Does olive oil lower blood pressure?

Not when it is simply added to what people already eat. A 2024 meta-analysis of 17 randomized trials of olive or flaxseed oil in healthy and at-risk adults, 14 of them giving olive oil, found a change in systolic pressure of -0.48 mm Hg, with a 95% confidence interval from -1.76 to 0.80 that includes no change at all. The drops that do appear come from comparing extra virgin oil with refined oil, about 3 mm Hg systolic, or from a whole Mediterranean diet, where the diastolic drop against a low-fat diet was 1.53 mm Hg over 4 years in older Spanish adults at high cardiovascular risk.

Myth. Olive oil is not a blood pressure treatment on the evidence we have. Two 2024 meta-analyses reached the same place by different routes. One pooled 17 trials of oil supplements and found no effect. The other pooled 18 trials of a Mediterranean diet enriched with olive oil and found no consistent effect on blood pressure, with triglycerides the only marker that moved.

Unsettled. Whether the kind of olive oil matters is not settled. Two meta-analyses favor virgin or polyphenol-rich oil over refined or low-phenolic oil. One of them had blood pressure data for only 69 people. The other rated its own certainty low to moderate. A 2020 crossover trial in 50 healthy Australian adults, 2 fl oz (60 mL) a day for 3 weeks, found no significant difference between high and low polyphenol oil.

What the trials found

Olive oil as a supplement

The 2024 meta-analysis is the largest test of the oil on its own. It has a catch the headline hides. In 11 of the 14 olive oil trials, the oil was the placebo, given in capsules against fish oil, EPA or DHA. Those trials were built to test fish oil. They used a few grams of olive oil, so a null result there says little about olive oil as your main cooking fat. That trial is still missing.

Extra virgin against refined

A 2019 network meta-analysis of 13 trials in 611 mostly healthy people aged 26 to 70 compared types of olive oil with each other. Both high and low polyphenol virgin oils lowered systolic pressure compared with refined olive oil, by 2.87 to 2.99 mm Hg. The authors rate the certainty of that evidence low to moderate. An earlier 2015 meta-analysis of 8 crossover trials found a medium-sized fall in systolic pressure with high-phenolic oil, a standardized difference of -0.52 (95% CI -0.77 to -0.27), measured in only 69 people. Standardized units cannot be turned back into mm Hg.

The single trials are small and mostly compare people with themselves before and after. In 24 young women with high-normal pressure or stage 1 hypertension, oil with about 30 mg of polyphenols a day lowered pressure by 7.91 mm Hg systolic and 6.65 diastolic from baseline over 2 months. That is a change from where they started, and the polyphenol-free oil in the same trial did not produce a significant fall. In the larger Australian trial in healthy adults, the high and low polyphenol oils came out the same.

Olive oil inside a Mediterranean diet

PREDIMED randomized 7447 Spanish men aged 55 to 80 and women aged 60 to 80 at high cardiovascular risk to a Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil, the same diet with nuts, or advice to eat low-fat. After 4 years, diastolic pressure was 1.53 mm Hg lower with olive oil (95% CI 2.01 to 1.04 lower) than in the low-fat group, and 0.65 mm Hg lower with nuts. Systolic pressure did not differ between groups. The oil came with a whole diet and nutrition education, so the trial cannot separate the oil from everything else. By the end, people in every group were taking the same number of blood pressure drugs, 1.41 per person with olive oil and 1.39 in each of the other two groups.

A 2025 meta-analysis of 21 trials put the two PREDIMED-style diets side by side. Systolic pressure came out slightly higher in the olive oil arm than in the mixed nuts arm. The abstract gives the difference only as a significance level, with no size in mm Hg.

In everyday life

Observational data from the Spanish SUN cohort of 6863 university graduates, followed for a median of 28.5 months, linked higher olive oil intake to a lower chance of hypertension in men. In women there was no link. A pattern like this cannot show that the oil caused the difference.

Olive leaf is a different product

A 2026 meta-analysis of 30 trials found that olive leaf extract lowered systolic and diastolic pressure. Olive leaf extract is a supplement made from leaves, and its results do not carry over to the oil. Olive pomace showed no consistent benefit in the same analysis.

Who should be careful

Not for everyone. If you take blood pressure medicine, a change in diet can change how much of it you need. In a 2000 crossover trial in 23 people treated for hypertension, a diet with extra virgin olive oil cut the daily drug dose by 48%, against 4% on a sunflower oil diet. The doctors running that trial lowered the doses under a protocol. Do not cut or stop a drug on your own because you changed your oil. Ask the person who prescribes it.

