If Food Is Medicine, Maybe Olive Oil Shots Are a Good Idea?

We kid you not. Olive oil shots are a hot thing on social media and in the milieu of lifestyle health influencers. Writing in Glamour, Catharine Malzahn declares “I tried olive oil shots for a week – and the effects were immediate.” If you read carefully, though, it seems that the immediate effect was on her “slow” bowels. Of all the puffed up claims that are circulating for olive oil shots, this is one we find credible. As a folk remedy, a teaspoon of olive oil has long been regarded as a laxative.

Verywell Health advises “stay near a restroom.” Good advice. Part of what killed the Starbucks misadventure into coffee infused with olive oil was reports of it “sending you straight to the bathroom.”

Apart from a laxative effect, we are a bit more skeptical about much of the other hype that’s promoting shots of olive oil.

A Big Bundle of Associations

In consumer health media you will find unqualified assertions that olive oil “fights inflammation” and “lowers the risk of heart disease.” Typical of this puffery are these excerpts from Hello!:

“Olive oil is more than just a kitchen essential, it should sit in your medicine cabinet too. The tasty oil is packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and antibacterial properties that improve overall skin and hair health.

“Stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, and Beyoncé consume olive oil regularly.”

Yes, if you skim through the literature, you can find a big collection of potential benefits from having olive oil in your diet. Most of this comes from studies of the Mediterranean diet. Olive oil is a big part of this dietary pattern. But those associations with diverse health benefits are by no means evidence of a medical health effect. Limited by “low to moderate certainty of evidence,” they merely suggest possibilities. Fuel for wishful thinking.

In short, as part of a healthy dietary pattern, we have plenty of reasons to believe olive oil is a pretty good ingredient. But you won’t find us downing shots of the stuff. Ewwww.

Click here and here for further perspective.

Olive Oil Shot Glass, illustration created for ConscienHealth with Gemini image generation

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December 4, 2025