Improved bone health

Osteoporosis is characterized by decreased bone mass and bone quality. It can increase your risk of fractures.

The rates of osteoporosis are lower in Mediterranean countries than in the rest of Europe, leading to speculation that olives might protect against this condition (30Trusted Source31Trusted Source).

Some of the plant compounds found in olives and olive oil have been shown to helpprevent bone lossin animal studies (30Trusted Source,32Trusted Source,33Trusted Source,34Trusted Source).

While human studies are lacking, animal studies and the data linking theMediterranean dietto decreased fracture rates are promising (31Trusted Source).

Cancer prevention

Olives and olive oil are commonly consumed in the Mediterranean region, whererates of cancer and other chronic diseasesare lower than in other Western countries (35Trusted Source).

Thus, it’s possible that olives may help reduce your risk of cancer.

This may be partly due to their high antioxidant and oleic acid contents. Test-tube studies reveal that these compounds disrupt the life cycle of cancer cells in the breast, colon, and stomach (6Trusted Source,7Trusted Source,36Trusted Source,37Trusted Source,38Trusted Source).

However, human studies are needed to confirm these results. At this point, it’s unclear whether eating olives orolive oilhas any effect on cancer.