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How many calories does olive oil contain, how many or how few, and what do they provide us with? Surely we have asked ourselves these questions at some point.
In a country and culture like ours, olive oil is a protagonist in our diet. And if we add to this the recent concern of consumers about their nutrition, the calories in olive oil becomes an interesting topic for everyone.
Calories from a tablespoon of olive oil
First of all, to find out about the nutritional composition of olive oil, we will refer to a documentfrom the Spanish Nutrition Foundation (FEN) where these values are detailed.
According to its composition, for every 100 grams of olive oil, the kilocalories (Kcal) amount to 899. Thus, in a spoonful, which would be approximately 13 grams, it would amount to 117 Kcal.
In addition to calories, 0.4 mg of iron and 5.1 mg of vitamin E are also provided for every 100 grams
How many calories an olive has
And how many calories are in an olive? Well, about 100 grams of olives contain approximately 150 calories (kcal). This is an approximation, as the number depends on whether they are green or black olives, as well as their size. In any case, as you can see, the intake of olives does not give us excessive calories compared to other snacks that are very caloric.
Is olive oil fattening?
Obviously, it is fattening since it has calories like any other food. However, if taken in the right measure within a healthy and balanced diet, with physical exercise, it can even act as a slimming agent. The fact is that the properties of olive oil, and especially of extra virgin olive oil, are always beneficial to our health.
And why is it so beneficial to our health? This is mainly due to the “profile” of olive oil: when we talk about the “profile” we refer to the composition of its fatty acids.
Thus, olive oil is composed of three types of fatty acids and in the following percentages: Simple Fatty Acids (17%), Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (71%), and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (12%). Thanks to this higher presence of monounsaturated fatty acids compared to polyunsaturated fatty acids, olive oil is more stable than other types of vegetable oils. This composition is always maintained although it may vary slightly due to climate, soil, whether the olives are harvested ripe or not, the variety of olive from which the oil is produced, etc…
properties are preserved
The stability that this higher quantity of monounsaturated fatty acids gives to olive oil results in less oxidation from oxygen. And therefore, greater resistance to the loss of certain elements that are so beneficial to our health, such as natural antioxidants. Furthermore, it preserves the organoleptic properties of aroma and flavor that we so appreciate.
This stability is even more evident in the Premium olive oil. Premium olive oil.
On the other hand, the greater stability of olive oil also makes it possible to fry food without “burning”, without losing its properties and thus enhancing the flavor of our cuisine.
Something as typical of our Mediterranean cuisine as olive oil is for cooking olive oil for cooking and frying and to be able to fry food in a bath, is possible thanks to its stability.
Finally, the Monounsaturated Fatty Acid, apart from the mentioned stability, is very beneficial in the prevention of heart diseases. Therefore, in spite of the calories it provides, it is advisable to consume it.
In short, there are all advantages to consuming olive oil, especially if it is Extra Virgin. Always in moderation, keeping the proportion of calories ingested and burned, we will not put on weight and we will benefit from the healthy properties of aove.
I hope you found it interesting, see you in the next article! 😉👋 😉👋
