Calories in Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil: Calories

The calories in olive oil suppress appetite. In fact, the trendy diets Shangri-La and Body for Life recommend taking a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil as an appetite suppressant. Studies show that the satiating effect of olive oil calories in people who have taken EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) is greater than in those who have consumed the same calories from other fats. Olive oil calories are also absorbed, but this leads us to consume fewer calories from other foods due to its satiating effect.

On the other hand, the assumption that extra virgin olive oil produces stronger digestion than other oils is false. Quite the opposite! In fact, it is the only one recommended for children and elderly people, the most sensitive populations in terms of digestion.

The fact that seed oils have a lighter appearance has nothing to do with their digestibility, which is actually lower than that of extra virgin oil. All oils consist of the same fat content, exactly 99%. In this respect, they are all identical, 9 kcal per gram. But extra virgin oil is denser than other oils and is consumed in smaller quantities.

How Many Calories Does a Tablespoon of Olive Oil Have?

Olive oil is extracted from the flesh or pits of olives. The shade of the oil ranges from yellow (carotenoids) to green (chlorophyll) and has no effect on quality. Cold-pressed olive oil is unrefined and a natural product recommended by many nutritionists.

1 tablespoon of olive oil (1 tbsp = 15 ml) has about 121 calories (kcal)

Accordingly, 100 ml of olive oil contains around 810 kcal, a teaspoon (1 tsp = 5 ml) has around 40 kcal. Additionally, olive oil contains many important micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals as well as secondary plant compounds.

Particularly the high content of vitamin A and E. Vitamin E is an important antioxidant that reduces inflammatory processes and stimulates the immune system. Quality olive oil is truly a medicine, so don’t worry too much about its calories. In fact, the health benefits give the person a sense of well-being and improve their overall physical condition, making them generate more activity and burn more calories.

Different studies show that regular consumption of olive oil reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases by 30% and diabetes by 40%. It also has positive effects on controlling obesity. But it must be of quality, Extra Virgin, the only one that contains those valuable polyphenols, natural antioxidants. Besides monounsaturated fats, oleic acid, and linoleic acid.

Olive Oil Against Overweight: Research

Overweight people have an above-average risk of heart attack, stroke, or another cardiovascular event, even if they do not suffer from diabetes or other obesity-related diseases. In fact, the benefits become visible within two months of starting olive oil consumption, weight reduction, and lowering cholesterol. Of course, olive oil is part of the solution, but it must be accompanied by a healthy diet and physical exercise.

Parents need to be made aware to introduce the Mediterranean diet and high-quality olive oil as a pillar in restaurants and school cafeterias. In olive oil, calories the satiating power is the key. This has been shown by researchers from the Technical University of Munich and Vienna.

Consumption of certain fats can stop weight gain. The research aimed to investigate how extra virgin oil and other fats regulate the feeling of fullness. In fact, this result should prompt the industry to produce products efficiently with fewer calories but to maintain their initial satiating effect, as is the case with olive oil calories.

The research group evaluated 4 fats and their satiating power. Lard, milk fat, canola oil, and extra virgin olive oil. For 3 months, students consumed 500 grams of yogurt daily, enriched with one of the 4 fats.

The Satiating Power of Olive Oil Calories

The results were surprising. Extra virgin oil is not only the one that has shown the greatest satiating power. Furthermore, the people who took it maintained the same body fat and weight index.

This was not the case with the other fats and notably with canola oil. Curiously, because the two oils have a similar fatty acid composition. The hypothesis formulated by the researchers was that the satiating effect of the oils lies in their aroma.

They then tested it with the two groups, with the first consuming yogurt with aroma extracts from extra virgin oil and the second control group consuming only yogurt. In fact, it was found that the control group produced less of the satiety hormone serotonin in their blood.

Lose Weight with Olive Oil

In healthy but obese adults, consuming olive oil at least once a week would reduce the activity of platelets in the blood, hence the tendency of the blood to clot and block blood flow.

This is a preliminary study presented at the 2019 scientific sessions on cardiometabolic lifestyle and health of the American Association for Epidemiology and Heart Prevention.

Platelets are fragments of blood cells that come together and form clots. They contribute to the formation of plaque that can clog arteries, the so-called atherosclerosis, the disease that causes the majority of heart attacks and strokes.

Scientists have found that those who take olive oil at least once a week have less platelet activation than those who consume it less.

Olive oil: 0 calories?

Extra virgin olive oil is very healthy but, like all oils, it is pure vegetable fat, and therefore one of the products with the most calories that exists. Although the caloric content by itself is not always the most important thing, what does not seem very logical is that we can find an oil whose label reads “zero calories” and “0% fat”. And yet it exists: it is sold as a spray in the United States and is completely legal.

This curious case plays with the legislation and is one of the tricks that the food industry and the labeling

The industry is not stupid and knows that it risks a lot if the current legislation is not complied with, but you can always take advantage of the limits of it. And even today there are still products whose labeling is illegal, or at least not as legal as it could be, regulations in hand.

But even though, how is it possible to sell an extra virgin olive oil without fat and without calories? The trick is not in the ingredients, since it is 100% oil, but in the format of its labeling.

Actually, it takes advantage of the US regulations, less clear in terms of nutritional information than the ones in Europe and in many other countries.

Zero calories olive oil

While in the rest of the EU countries, the nutritional information must always be indicated per 100g or 100ml, being able to add details about the recommended consumption portion, in the United States it is the manufacturer who chooses what “a portion of consumption” is.

In case of the spray bottle, one portion corresponds to pressing it for 1/3 second. And they have calculated that only 0.25g of oil is sprayed in that pulsation, generously rounding down, of course…:-), it would be just about 2kcal, but US regulations allow to indicate that they are zero. And the same goes for fat.

Therefore, theoretically, even if you need to spray 1,000 times (1,000 x 0Kcal and 0Fat = 0) you will still get 0!! Which is simply completely wrong, and at the same time very unethical, even though legal…:-( The same thing happens with many US food products, labelled “light” and being actually really caloric! That is why it is important to have an average reference value, such as 100g, that describes faithfully its caloric content.

 

The fake labeling of food products still has many issues to improve

 

From Aceite del Campo we always recommend first discussing all health questions with your doctor.