EVOO: YOUR NEW PLUMBER

Poop. Nobody wants to talk about it. Until there's a plug. 

One old remedy is taking plain oil on a spoon for constipation. Researchers thought there might be a better way. They had gut research data that kept turning up: the polyphenols packed into extra virgin olive oil, and not contained in the processed olive oil used as a remedy, were tied to improved gut actions and outcomes. So they had a hypothesis. If processed olive oil already works, does extra virgin with polyphenols intact work better?

They found 140 constipated grownups and split the group in two. Half got two tablespoons of processed olive oil, the kind that tastes like sweaty socks. Half won the coin toss and enjoyed the same amount of fresh, fruity extra virgin olive oil. Same dose, same routine, for a month. By the end, the processed oil had done its job. But the EVOO had done its job better. It worked more than two times better! And a bonus. Their poop was measurably softer, easier to pass with a clean finish. For a study about constipation, that is about as good an ending as one could hope for.

Here is the part worth sitting with. Whoever landed on the EVOO side of that coin toss did not spend the month choking down a horrible-tasting oil. It was fresh, fruity and creamy. So even if you’re not in the mood to do any moving, a couple of spoons either straight off the spoon or in any of your recipes will do the trick.

So now we can officially add plumber to EVOO's increasingly brilliant résumé. It sautés dinner. It finishes dinner. And apparently, it helps finish something else altogether.

Reference:

Joukar F, Mozaffari Chenijani SN, Maroufizadeh S, Zeinali T, Faraji N, Eslami N, Mansour-Ghanaei F. Comparative Efficacy of Extra Virgin Olive Oil versus Industrially Processed Olive Oil in the Treatment of Individuals Suffering from Constipation: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial Study. Caspian Journal of Internal Medicine, 2025; 16(4): 674–685.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12694839/