Olive oil is dense in calories. The FDA heart claim for oils high in oleic acid holds only if the oil does not raise the total calories you eat in a day, so it is meant to replace another fat. In a small trial in 27 healthy young women, 40 g a day of extra virgin olive oil for 8 weeks did not change blood pressure and raised LDL cholesterol by 5 mg/dL against sunflower oil. We found no trial of olive oil and blood pressure in pregnancy, in children or in people with kidney disease.

What expert bodies say

We found no expert body with a position on olive oil and blood pressure specifically. The European Union refused the label claim that olive oil helps maintain the health of the cardiovascular system. A refusal means the evidence submitted did not convince the regulator, and it is not proof that there is no effect. The only olive claim the EU has authorized is that olive oil polyphenols help protect blood lipids from oxidative stress, which says nothing about blood pressure. In the United States the FDA allows a qualified claim about oleic acid oils and coronary heart disease, on the calorie condition above. We did not retrieve the text of the European or American hypertension guidelines, so we cannot say what they write about olive oil.

How we searched

We searched our local copy of PubMed on 7 October 2026. A broad search for olive oil or the Mediterranean diet with blood pressure returned 1178 records, mostly about the diet as a whole. We narrowed it to olive oil and its polyphenols, which returned 217. We read 60 titles and 16 abstracts, and ran a separate search for cohorts and PREDIMED.

We read the full text of the 2024 meta-analysis and of the PREDIMED blood pressure paper. For the 2015 and 2019 meta-analyses and the 2012 and 2000 trials we had only the abstracts. A web search found those two trials, which were missing from our copy of PubMed. It also found a meta-analysis in the journal Grasas y Aceites that is not indexed in PubMed, and we did not use it. We checked the EU claims register, which has 17 olive entries and 1 authorized claim, the FDA claim page, a drug and food interaction source, which had nothing on olive oil, and the US dietary guideline evidence reviews, which had no review of olive oil and blood pressure. None of the studies we used has been retracted.

We left out trials of isolated olive compounds, a trial that combined olive leaf with potassium, and the 2019 Cochrane review of Mediterranean diets, whose blood pressure results cannot be separated for olive oil. We did not get the text of the European or American hypertension guidelines.

What would change this answer

• A trial that makes olive oil the main cooking fat, against a named other fat, with blood pressure as the main outcome and a size reported in mm Hg. The supplement trials were not built for this.
• Results from registered trials. One trial of an oleic-acid-enriched olive oil is active and no longer recruiting, with blood pressure as a secondary outcome. One trial of extra virgin oil with blood pressure as its main outcome has an unknown status. Four completed trials have not posted results.
• Trials in pregnancy, in children and in people with kidney disease. We found none.

More on the food itself: olive oil.

Sources

1. ev-oobp-01 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs · n = 17 trials
   Supplementation with either OO or FLO had no effect on SBP mean difference (MD) -0.48 (95% CI: -1.76; 0.80, p=0.65)
   
   Who: normotensive adults and adults at risk of hypertension (overweight, obese, prehypertensive or stage 1) in 17 RCTs, 14 with olive oil and 3 with flaxseed oil
   Effect: SBP MD -0.48 mmHg (95% CI -1.76 to 0.80; I2 0%); DBP MD -0.47 mmHg (-1.33 to 0.39; I2 0%)
   Certainty: Olive oil and flaxseed oil are combined; 4 of 17 RCTs at high risk of bias; most lasted up to 1-3 months.
   Curr Hypertens Rev, 2024 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
2. ev-oobp-02 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs, description of included studies · n = 14 trials
   In contrast, of the 14 RCTs that used OO supplementation, 11 studies used OO as the control/placebo when compared to treatment of either fish oil, EPA, or DHA.
   
   Who: 14 RCTs of olive oil supplementation in healthy and at-risk adults
   Effect: 11 of 14 olive oil trials used olive oil as the control or placebo; only 2 of 14 reported a significant SBP reduction
   Certainty: Oil as a placebo in capsules: small doses (a few grams), so a null result says little about oil as the main cooking fat.
   Curr Hypertens Rev, 2024 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
3. ev-oobp-03 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of crossover RCTs · n = 69
   There were medium effects for lowering systolic blood pressure (n = 69; SMD -0.52; CI -0.77/-0.27; p < 0.01) and small effects for lowering oxLDL (n = 300; SMD -0.25; CI [-0.50/0.00]; p = 0.05).
   
   Who: healthy participants or patients with cardiovascular disease in 8 crossover RCTs of high vs low (or no) phenolic olive oil for 21-90 days; blood pressure measured in 69
   Effect: SBP SMD -0.52 (95% CI -0.77 to -0.27); DBP SMD -0.20 (-1.01 to 0.62), not significant
   Certainty: Only 69 people with blood pressure data; the effect is in standardized units (SMD), not mmHg.
   Phytomedicine, 2015 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
4. ev-oobp-04 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and network meta-analysis of RCTs · n = 611
   Both, HP(E)VOO and LP(E)VOO reduces SBP compared to ROO (range of MD: -2.99 to -2.87 mmHg), and HP(E)VOO may improve oxidized LDL-cholesterol (oxLDL-C) compared to ROO (standardized MD: -0.68, 95%-CI: -1.31, -0.04).
   
