OLIVE OILS AND HEALTH 16 Therefore, this is a scientific book, but its second objective is to be written in accessible language. “A science is all the more useful when its works can be universally understood; and, on the contrary, the less communicable they are, the less useful they will be”. (Leonardo da Vinci, 1452 – 1519) Other important objectives of this book are: - To provide rigorous information for professionals who are not specialists in nutrition, but who may have some connection with food and health, such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, biologists, and others. - To encourage citizens to be critical of the messages they receive about food, and to consult trustworthy sources of information. - To promote nutritional education for health and its dissemination, with the aim of contributing to the improvement of the population’s dietary habits Structure of the book The selection of topics and authors was made after an exhaustive review of more than five hundred scientific articles published in the last five years. In fact, the choice focused, on the one hand, on those subjects and pathologies with the strongest scientific evidence regarding the health benefits of olive oils, and, on the other hand, on the most renowned Spanish researchers in the field. Once reviewed, eighteen topics were selected, each assigned to the leading specialist in the field, resulting in eighteen chapters. Since some of the main authors signed their chapters together with their collaborators, the total number of contributors amounts to thirty-six. All of them are distinguished professionals in the fields of nutrition and health, who have critically argued and reflected on the foundations of a healthy diet based on olive oil consumption. Spontaneously, this selection brought together authors who are professors, physicians, scientists, and/or researchers from universities, hospitals, and research centres, representing all the Spanish olive oil-producing regions. The Prologue of the book has been written by The Honourable Mr. Luis Planas Puchades, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the Government of Spain, and The Honourable Ms. Carolina Darias San Sebastián, Minister of Health. As previously stated, the publication is composed of eighteen chapters written by the Main Authors (whose names are underlined) and, in some cases, with the
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