Nearly half of all U.S. adults have high blood pressure. That is a lot of us. And if you are one of them, here is something worth knowing: what you cook with every day has a real impact on those numbers.
We talked to two heart health experts about cooking oils, specifically, whether olive oil lives up to its reputation. The short answer is yes. But it helps to understand why.
What Olive Oil Actually Does to Your Blood Pressure
Dr. Maya Vadiveloo, PhD, RD, is an associate professor of nutrition and health sciences at the University of Rhode Island and the volunteer chair of the American Heart Association’s Lifestyle Nutrition Committee. She says olive oil is high in monounsaturated fats and antioxidants, and both help lower blood pressure.
How? They promote vasodilation, which is simply the widening of blood vessels. When your blood vessels are wider and more relaxed, your heart does not have to work as hard to push blood through them.
Dr. Jayne Morgan, MD, a cardiologist and vice president of medical affairs at Hello Heart, puts it this way:
“Olive oil improves nitric oxide availability and therefore better vasodilation of arteries, leading to lower blood pressure.”
Nitric oxide signals the smooth muscle in your blood vessels to relax and widen. Think of it as a natural way to ease the pressure from the inside out.
Dr. Vadiveloo adds that the antioxidants in olive oil protect blood vessel walls from damage. When blood vessels are injured, plaques form to repair the damage. Over time, that plaque buildup narrows the vessels. Your heart then has to pump harder, which raises blood pressure and puts extra strain on your heart.
Dr. Morgan also notes that olive oil is anti-inflammatory, which helps protect the endothelium, the layer of cells that keeps blood flowing smoothly throughout your body. As she puts it,
“Olive oil doesn’t just lower blood pressure, it makes arteries behave younger.”
How It Compares to Other Oils
Dr. Morgan says that olive oil is healthier than canola or vegetable oil. The reason comes down to what happens when you heat them up.
Olive oil is mostly monounsaturated fats. Canola oil is a mix of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Vegetable oil has a high amount of polyunsaturated fats. When you heat polyunsaturated fats (or reuse oils), they oxidize more easily. That process creates byproducts that are harmful to your vascular system.
Extra-virgin olive oil, on the other hand, slows that oxidation during cooking. It holds up better under heat than canola or vegetable oil does.
If you currently cook with butter or beef tallow, Dr. Vadiveloo says switching to olive oil is especially worth it. You would be trading a fat high in saturated fat for one rich in unsaturated fat, and that swap supports heart health in a meaningful way.
One Simple Thing to Check at the Store
Both experts agree on this: make sure the label says extra-virgin olive oil. That version packs the most health benefits of any olive oil you will find on the shelf.
High blood pressure is not a life sentence. Small, consistent changes in your kitchen add up. And reaching for the right bottle of oil is one of the easiest ones you can make.