Health Benefits

An olive oil polyphenol supplement tested on patients with metabolic syndrome significantly reduced blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and more. A recent double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial has provided new evidence that the polyphenols naturally found in extra virgin olive oil can reduce several symptoms of metabolic syndrome (MetS).

The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet have earned it widespread fame, from social media and TV to cookbooks and conferences. For eight years, U.S. News & World Report’s panel of nutrition scientists and public health experts have ranked it the Best Diet Overall. Read on to learn what’s in it, who cares, why it matters, and what it can do for your health.

The 10th Olympia Health & Nutrition Awards ceremony for very healthy extra virgin olive oil took place in Athens on June 26. With this event, the non-profit World Olive Center for Health continued its efforts to promote high phenolic olive oil and its health benefits in 2025. Scientific advances were discussed, and award winners and donors were honored.

At the 6th International Yale Symposium on Olive Oil and Health, Professor Vasilis Vasiliou of Yale School of Public Health updated the audience on recent research on olive oil’s health benefits. Mentioning that he has seen interest in these benefits from South Carolina to Dubai, he encouraged discussions of olive oil in terms of both gastronomy and health.

Olive oil’s health benefits have been studied so much that they are now widely recognized. In fact, it is hard to keep up with all the articles about scientific evidence for extra virgin olive oil’s ability to help prevent and cure diseases. Followed by links to some of the clearest, most useful recent articles, this summary of the main benefits can help.

Growing up in China, Frank Hu followed a traditional Asian diet. Now the chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Hu researches the benefits of extra virgin olive oil and the traditional Mediterranean diet and enjoys a fusion of Asian and Mediterranean cuisines.

The 30th anniversary of the official publication of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid was commemorated as part of World Olive Day on November 21, 2024. Honoring the pioneers and organizations that promoted this initiative three decades ago, this event brought leading public health experts to Madrid, Spain to share their insights about the Mediterranean diet.

Scientific research indicates that high phenolic extra virgin olive oil (HPEVOO) can play an important role in combatting many diseases. At the 2024 Olympia Health & Nutrition Awards ceremony organized by the World Olive Center for Health (WOCH) in Athens, scientists presented some of the latest results of research on HPEVOO that WOCH has supported.

The international recognition of high phenolic extra virgin olive oil and its disease-fighting properties was the focus of the 9th Olympia Health & Nutrition Awards ceremony on June 27 in Athens, Greece. With more than 600 olive oil samples tested for health-protecting natural phenolic compounds at the University of Athens this year, over 250 were awarded.

With the Mediterranean diet ranked the “Best Diet Overall” by U.S. News & World Report for the 7th year in a row in 2024, it is a model for healthy eating. In fact, it is even more. It goes beyond food to include various aspects of the traditional Mediterranean way of life. Resembling other traditional, healthy lifestyles, it is easy for many to embrace.