How much olive oil is enough? Slide your spoons and see
Olive oil is the main fat of Mediterranean cooking, but how much is enough? Slide your spoons and your usual calories to see what a day of olive oil adds up to: kcal, share of your day, saturated fat and how long a bottle lasts.
Swap it for butter rather than adding it on top, and see what the research found.
Olive oil is the Mediterranean's main fat. How much is enough?
Olive oil is the added fat in traditional Mediterranean cooking: it goes on salads, into stews and over beans. Beginners usually ask two things. Is it really good for you, and how much can you pour before it stops being a good idea? The honest answer to the second one is that no public guideline gives a single magic number. So it helps to see what a spoon actually adds up to.
One tablespoon (15 ml, about 13.5 g) of olive oil has around 120 kcal, and a teaspoon about 40 kcal. That is because every gram of fat gives 9 kcal, more than twice what carbohydrate or protein give. Good fat is still energy, so the spoons count.
What olive oil does for you
Olive oil is mostly monounsaturated fat. The NHS lists it among the unsaturated fats and says swapping some saturated fat for unsaturated fat has good evidence for lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol. That is the key word: swapping. Per tablespoon, butter has roughly four times the saturated fat of olive oil, so replacing butter is where the benefit comes from. UK advice is no more than 30 g of saturated fat a day for men and 20 g for women.
The best-known trial is PREDIMED in Spain. People at high heart risk were given a Mediterranean diet with extra-virgin olive oil (about a litre a week for the household) or with nuts, and compared with a low-fat diet. About 30% fewer had a heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death over roughly five years. The paper was retracted in 2018 because of randomisation errors for some participants, and republished after reanalysis with much the same result. Note that the figure covers both Mediterranean groups together, and one trial is not the whole picture: the wider evidence for Mediterranean-style eating is what holds it up.
Olive oil works best as a swap for butter and other solid fats, not as an extra on top.
What to look for in a bottle
- "Extra virgin" on the label. It is the grade used in the trials and is made without chemical refining.
- A harvest or "best before" date. Fresher oil tastes better, so choose the later date.
- Dark glass or a tin, kept in a cupboard. Light, heat and air spoil oil, so keep the lid on and use it up within a few months of opening.
- A spoon, not a free pour. It is the easiest way to know what you actually use.
Extra virgin is fine for everyday cooking and frying at normal home temperatures. Don't pay for a fancy price tag if it won't change how you use it: a plain, fresh bottle does the job.
Who should check first
This guide is general information, not medical advice. If you have a condition, are pregnant or breastfeeding, have or had an eating disorder, or take medication (especially for diabetes or blood pressure), talk to a doctor or dietitian before changing how you eat. Olive oil does not change that: it is a food, not a treatment.