Mediterranean Diet Better for Breast Cancer SurvivorsOlive-oil enriched diet helps breast cancer survivors lose more weight

The Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil, seems to be a better diet for weight loss and weight loss maintenance.

In this pilot study, women followed two 1,500-calorie diets – a conventional low-fat diet recommended by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and a plant-based olive oil diet similar to the Mediterranean diet. After eight weeks on each diet, participants selected one diet to follow for an additional six months of continued weight loss or weight management.

According to the findings, published in the June issue of the Journal of Women’s Health, 80 percent of women who started with the plant-based olive oil diet lost more than 5 percent of their baseline weight, compared to 31 percent who started with the NCI diet. But researchers were most surprised to find that after trying both diets, most women chose to stick with the less conventional, higher fat olive oil diet, saying they found the food more appetizing, accessible and affordable.