Can Olive Oil Help Reduce Blood Sugar Spikes in People With Diabetes?

Japanese scientists found that olive oil before eating helped to contain the increase in blood glucose in mice with type 2 diabetes. Fats slowed gastric emptying, so carbohydrates entered the small intestine gradually. It wasn’t just the digestive rate, because olive oil also affected intestinal hormones and vagus nerve signals. In addition, researchers found that glucagon, which normally raises blood sugar levels, was also involved in limiting its spikes under certain conditions.

Even animals with severe diabetes and severe insulin shortages have seen the effect. Researchers say the results will help them explore new ways to control their glucose levels and protect them from sudden drops.

At the moment, however, it is too early to advise people with diabetes to eat olive oil before sweets. Research has been done on rodents, and it is not known whether this mechanism will work in humans. Clinical trials are needed for verification.

But there are important caveats:

Some studies have not found a significant effect of olive oil on blood sugar. The results in this area are rather contradictory.

The key thing is how you eat. Adding butter to a complex carbohydrate dish (such as porridge or bread) will have a more noticeable effect. And if the oil is simply eaten separately, it will certainly not "extinguish" some other meal.

Olive oil is also quite a calorie product. Therefore, it is important to fit it into the total daily calorage so as not to provoke weight gain, which itself can worsen sugar control.
Sometimes studies have shown positive effects only when olive oil has been part of a broader strategy—for example, in a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetables, whole grains, and other healthy ingredients.

Conclusion: Using olive oil as part of a strategy to control postprandial (after-meals) glycemia is a reasonable idea.
But do not expect a miracle from him in isolation from the rest of the diet, the calculation of carbohydrates and, if necessary, drug therapy. Before actively implementing such changes, it is good to discuss it with your endocrinologist or dietitian - the specialist will help to adapt the approach to you.

1. Moroccan virgin olive oil triterpenes: HPLC-DAD-ELSD profiling and computational investigation of anti-diabetic potential
2. Therapeutic Properties and Use of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Clinical Nutrition: A Narrative Review and Literature Update
3. Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil an Ally for Women's and Men's Cardiovascular Health?