This week on the Olive Health Information System website

The newsletter of the University of Navarra and the IOC dedicated to health

Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), the hallmark of the Mediterranean diet, modulates key metabolic pathways and exerts well-documented anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects that support cardiometabolic health.

Although these benefits are widely recognized, few studies have examined how EVOO consumption relates to body weight and fat distribution, independent of broader chrono-nutritional patterns – that is, the timing of meals and eating behaviors that may also affect metabolism. A recent cross-sectional study of 16,273 adults examined the associations between EVOO intake, the Chrono-Mediterranean Diet Score (CMDS), and anthropometric outcomes. The CMDS reflects both diet quality and chrono-nutritional habits (meal timing and physical activity patterns). Participants were classified as sporadic, frequent, or regular EVOO consumers. Regular consumers exhibited significantly lower body mass index and smaller waist circumference compared with sporadic ones, in both men and women. Association between EVOO intake and anthropometric outcomes remained robust after adjustment for CMDS. In contrast, non-regular EVOO consumption was significantly associated with greater abdominal adiposity.

Beyond cardiometabolic health, the benefits of EVOO may extend to chronic inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis. The Mediterranean diet has been suggested to play a role in the prevention and management of psoriasis due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, evidence from randomized controlled trials remains limited. Recently, a randomized clinical trial – MEDIPSO (Impact of the Mediterranean Diet on Patients With Psoriasis)—was conducted to evaluate whether a Mediterranean diet enriched with EVOO could improve psoriasis severity. A total of 38 adults with mild to moderate psoriasis were randomized into an intervention group and a control group. Participants in the intervention group received 16 weeks of nutritional counseling focused on the Mediterranean diet and were provided with EVOO, while those in the control group received standard low-fat dietary advice. At the end of the intervention, individuals who followed the Mediterranean diet enriched with EVOO showed a greater reduction in psoriasis severity compared with those in the control group.

Taken together, these findings reinforce the central role of EVOO within the Mediterranean diet, not only as a cornerstone of cardiometabolic health but also as a potential ally in the management of chronic inflammation. A Mediterranean diet rich in EVOO, integrated into a balanced eating schedule, may therefore offer broad and lasting benefits, from improving body composition to supporting skin health.

Other articles mentioned this week in the OHIS newsletter:

Olive fruit

Retrospective Analysis of Quince, Olive Leaf, and Amaranth Nutraceutical in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome.

Consumption of a Mediterranean lean fish enriched with platelet-activating factor inhibitors extracted from olive pomace favorably modulates hemostasis and thrombosis in healthy adults with overweight.

Extra virgin olive oil

Chemical evaluation of arbequina extra virgin olive oil with in silico analysis of its key phenolic compounds targeting LDL metabolism.

Regular extra-virgin olive oil intake independently associates with lower abdominal obesity.

Exploring the Role of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) in MASLD: Evidence from Human Consumption.

Dietary Intervention with Cottonseed and Olive Oil Differentially Affect the Circulating Lipidome and Immunoregulatory Compounds-A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Mediterranean diet

Proposing a unified Mediterranean diet score to address the current conceptual and methodological challenges in examining adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Sleep Quality Among Primary and Secondary School Teachers in Portugal: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study.

Physical Activity and Mediterranean Diet: A Focus on University Students’ Habits.

Mediterranean diet adherence and risk of kidney stones: Insights from a population-based study.

Mediterranean Diet and Patients with Psoriasis: The MEDIPSO Randomized Clinical Trial.

Optimizing Nutritional Balance: Integrating the Mediterranean Diet into Low-FODMAP Nutrition.

Adherence to Three Mediterranean Dietary Indexes and All-Cause, Cardiovascular, and Cancer Mortality in an Older Mediterranean Population.

The Association of Food Rejection Behaviors in Preschool Children with Compliance to the Mediterranean Diet and Their Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Cognitive function

Socioeconomic status modifies the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and cognitive outcomes: results from the Collaborative PROMED-COG Pooled Cohorts Study.

Serum Galectin-9 and Decorin in relation to brain aging and the green-Mediterranean diet: A secondary analysis of the DIRECT PLUS randomized trial.

Healthy aging

Higher Local Food Consumption Is Associated with Higher Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Better Healthy Aging: Results of the DIAPELH Study.

Influence of Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet on Vascular Health and Healthy Aging in Women: Assessment Using CAVI.

Cardiometabolic health 

The Impact of the Alternate Mediterranean Diet (aMED) on the Prevention of Chronic Liver Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

Mediterranean diet adherence and cardiovascular risk: exploring the role of advanced glycation end-products via skin autofluorescence analysis.