Olive oil and risk of major chronic diseases
What it found
In studies of people, eating more olive oil was linked to lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and death from any cause, but not cancer.
The authors say the evidence supports a beneficial link for heart disease, diabetes and death.
What they found
Studies in people
Heart disease
For every extra 25 g of olive oil eaten per day, the risk of heart disease was 16% lower. When the randomised trial was removed, the risk was 14% lower.
Type 2 diabetes
For every extra 25 g of olive oil eaten per day, the risk of type 2 diabetes was 22% lower. These results were consistent across studies.
Death from any cause
For every extra 25 g of olive oil eaten per day, the risk of dying from any cause was 11% lower.
Cancer
No link was found between olive oil consumption and the risk of cancer, either for getting cancer or dying from it.
What the authors conclude
“Prospective studies supported a beneficial association of olive oil consumption with CVD, T2D and all-cause mortality, but they did not show any association with cancer risk.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that prospective studies supported a beneficial association of olive oil consumption with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and all-cause mortality.
- They state that the studies did not show any association with cancer risk.
How it was done
Some large studies suggested olive oil might protect against chronic diseases, and the authors wanted to bring together the evidence on olive oil and four major health outcomes.
They combined 36 studies, including 24 groups of people followed over time and 3 reports from one randomised trial. In total, the studies included hundreds of thousands of people, followed for 3.7 to 28 years.
What it can’t tell you
- Most of the studies followed people over time, so they can show a link but not prove that olive oil causes these outcomes.
- The randomised trial tested a Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil, so its effects cannot be attributed to olive oil alone.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Navarra-IDISNA, Spain; School of Medicine. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid-IdiPaz, Spain; Spanish Agency for Food Safety & Nutrition (AESAN), Spain
The paper
- Title
- Effect of olive oil consumption on cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and all-cause mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- Type
- Systematic review and meta-analysisThe authors follow a set, published method to find every relevant study, then combine the numbers from them into one result.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Martínez-González MA, Sayón-Orea C, Bullón-Vela V, et al (2022). Effect of olive oil consumption on cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and all-cause mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland). doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2022.10.001Free full textPubMed 36343558DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error