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Extra virgin olive oil

Olea europaea

Also known as EVOO, Cold-pressed olive oil

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Oil pressed mechanically from olives without heat or solvents, retaining the phenolic fraction that refining removes. Phenolic content varies severalfold between oils depending on cultivar, harvest timing and freshness, and it is what produces the peppery catch at the back of the throat.

Heart HealthCirculationInflammation

Potential health benefits

Best supported: Strong

Ordered by how well the human research supports them — strongest first. A rating describes the state of the evidence, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Cardiovascular risk markers

Heart Health
Strong evidence

Research consistently associates extra virgin olive oil with lower cardiovascular event rates when used as the principal fat in a Mediterranean dietary pattern, supported by large randomised dietary trials and by multiple meta-analyses of cohort studies. The evidence is for the oil within that pattern, not for adding it to an otherwise unchanged diet.

What may be going on: Replacing saturated fat with monounsaturated fat lowers LDL, and the phenolic fraction has separate documented effects on LDL oxidation and endothelial function.

Strong evidence. Consistent findings across multiple good-quality human studies.

4 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Endothelial function

Circulation
Moderate evidence

Some trials report improved flow-mediated dilation after high-phenolic olive oil compared with refined olive oil, indicating that the phenolics rather than the fat carry this particular effect.

Moderate evidence. Several human studies point the same way, with real caveats.

3 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Inflammatory markers

Inflammation
Moderate evidence

Several trials report reductions in inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein and IL-6 with olive-oil-rich diets, though the effect sizes are small and the trials rarely separate the oil from the rest of the dietary pattern.

Moderate evidence. Several human studies point the same way, with real caveats.

2 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Blood lipid profile

Heart Health
Insufficient evidence

Several trials report improved lipid measures with high-phenolic olive oil, including reduced LDL oxidation, with the effect on LDL concentration itself driven mainly by which fat the oil replaces.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Ask about Extra virgin olive oil

Ask about Extra virgin olive oil

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

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Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories884 kcal44%
Protein0 g0%
Total fat100 g128%
Carbohydrate0 g0%
Fibre0 g0%
Total sugars0 g—
Water0 g—
Fats
Saturated fat13.8 g69%
Monounsaturated fat73 g—
Polyunsaturated fat10.5 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
EPA (omega-3)0 g—
DHA (omega-3)0 g—
DPA (omega-3)0 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)9.76 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A0 µg0%
Vitamin C0 mg0%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Vitamin E14.3 mg96%
Vitamin K60.2 µg50%
Thiamin (B1)0 mg0%
Riboflavin (B2)0 mg0%
Niacin (B3)0 mg0%
Pantothenic acid (B5)0 mg0%
Vitamin B60 mg0%
Folate0 µg0%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Choline0.3 mg0%
Minerals
Calcium1 mg0%
Iron0.56 mg3%
Magnesium0 mg0%
Phosphorus0 mg0%
Potassium1 mg0%
Sodium2 mg0%
Zinc0 mg0%
Copper0 mg0%
Manganese0 mg0%
Selenium0 µg0%
Other measured compounds
Beta-carotene0 µg—
Alpha-carotene0 µg—
Lycopene0 µg—
Lutein + zeaxanthin0 µg—
Caffeine0 mg—
Ash0 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Oil, olive, salad or cooking (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 171413).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • cookedReduces polyphenols

    Prolonged frying and repeated reuse degrade a large share of the phenolic compounds, and heating drives off some of the volatile aroma. Brief sauteing and finishing raw retain far more, which is why trials designed around the phenolics use uncooked oil.

  • rawPreserves polyphenols

    Using the oil uncooked, as a dressing or finishing oil, preserves the phenolic fraction intact. This is the form used in the dietary-pattern trials that underpin the cardiovascular evidence.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Worth knowing

    Energy density

    Olive oil is close to pure fat and among the most energy-dense things in a kitchen. Free pouring adds calories quickly, and the cardiovascular research concerns oil used in place of other fats rather than added on top of them.

  • Worth knowing

    Adulteration and mislabelling

    Extra virgin olive oil is one of the most frequently adulterated foods in international trade, commonly cut with refined or lower-grade oil. Since the phenolics are what distinguishes it, a mislabelled bottle is not simply a pricing issue.

  • Worth knowing

    Heat and light degrade the phenolics

    Prolonged high-temperature cooking and storage in clear bottles near the stove degrade both the phenolics and the oil itself. Extra virgin olive oil is nonetheless more stable in frying than its low smoke point suggests, because its high monounsaturated content and antioxidants resist oxidation.

  • Allergy

    Olive allergy

    Allergy to olive fruit is rare; olive pollen allergy is common in Mediterranean regions but does not usually extend to the oil, which contains almost no protein.