Does olive oil lower blood pressure?
Yes, modestly — in healthy adults, daily extra-virgin olive oil lowered systolic blood pressure by about 2.5 mmHg, and a large review links olive-oil intake to lower blood pressure. The effect is on the top number, and it is small.
What the evidence supports
What it doesn't do
- ✗ Move the diastolic (bottom) number
- ✗ Clearly beat ordinary olive oil — the high- vs low-polyphenol difference wasn't significant
- ✗ Replace medication — the effect is a couple of mmHg
Where this comes from
- Why it works
- Extra-virgin olive oil brings monounsaturated fat and a set of polyphenols that support the lining of the blood vessels and nitric-oxide signalling, helping vessels stay relaxed. Refined and "light" olive oils lose most of those polyphenols in processing, which is why the evidence points specifically to extra-virgin, used raw.
- What the human evidence shows
- A confirmed double-blind crossover trial in 50 healthy adults (the OLIVAUS study) found that daily extra-virgin olive oil lowered systolic blood pressure by about 2.5 mmHg from baseline over three weeks, with no change in diastolic pressure.1 An honest caveat: that was a within-group change, blood pressure was a secondary outcome, and the difference between high- and low-polyphenol oil was not statistically significant. Backing it up, a 2024 umbrella review of 31 meta-analyses linked olive-oil intake to lower blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and mortality — with the blood-pressure benefit specific to liquid oil, not capsules.2
- Where the evidence stops
- The effect is small — a couple of mmHg — and on systolic pressure only. The trial evidence is in healthy adults, and much of the umbrella review's underlying data is observational, so for the broader outcomes we say "linked to", not "causes". Choose extra-virgin because its polyphenols are plausibly part of the benefit, but don't over-claim it as clearly better than ordinary olive oil.
A note on honesty: the clearest number here — 2.5 mmHg — was a change from each person's own baseline, not proof that high-polyphenol oil beats regular olive oil, and blood pressure wasn't the trial's main target. We flag that rather than dress it up. We recommend no supplement or brand; the evidence is for liquid extra-virgin oil as a food, and olive-oil capsules did not show the blood-pressure benefit.
At a glance
Sources
Bottom line for you
Using a couple of tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil a day, in place of less healthy fats, is a sensible habit that modestly lowers systolic blood pressure and sits within a dietary pattern linked to better heart health. Choose extra-virgin and use it raw, since its polyphenols are part of the story.
Keep the size of it honest: around 2.5 mmHg, on the top number, in healthy adults — a small nudge, not a treatment. It complements the bigger levers such as weight, salt, exercise and, if you eat them, beetroot and other whole foods; it doesn't replace medication.
Get the evidence, not the hype
We'll send you the full Evidence Index table — every food and method we've rated by the strength of the human evidence, all in one place. Human studies only, and no supplements.
Educational information based on peer-reviewed human studies. Not medical advice — do not start, stop or change blood-pressure medication without your clinician. AntiAgingGreens never sells or recommends supplements. We report what the evidence shows — and where it stops.