Two golden oils. Two loyal fan bases. Two spots fighting for real estate on your kitchen counter. As a dietitian, I get asked about both of them constantly, and frankly, I get why. Olive oil and avocado oil are both darlings of the “healthy fat” world, both loaded with monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and both praised as friends to your heart. But when you dig into the actual research, the story gets a little more interesting—and one of them has a serious lead.
Let’s break it down.
Why Olive Oil & Avocado Oil Get Compared
It’s easy to see why these two get lumped together. Both are plant-based oils rich in MUFAs, the type of fat that gets a gold star for cardiovascular health. Both feel like an “upgrade” pick compared with butter or heavily refined vegetable oils. And both have that glossy, wellness-approved reputation.
But similar on paper doesn’t necessarily mean equal when it comes to the evidence. So let’s look at what scientists have actually measured in real humans.
What The Research Says About Olive Oil
Here’s where olive oil — especially extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) — flexes hard. There’s some impressive data linking regular olive oil consumption to heart-health benefits.
A 2022 meta-analysis found that people who consumed more olive oil had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and were less likely to die during the study period than those who consumed less. That’s the kind of long-term human data nutrition experts love to see.
On top of that, a 2025 systematic review of 17 clinical trials linked EVOO consumption to improvements across a range of heart-related markers, including reduced LDL oxidation, better HDL function (HDL is the “good” cholesterol), lower blood pressure, lower levels of inflammatory markers like CRP and IL-6, and improved endothelial function, or how well your blood vessels do their job.
So what may be doing some of the heavy lifting? A lot of the attention goes to EVOO’s polyphenols, including compounds like hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein, and oleocanthal, which have been associated with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antithrombotic effects.
The sweet spot also appears to fall around 20 to 30 grams per day, where the benefits were most pronounced. That works out to roughly a couple of tablespoons, which is pretty doable.
What The Research Says About Avocados
Now, avocado. And this is where we need to make an important distinction: research on avocado fruit is not the same as research on bottled avocado oil. We already have evidence suggesting that eating avocado can be good for your ticker.
One 2025 meta-analysis of 10 randomized controlled trials looked at avocado intake, including whole fruit and avocado-based products, and found some genuine benefits. Avocado consumption was associated with a reduction in LDL cholesterol of about 3.75 mg/dL and systolic blood pressure of around 1.15 mmHg.
But here’s the nuance: That same analysis found no significant effects on HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, CRP, or blood glucose. So the benefits were real, but relatively narrow. Avocado appeared helpful for a couple of markers rather than delivering improvements across the board.
What About Avocado Oil Specifically?
When you zoom in on avocado oil itself, the direct human evidence is still catching up.
On paper, avocado oil has plenty going for it. It’s rich in monounsaturated fats, which are associated with cardiovascular benefits, and it contains plant compounds that may offer antioxidant effects.
But here’s where we have to be honest about the limits of what we know. Compared with olive oil, direct human research looking specifically at bottled avocado oil and heart health is still limited. Much of the evidence we do have focuses on avocado as a whole food rather than the extracted oil, and even those findings are narrower than what we see with olive oil.
That doesn’t make avocado oil a bad choice. It simply means we can’t yet draw the same confident conclusions about its cardiovascular benefits that we can for EVOO.
So Which Oil Is Better For Heart Health?
If we have to crown one winner, it’s olive oil—and EVOO specifically. It’s backed by some of the most robust human research we have, including large, long-term studies and multiple clinical trials pointing in a similar direction.
But avocado oil isn’t the bad guy here. It’s still a healthy fat with a strong nutritional profile, and avocado as a whole food has racked up some real heart-health wins in the research. It’s just that avocado oil itself hasn’t built the same evidence base yet.
Think of it as the promising newcomer versus olive oil’s decorated veteran, like Alix Earle versus Martha Stewart. Both impressive, but only one has decades of receipts.
If heart health is your main goal, EVOO is the oil with the stronger research behind it. But there’s no need to break up with avocado oil entirely.
How To Use Olive Oil & Avocado Oil
If you enjoy both, you don’t have to pick just one. They can work well in different situations.
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Avocado oil: Its high smoke point makes it a strong choice for higher-heat cooking methods like searing, roasting, and stir-frying, especially when you want a more neutral-tasting oil.
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Extra-virgin olive oil: Use it for drizzling over finished dishes, dressing salads, dipping bread, or gentle sautéing. Keeping the heat lower can help preserve the polyphenols that make EVOO such a standout.
Keep both in the pantry, match the oil to the task, and if heart health is the priority, let EVOO take the lead.
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