Is olive oil good for you?

Unrefined extra virgin olive oil has the highest amounts of antioxidants and naturally lowest levels of acidity. Refined olive oils are quite different and do not have any of the benefits of extra virgin olive oil.

Most cheap olive oil is refined. If you are using extra virgin olive oil, yes, it is good for you.

A study carried out in 2018 had some very interesting conclusions in relation to the health benefits of virgin olive oil.

The MedDiet (Mediterranean Diet) is an excellent model of healthy eating. Olive oil, particularly extra-virgin olive oil, is the main and most characteristic component of the MedDiet. Indeed, without the use of olive oil, applying the label of “MedDiet” to another dietary pattern would represent a fairly inconsistent definition.

One of the greatest public health challenges worldwide is the obesity pandemic. There are sufficient studies reporting that the use of virgin olive oil as the only culinary fat, ingested in a moderate and continuous way, was associated with a reduced body mass index. Long-term randomized trials are warranted to confirm this observation.

Hypertension is the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease worldwide. The available randomized trials indicate that virgin olive oils reduce blood pressure and thus, the global cardiovascular burden of disease and its associated pharmaceutical costs.

Virgin olive oils have anti-atherosclerotic potential, favouring endothelial function and preserving blood pressure, maintaining lipoprotein functionality, exerting anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and modulating gene expression in several tissues to maintain proper homeostasis.

Nevertheless, the type of olive oil should be considered when providing recommendations to the population because additional benefits can be conferred when the phenolic content of olive oil is high.

Epidemiological studies are concordant in supporting that a diet where virgin olive oils are the foremost source of fat is associated with chemoprevention. Animal studies are suggestive of a preventive effect of olive polyphenols and many in vitro studies are clarifying their mechanisms of action. However, the relevance of such data is often weakened by the use of non-physiological concentrations and doses. Human studies on chemoprevention with a single nutrient are nearly impossible to carry out. However, the advice to use olive oil as the principal source of visible fat to lower cancer risk rests on solid accumulated observations.

The Mediterranean diet—as an overall dietary pattern—has been shown to be associated with reduced risk of postmenopausal breast cancer in both observational human studies and a randomized trial. Moreover, observational studies suggest that specifically virgin olive oils may play a role in the prevention of postmenopausal breast cancer.

The Mediterranean diet has also been suggested to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer; nevertheless, the evidence is limited to observational data in humans and to date, there is no large body of evidence on the specific protective role of virgin olive oils on colorectal cancer prevention.

Although virgin olive oils have the potential to reduce the risk of some types of cancer (primary prevention), we have no strong clinical evidence to support that they can affect the long-term progression of pre-malignant or cancerous lesions after diagnosis (treatment).

Experimental studies have confirmed significant anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of dietary virgin olive oils and its bioactive components supplementation in preclinical models of autoimmune diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and sclerosis. Thus, the consumption of virgin olive oil and its minor constituents may acquire a great importance in nutritional therapy, especially in immunocompromised patients, and could be an alternative approach for the prevention and management of different immune-inflammatory diseases. However, future clinical studies are necessary to mechanistically define the effective doses in humans and the dose-dependence of their effects.

Chemical pollution is one of the main determinants of morbidity and mortality in the world and represents an increasingly important threat for humans and the environment. However, only regulated chemicals (i.e., pesticides, food additives and veterinary medicinal products) have been subject to pre-market evaluation by means of rigorous toxicological testing in Western countries since the past two decades. In contrast, this is not the case for food contaminants and we still need to implement ways to reduce or prevent food contamination. While there is no current evidence that chemical pollution represents a health concern regarding olive oil, we need to shift towards a sustainable production of olive oil in order to reduce the potential chemical burden associated with its production.

The use of pesticides is necessary to combat pests and diseases in olive groves in order to increase olive oil production in terms of quantity and quality. However, an inappropriate use of pesticides may pose health risks to humans, non-target species, and the environment. Although theoretically, pesticide residues may remain in olive oil, the European Union Coordinated Programme for pesticide residues in food (for the year 2015) showed that only approximately 0.1% of the olive oil samples analysed exceeded the MRL currently adopted. This indicates that the consumption of olive oil is unlikely to pose health concern to consumers. An integrated pest management approach is being implemented in the European Union to reduce the use of pesticides and foster a sustainable use of these substances without impairing crop production. This approach is essential and will optimize food production while minimizing risks to humans and the environment, thus contributing to achieving the integral concept of healthy food.

Sustainable food production is indispensable and unavoidable to feed the growing population. Better agronomic practices are urgently needed to guarantee nutritious food that is accessible to everyone and respectful of the environment. This also applies to olive oil.

International Conference on Virgin Olive Oil and Health Consensus | José J. Gaforio | Francesco Visioli | Catalina Alarcón-de-la-Lastra | Olga Castañer | Miguel Delgado-Rodríguez | Monserrat Fitó | Antonio F. Hernández | Jesús R. Huertas | Miguel A. Martínez-González | Javier A. Menendez | Jesús de la Osada | Angeliki Papadaki | Tesifón Parrón | Jorge E. Pereira | María A. Rosillo | Cristina Sánchez-Quesada | Lukas Schwingshackl | Estefanía Toledo | Aristidis M. Tsatsakis