Why should I keep those tasty olives coming my way?

I love olive oil and find myself gravitating to it more and more often. In fact, with bread now instead of butter I do what the Italian restaurants do -- just put a little olive oil in a dish, salt and pepper it, and dip the corner of the bread in. It tastes great and it makes me feel good that I've replaced a saturated fat with a monounsaturated fat.

The primary set of studies on which Prevention Magazine based its "Flat Belly Diet" all have to do with intake of monounsaturated fats in our daily diet. Olives and olive oils, nuts, dark chocolate and avocadoes all provide this. And they're all such fabulous foods!

(In moderation of course. I for one would never suggest overindulging in anything like dark chocolate. Ahem.)

I really doubt it! GERD is linked to lower esophageal sphincter problems. Some factors that contribute to GERD are consumption of certain foods and beverages (spicy, fatty, and carbonated), alcohol, various medications (sedatives and calcium channel blockers), smoking tobacco, and consuming large meals. Olive oil is not among them.

I just attended a medical conference where olive and olive oil research was presented to over 300 physicians and there is more and more evidence that olives and olive oil which is foundational to the mediterranean diet are the key to healthy living. GERD has a physiological cause and is linked to other factors including obesity, yeast and candida bacteria present, food sensitities (i.e. gluten intolerance), functional performance of esophegeal muscles, among others.

I really like olive oil, but I remember reading somewhere that olives and olive oil aren't the greatest for people with GERD. Is there any truth to that?