Olive oil calories are around 884 Kcal per 100 g of product. Other vegetable oils (peanuts, soy, sunflower seeds) have similar values, but they lack scientifically proven health benefits which we can instead benefit from when consuming olive oils. Do you want to know more about the health benefits of olive oil? Read our article: What does extra virgin olive oil mean?
Calories are not all the same
Most of the time, the first thing we tend to ask when talking about food is – how many calories does it have? However, the question should be different: from which kind of nutrients do those calories come from, and how could they compromise my health?
Just remember that food cannot have a magical effect on the body: it is essential to also maintain a healthy lifestyle – practice sport, walk every day (even 15-30 minutes a day is enough), eat regularly, often yet inadequate portions, at around the same time every day but diversifying your dishes from meal to meal (different kinds of vegetables, meat and fish, legumes, etc…).
Olive oils have approved health claims
More importantly, eat healthy fats: extra virgin olive oils are known as potential nutraceuticals, and are so scientifically proven to improve your health! Didn’t you know that? Read our article to know more: What does extra virgin olive oil mean? Here is the EFSA approved health claim on olive oil polyphenols (Commission Regulation (EU) 432/2012):
“Olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress. The claim may be used only for olive oil which contains at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives (e.g. oleuropein complex and tyrosol) per 20 g of olive oil. The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 20 g of olive oil.”
So we can surely state that extra virgin olive oil is the healthiest fat in the universe… as far as we know 😉
EVOO Nutrition Facts
EVO oil is a vegetable oil, extracted only by mechanical mechanisms, and it is mainly composed of monounsaturated fatty acids (which are considered “good” fats; for example, they favour the replacement of LDL cholesterol found in the blood – the cause of heart attacks and vascular obstructions – with HDL cholesterol, which instead does not represent a source of danger for the body):
Nutritional values
Fats (Lipides) 99,90% of which:
Saturated 14 %
Monounsaturated 73 %
Polyunsaturated 7,5 %
Carbohydrates 0%
Protein 0%
Salt 0%
Vitamin E 14 mg (in 100 g of olive oil)
Vitamin K 60 ug
Vitamin A precursor (α-tocopherol) 3 µg
*Tabelle di composizione degli alimenti INRAN – Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione
For comparison let’s consider butter. Butter has a lower amount of calories than extra virgin olive oil calories, but its composition is mainly based on saturated fatty acids, which increase cholesterol levels in the blood (butter has around 250 mg of cholesterol every 100g of product); moreover, EVO Oils do not contain cholesterol and they are rich in vitamins (vitamin A and E in particular).
Good things come in small packages
The 1-2% of EVO oil composition is represented by its unsaponifiable fraction. In Italy, we say that “nella botte piccola c’è il vino buono” (good things come in small packages), and this is also true when it comes to EVO oil: that percentage of unsaponifiable fraction represents the part that confers to the oil its colour, aroma, flavours and healthy antioxidant and anti-inflammatory characteristics. In fact, in EVOO we find squalene, ß-carotene (a precursor for vitamin A) α-tocopherol or vitamin E, polyphenols (natural antioxidants), pigments, and volatile and aromatic compounds.
So why use bad fats? Choose to live better with the best olive oils – rich in polyphenols! – which we recommend!
Are you curious to find out more about oil?
What does Extra Virgin Olive oil mean?
Discover here the extraction procedure.
Would you like to know how to distinguish a good EVOO from a less good one? Read our practical guide on EVO oil tasting.
Know how to better integrate EVOO in your diet and dishes – discover the best olive oil – food pairings from our article and learn how to store EVOO properly, to preserve all its benefits and prolonging its shelf life.