A Spoonful a Day?

In recent years a trend for consuming a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil every day has developed. Many celebrities, influencers and lifestyle writers have extolled the virtues of getting into the habit, highlighting the health and well being benefits they have experienced as a result. But is it really healthy to consume olive oil this way?

Whilst in Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Greece and Spain average olive oil consumption per person is vastly greater than in the UK, there hasn’t been any real take up of this trend. This is probably because olive oil consumption is already so intrinsically woven into their cuisine and culture there is no need to increase consumption in this way. However, in northern European countries and north America, where the fat of choice in traditional cuisines is more likely to be butter or less healthy vegetable oils, taking a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil is seen as an easy path to increasing consumption of this most healthy of fats.

Health Benefits

The health benefits of a high quality extra virgin olive oil are many and varied, with new research being conducted all the time adding to the extensive evidence.

We’ve covered the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil in another blog, so won’t repeat everything – you can read it here.

It is however worth emphasising that it is critical to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil to obtain the numerous health benefits, avoiding lower quality or refined olive oils as they simply don’t have the same impact.

But olive oil is just made up of fats!

This is correct. And whilst it may seem counter intuitive that consuming a spoonful of fat to start your day is a healthy lifestyle approach, it is key to understand that our bodies need fats in order to function correctly. This is not to say that all fats are equal – as outlined in our Health Benefits blog, extra virgin olive oil is one of the healthiest types of fat out there. It is a completely different type of fat compared with saturated fats (most commonly found in meat and dairy products) or trans-fats (present in margarine and many fried foods). It is these types of fat that are behind the perception that we should avoid fatty foods for the benefit of our health.

So consuming more fat in the form of extra virgin olive oil is certainly not detrimental to our health, particularly if it is used to substitute the less healthy saturated and trans-fats in our diets.

Conclusion

Go for it! If you feel your diet doesn’t include enough extra virgin olive oil, then why not get into the habit of starting (or finishing!) your day with a quick spoonful or swig of nature’s greatest gift.

Alternatively you can look for easy wins in your every day diet – drizzle a good portion of extra virgin olive oil over your salads, dressings and soups. Or any time you have vegetables smother them with extra virgin olive oil – with great tasting oils such as Boccadoro, it’s a win win!