What is in Olive Oil

Chemical Information
Nutritional Information

What are the components that make adding olive oil to your daily diet such a smart idea?What are the components that make adding olive oil to your daily diet such a smart idea? So far, medical research has focused on three core areas of nutritional value.

• Olive oil is mainly comprised of monounsaturated fatty acids. A healthier type of fat, it reduces total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol levels in the bloodstream, while raising high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good”) cholesterol levels.
• High quality extra virgin olive oil, in particular, provides a high content of antioxidants, like polyphenols, vitamins E & K, chlorophyll and carotenoids. Antioxidants are key to strengthening the immune system and protecting the body from the damaging effects of free-radical molecules.
• Olive oil contains anti-inflammatory agents, like oleocanthal, that act as a natural ibuprofen-like substance.

Before we go through each of these areas in detail, it is important to point out that not all olive oils are created equal! Extra virgin olive oil is considered the best grade to deliver healthy benefits because it is the least-processed of all olive oils. It could be described as natural olive juice. Without any processed manipulation like excessive heat or chemicals that would change its chemical makeup, extra virgin olive oil maintains the highest levels of healthy components. See our How to Pick an Olive Oil page for more details. There are wide differences even among extra virgin olive oils, in terms of their healthy benefits, depending on how they are made, what type of and how ripe the olives were when they were harvested, how the oil was stored, and many other factors.

CHEMICAL INFORMATION
For a full description of the chemical characteristics of olive oil, please refer to our Olive Chemistry section.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
The nutritional benefits of olives and olive oil are directly related to the types of fatty acid and the significant amounts of anti-oxidants derived from Vitamins E and K. The following information provides detailed information for both.

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) of Olive Oil
Energy 3,701 kJ (885 kcal) Carbohydrates 0 g Fat 100 g

saturated 14 g monounsaturated 73 g polyunsaturated 11 g omega-3 fat <1.5 g omega-6 fat 3.5-21 g Protein 0 g Vitamin E 14 mg (93%) Vitamin K 62 μg (59%)

100 g olive oil is 103 ml Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.

Nutritional value of Olives
Calories per olive: It depends on how big the olives are and what their oil content is. The large black canned olives are actually quite low in oil - sometimes only 7%, which is why they are table olives and are generally not used to make oil. Some smaller olives used primarily for oil making can have more than 20 to 25% in oil content. Olives can range from 1 to 14 grams in weight. There is about 1 tablespoon of olive oil (and about 120 calories) in: 20 medium Mission olives that have an oil content of 20%, or 40 small ripe black olives, or 20 jumbo ripe black olives, or 7 super colossal ripe black olives.

 

Nutrients in Whole Olives, ripe, canned (jumbo-super colossal)

Nutrient	Units	1.00 X 1 jumbo ------- 8.3g
Proximates
Water	g	7.00
Energy	kcal	7
Energy	kj	28
Protein	g	0.08
Total lipid (fat)	g	0.57
Ash	g	0.18
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	0.47
Fiber, total dietary	g	0.2
Sugars, total	g	0.00
Minerals
Calcium, Ca	mg	8
Iron, Fe	mg	0.28
Magnesium, Mg	mg	0
Phosphorus, P	mg	0
Potassium, K	mg	1
Sodium, Na	mg	75
Zinc, Zn	mg	0.02
Copper, Cu	mg	0.019
Manganese, Mn	mg	0.002
Selenium, Se	mcg	0.1
Vitamins
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	mg	0.1
Thiamin	mg	0.000
Riboflavin	mg	0.000
Niacin	mg	0.002
Pantothenic acid	mg	0.001
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.001
Folate, total	mcg	0
Folic acid	mcg	0
Folate, food	mcg	0
Folate, DFE	mcg_DFE	0
Vitamin B-12	mcg	0.00
Vitamin A, IU	IU	29
Vitamin A, RAE	mcg_RAE	1
Retinol	mcg	0
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)	mg	0.14
Tocopherol, beta	mg	0.00
Tocopherol, gamma	mg	0.00
Tocopherol, delta	mg	0.00
Vitamin K (phylloquinone)	mcg	0.1
Lipids
Fatty acids, total saturated	g	0.075
4:0	g	0.000
6:0	g	0.000
8:0	g	0.000
10:0	g	0.000
12:0	g	0.000
14:0	g	0.000
16:0	g	0.063
18:0	g	0.013
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	g	0.421
16:1 undifferentiated	g	0.005
18:1 undifferentiated	g	0.415
20:1	g	0.002
22:1 undifferentiated	g	0.000
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	g	0.049
18:2 undifferentiated	g	0.045
18:3 undifferentiated	g	0.003
18:4	g	0.000
20:4 undifferentiated	g	0.000
20:5 n-3	g	0.000
22:5 n-3	g	0.000
22:6 n-3	g	0.000
Cholesterol	mg	0
Amino acids
Threonine	g	0.003
Isoleucine	g	0.003
Leucine	g	0.005
Lysine	g	0.003
Methionine	g	0.001
Phenylalanine	g	0.003
Tyrosine	g	0.002
Valine	g	0.004
Arginine	g	0.006
Histidine	g	0.002
Alanine	g	0.004
Aspartic acid	g	0.009
Glutamic acid	g	0.009
Glycine	g	0.005
Proline	g	0.004
Serine	g	0.003
Other
Alcohol, ethyl	g	0.0
Caffeine	mg	0
Theobromine	mg	0
Carotene, beta	mcg	17
Carotene, alpha	mcg	0
Cryptoxanthin, beta	mcg	1
Lycopene	mcg	0
Lutein + zeaxanthin	mcg	42

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 17 (2004)

Back to Top