Olive oil health benefits research updates took center stage at the international conference on Wine and Olive Oil in the Mediterranean in Ancient Olympia, Greece in June. Scientists presented recent discoveries regarding extra virgin olive oil’s ability to help fight cancer, diabetes, inflammation, high cholesterol, kidney disease, Alzheimer’s, and more.
Olympia Health & Nutrition Awards were presented for especially healthy extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) that are rich in natural phenolic compounds (high phenolic extra virgin olive oils, or HPEVOOs). Before the awards ceremony, conference moderator and co-organizer Prokopios Magiatis provided an overview of the preceding year’s international scientific findings on the health benefits of high phenolic olive oil. He highlighted a clinical trial that showed that an olive oil polyphenol supplement can reduce blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and other symptoms of metabolic syndrome. This was noteworthy because the phenols had been isolated from the other components of olive oil, proving for the first time that the benefits came from the phenols.
Magiatis also mentioned evidence for other health benefits of HPEVOO:
- reduced insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes
- improvement in muscle mass in individuals with sarcopenia
- activity against breast and prostate cancer, psoriasis, and fatty liver disease
- antiparasitic, wound-healing, and anti-inflammatory effects
Magiatis emphasized the importance of the publication of 18 review articles in one year that considered olive oil’s beneficial effects on
- cancer
- inflammation
- the cardiovascular system
- metabolic syndrome
- Alzheimer’s disease
- athletes’ performance
Advances in understanding olive oil’s health benefits for cancer prevention, much more
In just six months, 65 articles on the beneficial effects of the phenolic compound oleocanthal were published. Encouraging reports on eight clinical trials featuring oleocanthal appeared in the past year. This makes it clear, according to Magiatis, that the benefits of olive oil are “extraordinary.” Notably, no adverse effects from the use of olive oil or its phenols in these studies have been reported, unlike the trials of many medications. So Magiatis believes “these findings show we are on the right path. We need to be sure high phenolic olive oil becomes part of the nutrition of all of us.”
As Magiatis added, clear experimental data showing that consumption of olive oil phenols can delay the cancer process should help convince everyone to use HPEVOO. Haralampia Boleti of the Hellenic Pasteur Institute discussed the evidence for olive oil’s benefits in cancer prevention. Citing several scientific articles, including an especially useful review and meta-analysis in Plos One, Boleti reported that a “31% lower likelihood of any cancer” has been associated with the highest olive oil consumption, with the greatest benefits in relation to breast, gastrointestinal, upper aerodigestive, and urinary tract cancer. In spite of this strong association, Boleti cautioned that causality has not yet been proven. Well-designed, long-term clinical trials could provide greater certainty.
Until those are conducted, animal studies and research on olive oil phenolic compounds (OOPs) can also be useful. Numerous studies of these compounds have established that they contribute to cardioprotection and provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer action. Boleti has been studying this anticancer action in her lab, using animal cancer models and cells representing eight types of cancer. In laboratory experiments, she has found strong evidence for OOPs’ anti-proliferative (slowing or stopping cell growth) and cytotoxic (cell-killing) effects, especially from oleocanthal. Experiments show that phenols aid cancer prevention.
Olive oil health benefit news features superheroes fighting inflammation
Marita Hernandez Garrido from Valladolid University called one class of olive oil phenols—secoiridoids—“humble hidden superheroes against inflammation,” which is one of the causes of cancer. Inflammation can act as a useful, self-limited, rapid response to injury that leads to healing. However, chronic unresolved inflammation can result in diseases such as cancer and diabetes. “Current anti-inflammatory drugs have adverse effects, especially with long-term use,” as Hernandez Garrido pointed out. On the other hand, natural compounds such as secoiridoids, which are found in olive oil, olive fruits, and olive leaves, have more “favorable safety profiles.”
Secoiridoids are considered “key elements responsible for the beneficial effects” of extra virgin olive oil, according to Hernandez Garrido. Working in the laboratory with cellular and animal models, she and her team have found that oleacein, for example, can slow the progress of multiple sclerosis, largely by reducing inflammation. Secoiridoids such as oleuropein, oleocanthal, and oleacein can also have anti-diabetic, immunosuppressive, neuroprotective, anti-cancer, antioxidant, and anti-obesity effects. Hernandez Garrido is confident that all the compounds in EVOO taken together will work even better than individual compounds to fight inflammation and help prevent disease. So a healthy eating pattern such as the Mediterranean diet with EVOO, which contains many bioactive components, can be used in disease prevention.
Olive oil health benefits research updates on kidney disease, diabetes, and osteoarthritis
More specifically, as Paula Rojas Gil from the University of Peloponnese explained, extra virgin olive oil can “help the management of inflammation and cardiovascular risks, which are common complications” of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Rojas Gil’s study of 605 participants, including a control group, suggested the “regular consumption of raw olive oil may support better kidney health and improve clinical outcomes.” Other studies have also found benefits from olive oil and a Mediterranean-style diet that includes plenty of fiber, olive oil, and honey for CKD, as well as for diabetes, which is a main contributing factor for CKD.
A poster prepared by M. Michail from the University of Thessaly and his colleagues considered the effect of olive oil polyphenols on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Reviewing articles published between 2015 and 2025, they concluded that EVOO polyphenols’ anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions contribute to “decisive antidiabetic activity,” making them suitable for use as part of the treatment for adults with prediabetes or diabetes.
Looking at a different type of inflammatory problem, Constantinos Apostolou at Evangelismos Hospital in Athens summarized the results of an eight-week study of 20 people “to check the anti-inflammatory effect of oleocanthal in patients with early and moderate knee osteoarthritis.” With 10 mg olive oil phenols (at least 5.2 mg oleocanthal) taken twice daily, the Oxford Knee Score showed very good improvement in knee function—a nearly 25% reduction of problems after two months of treatment—and no negative side effects.
Progress across multiple fronts in olive oil health benefits research
Focused on a less-known disease, Pavlina Sverak from the University of Minnesota discussed a one-year clinical trial in which 23 patients with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 were treated with high-phenolic extra virgin olive oil (rich in oleocanthal) and curcumin (derived from turmeric). Symptoms of this genetic condition can include benign and malignant tumors that are linked to inflammation, chronic itch, headaches, scoliosis, learning challenges, and breast cancer. Preliminary results of the trial were encouraging, with many experiencing improvement in itching and half seeing improvement with headaches, plus no new tumor growth, and no serious side effects.
Of course, all the small-scale studies’ authors call for additional research to confirm results and explore the reasons for them, preferably with large, long-term randomized controlled clinical trials. But progress and hope are already evident. World Olive Center for Health president Eleni Melliou mentioned earlier studies on olive oil’s health benefits for mild cognitive impairment that can precede Alzheimer’s, as well as for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, other cancers, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. New study results are being published all the time.
Harvard professor Stefanos Kales suggested that by now, olive oil is “universally accepted as healthy.” Providing a significant example, he pointed out that the latest US Dietary Guidelines and nutrition pyramid mark the first time the U.S. government has put olive oil in a food pyramid—at the center of it, no less. With every study and every year, there are more reasons to celebrate olive oil health benefits research updates.
This article is for informational purposes only and must not be considered medical advice. Readers should consult their healthcare professionals before making changes in treatment programs.
Thanks to the World Olive Center for Health for the photos used with this article.
About Greek Liquid Gold
Greek Liquid Gold creator, writer, and editor Lisa Radinovsky received complimentary food, lodging, conference registration, and transportation to enable her to cover the Wine and Olive Oil in the Mediterranean conference and the Olympia Health & Nutrition Awards ceremony as a freelance journalist.
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