Olive Oil Nutrition
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Most of us reach for olive oil because it tastes good.
And honestly, that would already be reason enough. But extra virgin olive oil also comes with a handful of natural nutrients that quietly make it one of the nicest things you can add to your food — without turning your kitchen into a science lab.
Here’s a gentle, simple way to understand what’s inside your bottle.
Polyphenols — the little spark behind the flavor
Polyphenols are natural antioxidants that live inside fresh extra virgin olive oil.
They’re responsible for:
- that small bitterness
- that tiny peppery tickle
- that feeling of “brightness” when you taste it
The younger and fresher the oil, the more polyphenols it usually has.
With time — and with too much light, heat, or oxygen — they start to fade. That’s why a just-opened bottle tastes more alive than one that’s been sitting open for four months.
If you’ve ever had an olive oil that made you cough once in a pleasant way, that’s them at work.
Vitamins that naturally come along
Extra virgin olive oil also carries small amounts of:
- Vitamin E — a gentle antioxidant
- Vitamin K — connected to bone and circulation health
Nothing added, nothing fortified — it’s simply part of the fruit.
Healthy fats
Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats.
These are the “steady,” heart-friendly fats you see mentioned in Mediterranean diet studies. They help your body in quiet, everyday ways.
And yes, this is why so many people in olive-growing regions happily drizzle oil on everything.
What affects the nutrients?
The same things that affect flavor also affect nutrition:
- Light
- Heat
- Oxygen
- Time
A dark bottle kept in a cupboard keeps its goodness longer than a clear bottle living next to a warm stove.
Freshness matters — which is part of why we like choosing small seasonal batches for Olivarium.
How long does it stay ‘nutritionally good’?
- Unopened: roughly a year from harvest.
- Opened: best within 1–3 months.
After that, it’s still perfectly fine to use — it just slowly loses some of the spark that makes extra virgin olive oil special.