The Study
Resting-state brain connectivity following extra virgin olive oil intake in healthy adults: a randomised crossover pilot neuroimaging substudy.
This study is like a tiny test with only 9 people. They gave some people special olive oil and others regular olive oil, and then looked at their brain pictures. They saw a difference in one part of the brain, but because it's so small, we can't be sure it's real. It's a hint that olive oil might affect the brain, but we need bigger tests to know for sure.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Researchers gave healthy adults extra virgin olive oil and regular olive oil for one month each. They scanned their brains and found that extra virgin olive oil seemed to increase activity in the part of the brain that processes vision, and also increased a chemical marker of olive oil in urine.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 567 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1This is a small study, so the result might not apply to everyone, but it gives a hint that extra virgin olive oil might have some effect on the brain.
- 2People had more brain connectivity in the visual area after taking extra virgin olive oil compared to regular olive oil.
- 3The difference was statistically significant.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Food & function
Year
2026
Authors
Rocío M. Gutiérrez-Romero, C. Donat-Vargas, E. Muñoz-Moreno, A. Hinojosa-Moscoso, Polina Galkina, Camila Arancibia-Riveros, Inés Domínguez-López, S. Hurtado-Barroso, M. Pérez, A. Vallverdú-Queralt, R. Casas, Ramon Estruch, R. Lamuela-Raventós
Related Content
Claims (6)
Olive oil helps the different parts of your brain communicate better with each other.
Eating extra virgin olive oil that is high in polyphenols (natural antioxidants) for four weeks increases the amount of a breakdown product in urine compared to regular olive oil. This shows the body absorbs and processes the antioxidants from the oil.
Eating a certain type of olive oil that has extra plant compounds every day for a month is linked to a measureable increase in the brain's visual processing area in healthy young people, when compared to eating regular olive oil.
Extra virgin olive oil strengthens connections in a part of the brain that processes what you see. This area is on the left side at the back, and it's involved in paying attention to visual details, noticing movement, and recognizing objects.
A chemical produced from eating olive oil is linked to brain activity. The link changes based on the type of olive oil, and this change is statistically significant—it's not due to chance. So extra virgin olive oil compounds affect how the brain communicates.
Extra virgin olive oil changes how different parts of the brain talk to each other.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.