The Olive Oil Industry is Lying To You

Why 70–80% of “Extra Virgin” Bottles Are Probably Fraudulent and What It’s Costing Your Health and Testosterone Levels.

The Olive Oil Lie: Why Most Bottles Harm Your Health and Lower Testosterone Instead of Boosting It.

I used to think I was doing everything right.

I’d grab that $8 “extra virgin” bottle from Costco, drizzle it over my steak, and feel smug about eating “clean.”

Turns out, I was being played.

Most olive oil in the U.S. isn’t olive oil. It’s a cocktail of cheap seed oils, chemical solvents, and slick marketing designed to fool guys like you and me.

When I first read that claim, I assumed it was internet fear-porn. Then I dug deeper.

Some studies said 70% of olive oil was fake. Others said 80%. The numbers didn’t matter.

What mattered was the pattern: The entire industry is built on deception.

I stopped trusting headlines and started pulling real studies… interventional trials, chemical analyses, and things you won’t see on your nightly news.

What I found changed how I look at every bottle in my kitchen.

But before I share what the research shows, I need to explain why this even matters for your testosterone, hormones and long-term health.

When I beat cancer, I thought I’d cracked the code.

I threw myself into health with a vengeance.

Supplements, “superfoods,” and every shiny product promising better hormones and performance.

Olive oil was a staple.

Everyone said it was healthy. So I trusted it and never asked questions. And that blind faith cost me years.

Brain fog that made it hard to focus on my business.

Gut issues that killed my energy.

Afternoon crashes that left me useless by 3 PM.

Testosterone so low I didn’t feel like myself.

I kept searching for answers. But nothing changed until I stopped trusting headlines and started digging through medical journals, toxicology reports, and real science (which I was surprised to find wasn’t as objective as I originally thought).

That’s when I realized the ugly truth: Most olive oil isn’t olive oil.

And the system is designed to keep you buying it anyway.

The Industry’s Dirty Secret

The olive oil market is one of the most fraudulent in the world.

Even CBS’s 60 Minutes exposed it: three-quarters of bottles sold in the U.S. don’t meet the legal standard for “extra virgin.”

And that matters.

Real extra virgin olive oil is simple.. raw olive juice from the first pressing without any additives or fillers.

If you’ve ever tasted the real thing in Italy, you know. It’s luminous green, peppery, and it burns the back of your throat (which you don’t get with fake oils).

But by the time oil makes its way to U.S. shelves, it’s already been tampered with, blended, or stored so poorly that it loses almost everything good.

Journalist Tom Mueller, who’s spent decades investigating the industry, says half of Italy’s olive oil and nearly 80% of U.S. “extra virgin” labels don’t even qualify.

The scams range from shady to criminal.

Some brands splash a little real Italian oil into cheap imports from North Africa or the Middle East, slap on a Tuscan label, and charge you $20 for it.

Others go further… selling bottles of seed oil tinted green with chlorophyll and beta-carotene so it looks authentic (crazy, I know).

Major Sergio Tirro of Italy’s food fraud division once demonstrated how easy it is: a vat of canola oil, a few drops of green dye, and voilà… a $7 bottle suddenly looks like a $40 one.

And the part that shocked me the most?

This isn’t a modern problem. The Romans were fighting olive oil fraud thousands of years ago.

The only difference now is scale. With global supply chains, it’s easier than ever for counterfeit oil to slip into your home.

And it’s not just a scam… it can be deadly.

In 1981, Spain suffered the worst food poisoning epidemic in its history.

The cause?

Fake “olive oil” tainted with aniline, a chemical used for industrial manufacturing.

More than 20,000 people were poisoned, hundreds died, and many survivors were crippled for life.

All from something as “innocent” as olive oil.

How Fake Olive Oil Harms You.

Fake olive oil isn’t just a scam, it can quickly become a toxic cocktail.

Those bottles are loaded with lipid peroxides… fats so oxidized they act like rust inside your body. Every spoonful is like pouring rancid grease into your gut, triggering inflammation that wrecks digestion and strains your liver.

