Health · Medical Research · 4 hrs ago
Olive oil before glucose reduced blood sugar spikes in mice
Researchers at Kyoto University tested olive oil before glucose in mice to see how the order of foods affects blood sugar.
The mice given olive oil 15 minutes before glucose had lower blood sugar at 15 and 30 minutes than the comparison groups, though the difference appeared to fade by 60 minutes.
The study also found slower stomach emptying and changes in hormone levels in mice that ate olive oil first.
Tests in mice with diabetes showed similar benefits, while disrupting certain hormone signals or the vagus nerve weakened or removed some effects.
The findings point to linked hormone and nerve responses that may help slow glucose entering the bloodstream.
The results are from mice, not people, and the study does not establish that eating olive oil before carbohydrates will help control blood sugar in humans.
Mice given olive oil before glucose had a smaller rise in blood sugar than mice given glucose first or water before glucose.
The effect was strongest immediately after feeding and at 15 and 30 minutes, and appeared to diminish by 60 minutes.
The study, published in Diabetes, linked the effect to slower gastric emptying and a response involving hormones and nerve signaling.
The researchers said the findings have so far been demonstrated only in mice.
- Who
- Researchers led by endocrinologist Daisuke Yabe of Kyoto University studied mice.
- What
- The study found that olive oil before glucose reduced the mice’s blood sugar rise.
- When
- The study was published in 2026. The experiment included measurements after feeding, including at 15, 30 and 60 minutes.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- The researchers investigated whether the order in which nutrients reach the gut affects blood sugar. They suggested the effect involves hormones and nerve signaling.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The researchers gave mice olive oil before glucose, glucose before olive oil, or water before glucose.
Mice given olive oil before glucose had significantly lower blood glucose than the other mice.
The olive-oil-first group continued to show marked reductions in blood glucose compared with the other mice.
The blood-sugar-lowering effect appeared to diminish.
- Study journal
- Diabetes
- Research lead
- Daisuke Yabe, Kyoto University
- Olive oil timing
- Given 15 minutes before glucose
- Blood-sugar measurements
- Marked reductions at 15 and 30 minutes
- Other fats tested
- Flaxseed oil, lard, coconut oil and fish oil
What people are saying
Our findings suggest that the order in which nutrients reach the gut can engage a coordinated hormone-nerve response that changes how quickly the stomach delivers glucose to the intestine.
Sources
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