   Who: 611 mainly healthy participants aged 26-70 in 13 RCTs of at least 3 weeks comparing refined, mixed, low-phenolic and high-phenolic (extra) virgin olive oil
   Effect: HP(E)VOO and LP(E)VOO vs refined olive oil: SBP MD -2.99 to -2.87 mmHg; no DBP difference; dose-response between phenolic intake and lower SBP
   Certainty: The authors rate certainty as low or moderate; comparison between oil varieties, not oil versus no oil.
   Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2019 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
5. ev-oobp-05 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs · n = 21 trials
   However, the olive oil group had slightly higher systolic blood pressure levels than the mixed nuts group, with a significant p-value of <0.001.
   
   Who: adults at risk of cardiovascular disease in 21 RCTs (25 effect sizes) comparing Mediterranean diets supplemented with olive oil or mixed nuts
   Effect: SBP slightly higher in the olive oil arm than the nuts arm (p<0.001); no difference in DBP or lipids
   Certainty: Size of the difference in the abstract given only as SMD without numbers; a significant part of the data is from PREDIMED.
   Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2025 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
6. ev-oobp-06 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials · n = 18 trials
   MedDiet enriched with olive oil showed no consistent effects on any of the reported markers of cardiovascular health except on TG.
   
   Who: participants in 18 clinical trials of a Mediterranean diet enriched with olive oil, searched to March 2024
   Effect: no consistent effect on blood pressure, lipids other than TG, glycemia or anthropometry; TG WMD -2.40 mg/dL (95% CI -4.533 to -0.262)
   Certainty: High heterogeneity; the authors note a risk of selective reporting.
   Eur J Nutr, 2024 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
7. ev-oobp-07 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · multicentre randomized controlled trial, 4-year follow-up · n = 7447
   Participants allocated to either of the two Mediterranean diet groups had significantly lower diastolic BP than the participants in the control group (-1.53 mmHg (95% confidence interval (CI) -2.01 to -1.04) for the Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil, and -0.65 mmHg (95% CI -1.15 to -0.15) mmHg for the Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts).
   
   Who: men aged 55-80 and women aged 60-80 at high cardiovascular risk in Spanish primary care, randomized to Mediterranean diet plus EVOO, plus nuts, or low-fat advice
   Effect: DBP vs control: -1.53 mmHg (95% CI -2.01 to -1.04) for MD+EVOO; no between-group difference in SBP
   Certainty: The oil was given together with a whole diet and education; the control was a low-fat diet close to DASH, not the usual diet.
   BMC Med, 2013 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
8. ev-oobp-08 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · multicentre randomized controlled trial, secondary analysis · n = 7158
   At the end of follow-up, the average number of BP-lowering drugs in the PREDIMED participants was 1.41 (95% CI 1.36 to 1.46) in the MD+EVOO group, 1.39 (95% CI 1.33 to 1.44) in the MD+nuts group, and 1.39 (95% CI 1.33 to 1.45) in the control group (P>0.99).
   
   Who: PREDIMED participants with blood pressure data during follow-up, 7158 analyzed
   Effect: BP-lowering drugs at end of follow-up: 1.41 (95% CI 1.36 to 1.46) MD+EVOO, 1.39 (1.33 to 1.44) MD+nuts, 1.39 (1.33 to 1.45) control; P>0.99
   Certainty: Medication prescribing was not part of the intervention; physicians changed it independently.
   BMC Med, 2013 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
9. ev-oobp-09 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · double-blind randomized crossover trial · n = 24
   When compared to baseline values, only the polyphenol-rich olive oil diet led to a significant (P < 0.01) decrease of 7.91 mm Hg in systolic and 6.65 mm Hg of diastolic BP.
   
   Who: 24 young women with high-normal BP or stage 1 essential hypertension; polyphenol-rich (about 30 mg/day polyphenols) vs polyphenol-free olive oil, 2 months each
   Effect: SBP -7.91 mmHg, DBP -6.65 mmHg vs baseline (P<0.01), only on the polyphenol-rich oil
   Certainty: Comparison with baseline, not between oils; 24 participants; outside the corpus.
   Am J Hypertens, 2012: Olive oil polyphenols decrease blood pressure and improve endothelial function in young women with mild hypertension · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
10. ev-oobp-10 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · double-blind randomized crossover trial · n = 23
    Daily drug dosage was significantly reduced during the MUFA but not the PUFA diet (-48% vs - 4%, P<.005).
    