Then there are the solvents.

Most “olive oil” on U.S. shelves is extracted using hexane… a cheap industrial chemical also used to make glue and cleaning products.

Trace amounts of hexane can linger in your oil and studies link it to nerve damage, muscle weakness, headaches, and dizziness.

This isn’t fearmongering, it’s chemistry.

Every drop of this stuff is a biological stressor. And when you’re constantly ingesting oxidized fats and chemical residues, your testosterone axis takes the hit.

Your body prioritizes survival over reproduction. It shuts down hormone production, slows your metabolism, and leaves you weaker, heavier, and more tired than you should be (may be a bigger factor than you think as to why you’re not losing the amount of weight you want).

But the harmful effects don’t stop there:

Hexane Residues (Industrial Solvent):

Can cause nervous system problems such as neurotoxicity, muscular weakness, headaches, dizziness, and peripheral nerve damage.

Lipid Peroxides (from Rancid or Repeatedly Heated Oil):

Cause cellular membrane damage, oxidative stress, liver damage (enzyme leakage and hepatocyte swelling), increased blood pressure, atherosclerosis, endothelial dysfunction, and may promote colon polyps and intestinal abnormalities.

Plasticizer Contamination (e.g., Phthalates)

Leads to endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity, hormone interference, and potential long-term fertility or developmental effects.

Refined Oil Components (Loss of Antioxidants)

Result in loss of antioxidant protection, reduced anti-inflammatory activity, and lower resistance to oxidative damage due to the removal of beneficial compounds like polyphenols and tocopherols.

Trans Fatty Acids (from High-Heat Processing)

Promote endothelial dysfunction, increase LDL oxidation, and contribute to cardiovascular disease.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Formed during overheating/refining; can cause DNA damage, are carcinogenic, and can increase the risk of gastrointestinal cancers.

Glycidyl Esters / 3-MCPD (Processing Byproducts)

Are genotoxic and carcinogenic, contributing to chromosome damage and increased cancer risk.

Heavy Metal Contamination

Lead to organ toxicity, as metals (like lead or cadmium) can accumulate in the liver, kidneys, and brain, causing chronic damage.

Each of these hazards is linked with specific and sometimes severe health risks when consuming adulterated or poor-quality olive oil, especially over long periods or in vulnerable populations (remember, accumulated toxin exposure is the big problem, not intermittent exposure).

The Good News: Real Olive Oil is a Testosterone Weapon

Here’s the part they don’t tell you:

When you get your hands on real olive oil (the kind your ancestors used) it’s not just a “healthy fat.”It’s a hormonal amplifier.

• Oleic acid fuels testosterone production. Think of it as raw energy for your hormonal system.

• Oleuropein helps block estrogen, tipping your balance back toward strength and vitality.

• Hydroxytyrosol shields your testes from oxidative damage, protecting the machinery that keeps you sharp, lean, and driven.

• Squalene provides critical building blocks for hormone synthesis.

That’s what you get when you taste the real thing. But almost nobody in the U.S. ever has.

What you’re buying at Costco?

It’s a diluted, chemical-laced sludge and cut with soy, canola, or sunflower oil.

Those oils are cheap, inflammatory, and packed with oxidized omega-6 fats (especially if they’re in plastic bottles) that choke your hormonal fire.

Put it this way.. If testosterone is a roaring flame, real olive oil is oxygen.

And fake olive oil? It’s a wet blanket.

How to Spot Fraud (The 5 Rules)

You don’t need a lab coat to protect yourself.

Just treat your kitchen like your business. No blind trust and only due diligence.

• Dark Glass Bottles Only

Light destroys olive oil. Plastic leeches chemicals into it. If it’s not in dark glass, it’s already compromised.

• Harvest Date, Not “Best By”

Real producers brag about their harvest date. No harvest date? It’s stale or worse, fake.

• Single-Origin Only

“Bottled in Italy” doesn’t mean it came from Italy. It means “shipped in bulk and blended.” Look for specifics: Tuscany, Kalamata, or Crete, etc.

