Eating extra virgin olive oil may help people with high cholesterol get better blood flow in their tiny blood vessels, helping their tissues use oxygen more efficiently—likely because it boosts a helpful molecule called nitric oxide and reduces harmful body stress.

Eating extra virgin olive oil every day for a month can help your tiny blood vessels work better, especially if you have high cholesterol—your blood flows more easily and your body uses oxygen more efficiently.

Some early, small studies suggest that men with high cholesterol might get more heart blood flow benefits from a special kind of olive oil than women do—but we can’t be sure yet because the study wasn’t big enough.

Drinking or cooking with extra virgin olive oil may help your blood vessels work better, lower body-wide inflammation, and make your body respond better to insulin—kind of like a healthy oil that keeps your insides running smoothly.

If you have high cholesterol and drink a little extra virgin olive oil every day for a month, your resting heart rate might drop a bit and your lower blood pressure number might go down a little too — which is good for your heart.