    Who: 23 hypertensive patients on antihypertensive drugs, MUFA diet with extra virgin olive oil vs PUFA diet with sunflower oil, 6 months each
    Effect: daily antihypertensive dosage -48% on EVOO vs -4% on sunflower oil (P<.005); 8 patients needed no drugs on EVOO
    Certainty: Small old RCT; the physician reduced medications per protocol. One must not stop medication on one's own while taking the oil; this is a conclusion about supervision, not about replacing therapy.
    Arch Intern Med, 2000: Olive oil and reduced need for antihypertensive medications · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
11. ev-oobp-11 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · double-blind randomized controlled crossover trial · n = 50
    No significant differences were observed in the changes from baseline to follow up between the two treatments.
    
    Who: 50 healthy adults (mean age 38.5, 66% female), 60 mL/day high vs low polyphenol olive oil for 3 weeks
    Effect: SBP -2.5 mmHg (95% CI -4.7 to -0.3) within HPOO; no significant between-oil difference; no change in DBP
    Certainty: Compared with baseline; no difference between oils.
    Nutrients, 2020 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
12. ev-oobp-12 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial · n = 27
    No differences in blood pressure were observed, though EVOO was associated with a lower blood pressure response to volume challenge and a trend toward lower hemoglobin A1c (p = 0.06).
    
    Who: healthy nulliparous women of reproductive age, 40 g/day EVOO vs sunflower seed oil for 8 weeks; 12 and 15 completers
    Effect: no BP difference; fasting insulin -0.31 U/mL (p=0.03); LDL +5.1 mg/dL (p=0.047)
    Certainty: Very small sample; not pregnant but women before pregnancy.
    Pregnancy Hypertens, 2026 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
13. ev-oobp-13 · Observational data · prospective cohort study · n = 6863
    No association was found between olive oil consumption and the risk of hypertension among women.
    
    Who: 6863 university graduates in the SUN cohort, median follow-up 28.5 months
    Effect: men, quintiles 2-5 vs 1: OR 0.55, 0.75, 0.32 (0.15-0.70), 0.46 (0.23-0.94); P trend 0.02; overall P trend 0.13; no association in women
    Certainty: Short follow-up; self-reported diagnosis; OR is odds, not risk.
    Lipids, 2004 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
14. ev-oobp-14 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · GRADE-assessed systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs · n = 1726
    OL supplementation significantly improved lipid parameters (total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, ApoB, oxLDL) and increased ApoA1, while reducing TNF-α, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body weight, and BMI.
    
    Who: participants in 30 RCTs of olive leaf or olive pomace supplementation
    Effect: olive leaf: lower SBP, DBP, TNF-alpha, weight; olive pomace: no consistent benefit; certainty very low to high
    Certainty: This is a leaf extract, not oil; cannot be transferred to oil. No effect size for blood pressure in the abstract.
    Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2026 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
15. ev-oobp-15 · Position of an expert body · FDA qualified health claim, enforcement discretion, oleic acid and coronary heart disease, 2018 · n = —
    To achieve this possible benefit, oleic acid-containing oils should not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day.
    
    Who: food labeling in the United States
    Effect: about 1.5 tablespoons (20 g) a day replacing fats higher in saturated fat; no increase in total daily calories
    Certainty: A claim about CHD, not about blood pressure; included as a safety condition: 1 tbsp of oil ≈ 120 calories, and oil on top of the diet adds energy.
    FDA, Constituent Update: FDA completes review of qualified health claim petition for oleic acid and the risk of coronary heart disease, 2018 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the page
16. ev-oobp-16 · Position of an expert body · EU Register on nutrition and health claims, entry POL-HC-7682, snapshot of 2026-09-21 · n = —
    POL-HC-7682 Olive oil and/or olive pomace oil. 1. Olive oil consumption helps to maintain the health of the cardiovascular system Non-authorised
    
    Who: food labeling in the European Union
    Effect: status Non-authorized for olive oil and/or olive pomace oil and cardiovascular system health
    Certainty: Non-authorized: the dossier did not convince, not evidence of absence of effect. The register has no claim specifically about blood pressure for oil.
    EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-7682, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the row
17. ev-oobp-17 · Position of an expert body · EU Register on nutrition and health claims, entry POL-HC-6431, snapshot of 2026-09-21 · n = —
    POL-HC-6431 Olive oil polyphenols Olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress Authorised
    
    Who: food labeling in the European Union
    Effect: status Authorised; subject olive oil polyphenols; outcome oxidation of blood lipids
    Certainty: The condition of use (5 mg hydroxytyrosol per 20 g of oil) is in Regulation 432/2012, not in this layer.
    EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-6431, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the row