A Yale University professor of public health says extra virgin olive oil can measurably shift the composition of gut bac...

A Yale University professor of public health says extra virgin olive oil can measurably shift the composition of gut bacteria toward strains linked to better health outcomes, according to research his team has published. Tasos Kyriacides, assistant professor of public health at Yale, made the comments to Praktoreio FM following his role as a keynote speaker at the third ELIA Lesvos Confest in Mytilene, an olive oil research conference backed by Yale, the University of Athens, and the International Olive Council. Kyriacides said both laboratory studies and recent smaller clinical trials show that high-phenolic extra virgin olive oil can positively affect the gut microbiome, helping shape what he calls a more protective ecosystem in the intestines. Because the microbiome is directly tied to immune function, he argues that improving gut balance could influence immune-related diseases more broadly. His team's research found that markers of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions including high blood pressure, excess body fat, and abnormal blood sugar, can stabilize or even decrease after 12 to 16 weeks of daily high-phenolic olive oil consumption alongside a balanced diet. That translates, he said, to meaningfully better outcomes for patients carrying those risk factors. The next phase of his research targets two groups: people with prediabetes or elevated metabolic risk, to see whether the oil can reduce their chance of developing diabetes, and people already diagnosed with the disease, to evaluate whether consistent use can slow its progression and reduce clinical complications. Kyriacides said his team is now designing those trials with diabetic patients as the primary study group. #OliveOil #GreekScience #Health