian, are quick to point out that consumers shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that this means olive oil is an elixir of good health.

“When the FDA comes out and endorses the use of a product for its health benefits, it’s newsworthy, but not necessarily new or earth shaking. This is information we already had,” Chapman says.

“I think it’s an oversimplification of the whole oil issue to lead consumers to the use of strictly one oil, because other oils have benefits for your heart, as well.”

One effective tool

The studies recently cited by the FDA suggesting that olive oil may be heart healthy don’t necessarily come as a surprise to nutrition and health experts.

Rather, they simply provide re-inforcement of what has already been suspected for some time.

“People in the world of medicine have been recommending that consumers use olive oil for the past 10 years. I think what’s new about it (the FDA announcement) is that we now have more confirmatory studies that support that,” says Patricia Denning, M.D., an internist and staff physician at Watkins Student Health Center.

Four of the dozen studies cited by the FDA were particularly persuasive. They indicated that olive oil can lower total and bad (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, while boosting the level of good (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol.

The benefit of consuming olive oil, Denning explains, is that it keeps LDL cholesterol from oxidizing, and it’s the oxidation process that causes atherosclerosis — the formation of plaque inside blood vessels.

That doesn’t mean olive oil is a “magic bullet.” Instead, it’s just one more effective tool in avoiding heart disease.

“It’s part of the overall picture. You still need to work on exercise, avoiding cigarette smoking, keep your blood pressure and blood sugar under control, maintain your ideal body weight. This is only a portion of the overall recommendation,” Denning says.

Look beyond ‘solution du jour’

Consumers shouldn’t simply rush out to buy olive oil and uncritically add it to their diets.

“We don’t want people slugging down 2 tablespoons of olive oil as a nightcap. It’s got to be part of an overall, healthy diet,” says Nancy O’Connor, director of education and outreach at the Community Mercantile Co-op, 901 Iowa.

After all, those 2 tablespoons alone represent 252 calories and 8 grams of fat.

So, instead of addition, think substitution.

“Look at the fat in your diet and identify where you can move olive oil in and the less desirable fat out,” she says.

That might mean forgoing ranch dressing — high in saturated fat — and instead making a dressing of your own with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Or, when making a grilled cheese sandwich, using a light coating of olive oil in the bottom of the pan, rather than slathering the bread with butter or margarine.

In other words, forget about olive oil as the latest “solution du jour,” O’Connor says.

“Every time we get one of these (nutrition) tidbits, we tend to get tunnel vision. We zero in on low carb, no carb, oat bran, soy foods,” she says.

“But we can’t ever rely on any one food to make us healthy. It’s more the overall approach to diet. It’s the sum of the parts, not just the parts.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.