"Does high polyphenol olive oil lower blood pressure?"

September 2026 

Daily extra virgin olive oil has been tested for lowering blood pressure in a number of studies with varying designs for the type of EVoo and participants.  One of the first studies published compared daily consumption of about two tablespoons EVoo to sunflower oil.¹ The 23 men and women studied were hypertensive and consumed the oils for six months each.  Compared to the blood pressure with sunflower, daily EVoo lowered both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The authors note that while on EVoo, eight of the participants were able to stop their blood pressure medication. In another study that compared daily virgin olive oil with a total phenol of 232 mg/kg to sunflower oil in hypertensive participants found only systolic BP to be improved with olive oil. ² These results are in contrast to two other studies of normotensive participants that compared daily EVoo to corn oil ³ (four tablespoons for each oil) or soybean oil ⁴ (two tablespoons for each oil) and found a decease in diastolic but not systolic blood pressure. The discrepancy in these study results may be due to whether or not the participants were hypertensive as having a healthy blood pressure, particularly a healthy systolic blood pressure could mean a further decrease in blood pressure is not likely.  Also, that the total amount and specific phenols in the EVoo are also likely important to realizing blood pressure improvement.  

Studies that list the total phenol content of the EVoo indicate higher total phenol and specific phenols may be critical to seeing a decrease in blood pressure.  Two studies compared two tablespoons of a refined olive oil to an EVoo with 366 mg/kg total phenols. ^5,6 Both included healthy men with borderline hypertensive systolic blood pressure. Both studies found that the EVOO with 366 mg/kg lowered diastolic but not systolic blood pressure. However, in another study that compared four tablespoons a day of refined olive oil to EVoo with 360 mg/kg total phenols in normotensive men found the 360 mg/kg lowered systolic BP, but not diastolic.⁷ In another study of hypertensive men, three tablespoons a day of an EVoo with 161 mg/kg total phenols lowered systolic but not diastolic blood pressure. ⁸ This suggests that specific phenols could be important in the role of EVOO improving systolic blood pressure as an EVoo with 161 mg/kg total phenols improved systolic BP, while 366 mg/kg total phenols did not.  Or to lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, a higher total phenol EVoo may be needed, but there are not sufficient studies examining this. One study of hypertensive women compared four tablespoons per day of refined olive oil to EVoo with 564 mg/kg total phenols. ⁹ The results showed the higher phenol EVoo lowered both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, with clinically meaningful reductions in both values (sys BP -7.9+9.5 mmHg and dia -6.6+6.6 mmHg).

The results available to date indicate that EVoo with at least 360 mg/kg total phenols will improve blood pressure.  More studies are needed with hypertensive patients and total phenol content greater than 366 mg/kg and also reporting the specific phenols would help to determine if there is a minimum total phenol needed and if there are specific phenols that are more likely to improve BP.  Laconiko EVoo has had an average of 568 total phenols for their everyday high phenolic and 1,492 for Laconiko Zoi for since it has been produced so daily use of Laconiko could lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure for those with elevated blood pressure. 

Summary:

·       Daily EVoo starting at two tablespoons a day can improve blood pressure.

·       Use EVoo with at least 366 mg/kg total phenols, and higher would be preferable.

·       All Laconiko EVoo have had (greater than 538) total phenols for the past 5 years, making Laconiko products a consistent producer of high phenolic extra virgin olive oils.

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2.         Perona JS, Canizares J, Montero E, Sanchez-Dominguez JM, Catala A, Ruiz-Gutierrez V. Virgin olive oil reduces blood pressure in hypertensive elderly subjects. Clin Nutr 2004;23(5):1113-21. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=15380903 ).

3.         Maki KC, Lawless AL, Kelley KM, Kaden VN, Geiger CJ, Dicklin MR. Corn oil improves the plasma lipoprotein lipid profile compared with extra-virgin olive oil consumption in men and women with elevated cholesterol: results from a randomized controlled feeding trial. J Clin Lipidol 2015;9(1):49-57. DOI: 10.1016/j.jacl.2014.10.006.

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7.         Sarapis K, Thomas CJ, Hoskin J, et al. The Effect of High Polyphenol Extra Virgin Olive Oil on Blood Pressure and Arterial Stiffness in Healthy Australian Adults: A Randomized, Controlled, Cross-Over Study. Nutrients 2020;12(8). DOI: 10.3390/nu12082272.

8.         Fito M, Cladellas M, de la Torre R, et al. Antioxidant effect of virgin olive oil in patients with stable coronary heart disease: a randomized, crossover, controlled, clinical trial. Atherosclerosis 2005;181(1):149-58. DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2004.12.036.

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