• Third-Party Seals Matter

COOC, NAOOA, USDA. Not perfect, but they show someone’s watching.

• The Burn Test

Pour a spoonful and swallow. If it burns your throat, it’s real. That burn is oleocanthal.. a natural anti-inflammatory that signals high polyphenols and a testosterone-friendly oil. No burn? It’s most likely a scam.

Miss one of these checks and it may be wise to assume fraud.

Dosage: How to Use Olive Oil for Testosterone

Real olive oil isn’t a garnish, used in the right way it can be a daily hormonal armor.

Research shows that 2–3 tablespoons a day of authentic extra virgin olive oil can measurably raise:

• Total testosterone (your raw hormonal output)

• Free testosterone (the stuff that actually works in your body)

• HDL cholesterol (fuel for hormone production)

• Antioxidant protection of the testes (your biological command center)

Think of it like deposits into your endocrine savings account.

Every tablespoon compounds. Over time, it builds a foundation your hormones can actually rely on.

Here’s how I dose it:

• 1 tbsp with breakfast – primes your hormones for the day.

• 1 tbsp mid-afternoon – sustains energy and mental clarity.

• (Optional) 1 tbsp before bed – supports overnight recovery and reduces inflammation.

And here’s the golden rule:

Never cook with your premium oil. Heat destroys the compounds you’re paying for.

For high-heat cooking, stick to tallow, ghee, or coconut oil. Save the good olive oil for raw use, drizzled on meats, vegetables, or even straight from a spoon.

Olive oil won’t save you if your life is broken.

If your sleep, light exposure, posture, and mineral balance are wrecked, even the purest EVOO won’t make you unstoppable.

But compared to running your body on oxidized seed oils, this is harm reduction, hormone insurance, and ancestral alignment in one.

You can keep buying that $8 bottle from Costco.

You can keep fueling your body with fake oil and pretending it’s health.

Or you can wake up.

You can stop lying to yourself, take ownership of your biology, and invest in what actually makes you stronger.

Because most men won’t.

They’ll keep choosing “safe” options while their hormones slide, their energy crashes, and their bodies betray them.

Your biology doesn’t care about labels. It cares about inputs.

And the men who win aren’t the ones following trends. They’re the ones who choose truth:

• Real food

• Real light

• Real minerals

• Real rest

• Real posture-centric movement

That’s where testosterone power is built. Not in fraudulent bottles, but in daily decisions that compound into a level of strength no system can take from you.

TL;DR:

• 70–80% of olive oil is fake (seed oils + solvents).

• Fake oils inflame your gut, poison your mitochondria, and tank testosterone.

• Real EVOO contains oleic acid, oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, squalene (T-boosting compounds).

• Take 2–3 tbsp daily, raw only.

• Follow the 5 rules (dark glass, harvest date, single origin, seals, burn test).

• Real oil = sharper energy, stronger sex drive, better presence.

Stop running your biology on garbage fuel.

That’s it.

If you made it down this far and you got value from this post…

Please consider sharing it so other men, like you, can benefit too:

Otherwise, thank you for your attention and see you in the next post.

— Simmo.

P.S.

2 Ways I Can Help You:

1 — Free Masterclass

If you’re over 40, and you want the deeper breakdown on how I rebuilt my testosterone to 865 ng/dL naturally without TRT or pill dependence (after cancer) watch my free 30-minute masterclass here:

2 — Get the High-T CEO System

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P.P.S

Here’s just a few articles on the matter (there’re many!):

• Forbes: Fake Olive Oil

• Guardian: Olive Oil Fraud

• The Grocer: Fake Olive Oil is On The Rise.

Olive and Hormone Function Study References:

Study: Testosterone Levels Increased 19.9%

Study: Testosterone Levels Increased 116%

Study: Olive Oil’s Protective Antioxidant Effects

P.P.P.S

Not medical advice. Never make changes to your health or lifestyle without first consulting a qualified professional. And never trust anything you read online blindly. Always DYOR.