Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil Good for You? 7 Evidence-Based Benefits

Extra virgin olive oil has been at the heart of the Mediterranean diet for generations. But beyond its distinctive flavour, high-quality extra virgin olive oil is valued for its nutritional profile, including monounsaturated fats and naturally occurring plant compounds known as polyphenols.

So, is extra virgin olive oil actually good for you?

Yes. Extra virgin olive oil can form part of a healthy, balanced diet, and research into Mediterranean-style eating patterns has associated olive oil consumption with a range of health benefits.

But not all olive oils are the same. How the olives are grown, harvested, processed and stored can make a considerable difference to the finished oil.

Here are seven reasons why genuine extra virgin olive oil deserves a place in your kitchen.

1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil Is Rich in Monounsaturated Fat

Most of the fat in extra virgin olive oil is monounsaturated fat, predominantly oleic acid.

Replacing saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats can help maintain normal blood cholesterol levels, which is one reason olive oil is commonly associated with Mediterranean-style diets.

Unlike heavily refined cooking oils, extra virgin olive oil is produced mechanically from olives without the refining processes used to manufacture lower grades of olive oil.

This allows a quality EVOO to retain much more of the character of the fruit — including its aroma, flavour and naturally occurring minor compounds.

2. Extra Virgin Olive Oil Contains Polyphenols

One of the most interesting characteristics of high-quality extra virgin olive oil is its polyphenol content.

Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds produced by plants. In olive oil, they contribute not only to the oil’s characteristics but also to its distinctive bitterness and peppery sensation.

This is one reason a fresh, robust EVOO can produce a noticeable peppery catch at the back of your throat.

Polyphenol levels can vary enormously between oils. Olive variety, growing conditions, harvest timing, processing and storage can all influence how much remains in the finished product.

If you’d like to understand them in more detail, read our What Are Polyphenols? Olive Oil Polyphenol Guide.

3. Olive Oil Is Closely Associated With the Mediterranean Diet

Extra virgin olive oil is one of the principal sources of fat in the traditional Mediterranean diet.

Rather than looking at olive oil as an isolated ingredient, it is useful to consider how it is normally eaten: alongside vegetables, pulses, whole grains, fish, nuts and other minimally processed foods.

Large-scale research into Mediterranean dietary patterns has linked this way of eating with cardiovascular benefits.

And perhaps that’s part of olive oil’s appeal: it isn’t a supplement or something that needs to be swallowed reluctantly.

It’s food.

Drizzle it over tomatoes. Use it in salad dressing. Dip good bread into it. Finish grilled vegetables with it. Pour it over burrata.

Eating well doesn’t have to be complicated.

4. High-Quality EVOO Contains Natural Antioxidants

Extra virgin olive oil contains naturally occurring antioxidant compounds, including certain phenolic compounds and vitamin E.

These compounds help protect the oil itself against oxidation.

However, this is also where quality, storage and freshness become important.

Heat, oxygen and light are enemies of olive oil. Over time they can degrade its quality, which is why good extra virgin olive oil should be stored away from direct sunlight and excessive heat.

It’s also why at Andalus we use dark glass bottles rather than clear glass.

Protecting an oil after it has been produced matters just as much as producing it properly in the first place.

5. Early-Harvest Olive Oil Can Be Particularly Rich in Polyphenols

Olives don’t remain chemically identical throughout the growing season.

As they ripen, their flavour, oil yield and phenolic composition change.

Harvesting olives earlier — while the fruit is still relatively green — generally produces less oil per kilogram of olives, but can produce a more intense oil with higher levels of certain phenolic compounds.

That is one of the reasons early-harvest EVOO tends to cost more.

You’re sacrificing yield in pursuit of quality.

Our Andalus oils originate in Jaén, Spain, one of the world’s great olive-growing regions, and our November Harvest oils are produced from Picual olives.

Picual is renowned for producing distinctive, robust oils, often displaying notes of fresh-cut grass, tomato leaf and artichoke followed by a characteristic peppery finish.

6. Extra Virgin Olive Oil Can Be Used for Cooking

There’s a persistent myth that you shouldn’t cook with extra virgin olive oil.

You can.

EVOO can be used for many everyday cooking methods, as well as cold applications.

The bigger consideration is whether using your best bottle makes culinary sense.

For example, you might use EVOO to roast Mediterranean vegetables or gently cook tomatoes and garlic, while reserving an especially aromatic early-harvest oil for finishing dishes where its flavour can really be appreciated.

Try it over:

* Burrata and tomatoes
* Grilled vegetables
* Fresh bread
* Pasta
* Soups
* Salads
* Fish
* Roasted potatoes

Sometimes the simplest food shows off a good olive oil best.

7. Extra Virgin Olive Oil Makes Healthy Eating Easy

Perhaps the biggest advantage of EVOO is simply how easy it is to incorporate into everyday food.

You don’t need a complicated routine.

Use it instead of less suitable fats where appropriate, make your own salad dressing, drizzle it over vegetables or simply enjoy a little with bread.

For most people, olive oil makes far more sense as part of meals than treating it like medicine.

There’s no magic quantity that suddenly transforms your health. Your overall diet and lifestyle matter considerably more.

How Much Extra Virgin Olive Oil Should You Have Each Day?

There isn’t one universally correct amount.

Individual calorie requirements, diet and lifestyle differ, and olive oil is energy-dense at roughly 9 calories per gram of fat.

The Mediterranean approach is less about taking a prescribed “dose” and more about making extra virgin olive oil one of the principal culinary fats within an otherwise balanced diet.

If you’re interested specifically in daily consumption, we’ve written a separate guide: What Is the Best Olive Oil to Take Daily?

How Do You Choose a Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

This is where buying olive oil becomes interesting.

Don’t judge a bottle purely by an attractive label or the word “premium”.

Look for meaningful information about the oil itself.

Ideally, you want to know the country and region of origin, olive variety, producer or estate, harvest information and how the oil has been stored and packaged.

Dark glass or another light-protective container is preferable to a clear bottle sitting under bright supermarket lights.

And taste matters.

A good EVOO should smell and taste fresh. Depending on the variety, you might experience grassy, fruity, herbal or tomato-like flavours together with bitterness and pepperiness.

That bitterness or peppery sensation isn’t necessarily a defect.

Quite the opposite.

From the Olive Groves of Jaén

Andalus was born from a simple belief: people should know more about the olive oil they’re buying.

Our extra virgin olive oils come from family groves in Jaén, southern Spain, an area where olive cultivation has shaped the landscape for generations.

We use Picual olives, bottle at source and protect the oil in dark glass.

Our aim isn’t to disguise the character of the olive.

It’s to preserve it.

Fresh grass. Tomato. Artichoke. A distinctive peppery finish.

That’s what real olive oil should taste like.

The Bottom Line

So, is extra virgin olive oil good for you?

High-quality extra virgin olive oil is a source of monounsaturated fat and naturally occurring plant compounds and can be an excellent part of a varied, balanced diet.

But quality matters.

Choose genuine EVOO, pay attention to its provenance, protect it from heat and light, and — most importantly — use it.

Because great olive oil isn’t meant to sit at the back of the cupboard.

It’s meant to be eaten.

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