Olive oil polyphenols & cardiovascular health (1/3)
How polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil protect your cardiovascular health, backed by science
Cardiovascular health refers to how well your heart and blood vessels are working together to keep your body running. When everything is in balance, your heart pumps blood efficiently and your arteries stay flexible and clear. When this system is damaged, it can lead to cardiovascular diseases. These include heart attacks, strokes, and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), often called ‘mini-strokes’. They are sudden, severe and life changing.
The occurrence of cardiovascular diseases is rapidly increasing in the Western world. In the Netherlands, the number of strokes has increased by 50% in the last 10 years among people <45 years old!
The good news is that up to 80% of strokes can be prevented by making healthier lifestyle choices. One of the most effective choices? Diet. That is why neurologists (brain doctors) and cardiologists (heart doctors) recommend the Mediterranean diet, a way of eating linked to lower rates of cardiovascular diseases. At the heart of this diet is olive oil, which makes up about 70% of its fat intake. But here’s what many people do not know: it’s the polyphenols inside the olive oil that make the difference. These natural compounds, originating from the olive tree, have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects that help protect your blood vessels. Most olive oils do not contain sufficient levels of these polyphenols to truly support your cardiovascular health. This is why you need extra virgin olive oil rich in these protective compounds.
Do you want to better understand what polyphenols are and where they come from? Read this article.
The next couple of blog posts explain the 5 ways polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil protect your cardiovascular health. The content is mainly based on the report ‘The truth behind olive oil: scientific evidence on the health benefits of polyphenol-rich extra virgin olive oil’ prepared by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in 2025- commissioned by the Olive Oil Club. This report includes extensive literature research on the anti-inflammatory-, cardioprotective-, neuroprotective-, antimicrobial-, and antidiabetic effects of olive oil polyphenols. To ensure that only reliable findings were included in the report, the researchers only included findings from peer-reviewed studies, meta-analyses and systematic reviews in the English and Dutch language that were published within the last 15 years (between 2010 and 2025) and that used randomized controlled trials, cohort studies and/or animal studies dedicated to olive oil polyphenols.
This is the first of 5 ways polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil protect your cardiovascular health:
1. Polyphenols protect cholesterol from oxidation
Let me try to explain this to you in simple terms. First, not all cholesterol is bad. Your body needs cholesterol to build cells, produce hormones, and support digestion and vitamin D production. There are 2 main types of cholesterol: LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and HDL (high-density lipoprotein). HDL is considered good cholesterol, whereas LDL is considered bad cholesterol. LDL becomes harmful when it gets oxidized, which is a sort of inflammatory reaction in your blood vessels. This causes the LDL to stick to the walls of your arteries, like chewing gum sticking inside a pipe. This is called atherosclerosis. Over time, the chewing gum hardens (creating plaque) and narrows the arteries. This makes it harder for blood to flow and results in a greater risk of heart attacks or strokes.
Scientific studies consistently show that olive oil polyphenols act as powerful anti-oxidants that reduce LDL oxidation and atherosclerosis (Perrone et al., 2019; Fitó et al., 2000; Castañer et al., 2012; Covas et al., 2006; Hernáez et al., 2015; Sarapis et al., 2022; Castañer et al., 2011). The following studies, amongst many others, confirmed that olive oil polyphenols reduce LDL oxidation:
In the EUROLIVE study by Hernáez et al., 2015, people consumed either olive oil (with polyphenols) or refined olive oil (without polyphenols), complemented with a similar diet, for a period of 3 weeks. Only the people who consumed olive oil showed reduced signs of oxidized LDL in their blood.
In the study of Sarapis et al., 2022, 50 healthy adults used either a high-polyphenol olive oil or a low-polyphenol one. The high-polyphenol group had much lower levels of oxidized LDL in their blood.
In the study of Castañer et al., 2011 with 200 healthy people, it became evident that the more polyphenols the people consumed, the better their immune system became at spotting and cleaning up oxidized LDL.
Two large reviews of 30+ scientific studies came to the following conclusion: olive oil rich in polyphenols greatly reduces oxidized LDL (Derakhshandeh-Rishehri et al., 2023; George et al., 2019).
It is thus scientifically proven that olive oil polyphenols stop LDL oxidation, protecting your blood vessels from being clogged. To get this effect, you need to consume at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol (a specific olive oil polyphenol) per day. You will only get this from extra virgin olive oil that contains >250 mg/kg hydroxytyrosol.
All olive oils of the Olive Oil Club contain much more hydroxytyrosol than this minimum threshold!
[The next blog posts will provide you with the other 4 ways polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil protects your cardiovascular health.]
References:
Castañer, O., Covas, M. I., Khymenets, O., Nyyssönen, K., Zunft, H.-J., de la Torre, R., ... & Fitó, M. (2012). Protection of LDL from oxidation by olive oil polyphenols is associated with a downregulation of CD40-ligand gene expression and its downstream products in vivo in humans. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 95(6), 1238–1244.
Castañer, O., Fitó, M., Covas, M. I., et al. (2011). Mediterranean diet and atheroprotection: The PREDIMED study. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 54(1), 52–60.
Covas, M. I., Nyyssönen, K., Poulsen, H. E., Kaikkonen, J., Zunft, H.-J. F., Kiesewetter, H., ... & EUROLIVE Study Group. (2006). The effect of polyphenols in olive oil on heart disease risk factors: a randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 145(5), 333–341.
Derakhshandeh-Rishehri, S. M., Samadi, M., & Asadollahi, K. A. (2023). The contribution of olive oil polyphenols to cardiovascular health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Food & Function, 14(4), 2100–2122.
Fitó, M., Covas, M. I., Lamuela-Raventós, R. M., Vila, J., Torrents, E., de la Torre, C., & Marrugat, J. (2000). Protective effect of olive oil and its phenolic compounds against low density lipoprotein oxidation. Lipids, 35(6), 633–638.
George, E. S., Marshall, S., Mayr, H. L., Trakman, G. L., Tatucu-Babet, O. A., Lassemillante, A.-C. M., ... & Tierney, A. C. (2019). The effect of high-polyphenol extra virgin olive oil on cardiovascular risk factors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 59(17), 2772–2795.
Hernáez, Á., Fernández-Castillejo, S., Farràs, M., Catalán, Ú., Subirana, I., Montes, R., ... & Fitó, M. (2015). Olive oil polyphenols enhance high-density lipoprotein function in humans: A randomized controlled trial. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 34(9), 2115–2119.
Perrone, S., De Palma, C., & De Palma, A. (2019). Polyphenols and cardiovascular disease: An update. Current Opinion in Lipidology, 30(1), 74–79.
Sarapis, K., Georgoulia, P., Fasoulas, A., et al. (2022). High-polyphenol extra virgin olive oil reduces oxidized-LDL cholesterol and markers of inflammation: A randomized controlled trial. Nutrients, 14(12), 2546.
