How much olive oil per day? | The short answer

There is no universal optimal daily amount for every person.

How much olive oil makes sense in a diet depends, among other things, on:

• your personal energy requirements
• the total amount of fat consumed
• which other sources of fat are used
• whether olive oil is replacing other fats or being eaten in addition to them
• what the overall diet consists of
• how regularly one actually cooks with olive oil

The following distinction provides a helpful guide:

Three amounts.

Three different contexts.

That is precisely why they should not be conflated into a single olive oil dosage.

10 g of olive oil | What does the DGE really recommend?

The German Nutrition Society (DGE) fundamentally revised its food-based recommendations in 2024.

In the current DGE Nutrition Circle, for healthy adults between 18 and 65 years of age with an energy requirement of approximately 2,000 kcal, the guideline is:

10 g of plant oil daily.

Among the recommended plant oils, the DGE mentions, among others:

• Rapeseed oil
• Olive oil
• Walnut oil
• Linseed oil
• Soybean oil

This does not mean:

The DGE dictates exactly 10 g of olive oil per day to every person.

It is a guideline value within an entire modeled dietary pattern.

Individual energy requirements can be higher or lower.

Furthermore, we do not consume fat only through visible oil.

Fat is also found, for example, in:

• Nuts
• Seeds
• Fish
• Dairy products
• Eggs
• Meat
• Avocados
• Processed foods

Therefore, one cannot calculate a personal daily dose of olive oil from this DGE guideline.

30 percent of energy from fat | Another DGE figure

In addition, there are nutrient reference values.

For adolescents and adults, the DGE gives the following benchmark:

30 percent of daily energy intake from fat.

Depending on individual energy needs and life circumstances, the actual amount of fat may vary.

What is decisive is:

This figure refers to total fat intake.

Not just olive oil.

This is an important distinction.

Therefore, you cannot calculate the total daily amount of fat and then assume it should consist entirely of olive oil.

A varied diet contains different sources of fat with different fatty acid profiles.

20 g of olive oil | Where does this famous number come from?

We encounter 20 g particularly often in the context of olive oil.

The reason is the approved European health claim for olive oil polyphenols.

The approved statement is:

Olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress.

The claim may only be used for olive oil that contains at least:

5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives per 20 g of olive oil.

The European regulation cites as examples:

Oleuropein complex and tyrosol.

In addition, when using the claim, consumers must be informed that the beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of:

20 g of olive oil.

This is very specific.

But this does not create a general statement that:

20 g of olive oil is the optimal daily amount for everyone.

The 20 g is part of the:

conditions of this claim.

EU health claim for olive oil | Prerequisites and laboratory testing

20 g is not a medical dose of olive oil

This difference is fundamental.

A medical dose is determined for a specific treatment or therapeutic purpose.

Olive oil is:

a food.

The European health claim is:

a regulated health-related claim for a food.

Therefore, the number 20 g does not mean:

• 20 g against inflammation
• 20 g against diabetes
• 20 g for the brain
• 20 g for longevity
• 20 g to treat high cholesterol levels

Such dosage tables have no corresponding scientific or legal basis.

Food law is not pharmaceutical dosing.

Why 250 mg total polyphenols per kg does not automatically meet the EU health claim

This is where one of the most common misunderstandings arises.

Mathematically, one can calculate:

5 mg per 20 g = 250 mg per kg.

The calculation itself is correct.

The interpretation is often wrong.

Because the European regulation does not require:

250 mg of any total polyphenol value per kg.

It specifically states:

Hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives.

A laboratory can determine a total polyphenol value using a method that answers a different analytical question.

Total phenols cannot simply be treated entirely as:

claim-relevant hydroxytyrosol derivatives.

Therefore, the equation:

250 mg total polyphenols = health claim met

is not sound.

Measuring polyphenol content | Understanding HPLC, qNMR, and laboratory analysis

Do I need less of an olive oil that is particularly rich in polyphenols?

Here too, my answer is:

Not based on a simple total polyphenol calculation.

Let's imagine two olive oils.

Olive oil A has a moderate analyzed total phenol value.

Olive oil B has an exceptionally high total phenol value.

It does not automatically follow that:

Olive oil B only needs to be consumed in half or a quarter of the amount.

Why?

Firstly, total polyphenols are not the same as the claim-relevant hydroxytyrosol and derivative fraction.

Secondly, 20 g is explicitly part of the conditions of the approved European communication.

Thirdly, no medical formula exists such as:

Polyphenol value divided by daily dose = individual effect.

A high analysis value remains interesting nonetheless.

But it answers a:

product question.

Not automatically a:

dosage question.

Polyphenols in olive oil | Phenolic profile, sensory properties, and analysis values

Total amount and phenol profile are also not the same

Two olive oils can have similar total phenol values.

And yet contain very different proportions of individual compounds.

For example:

• Oleocanthal
• Oleacein
• Tyrosol derivatives
• Hydroxytyrosol derivatives
• Other secoiridoids

That is why, for me, a much better question is now:

How is the value composed?

And:

Which method was used?

A big number is not the whole story.

50 g of olive oil | What did PREDIMED actually study?

Another frequently mentioned number is approximately:

50 g of extra virgin olive oil daily.

This number is closely linked to PREDIMED.

PREDIMED is one of the best-known randomized nutritional intervention studies on the Mediterranean diet.

One group received a Mediterranean dietary intervention with extra virgin olive oil.

The target for participants was:

at least approximately four tablespoons or around 50 g of olive oil daily.

The olive oil was not studied in isolation.

The dietary intervention simultaneously included, among other things:

• more vegetables
• more fruit
• legumes
• fish
• a Mediterranean-oriented selection of foods
• olive oil as the central source of fat

Participants also belonged to a specific study population with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Therefore, PREDIMED does not mean:

Four tablespoons of olive oil are the optimal daily amount for every person.

PREDIMED was not a dose-finding study for olive oil

That is the decisive methodological point.

To determine an optimal dose, a study would have to systematically test different amounts against each other, for example:

10 g.

20 g.

30 g.

40 g.

50 g.

And then, under the most comparable conditions possible, examine which amount is optimal for which endpoint.

That was not the research question of PREDIMED.

PREDIMED studied:

different dietary patterns.

The approximately 50 g was part of a specific intervention.

Study quantity is not automatically the optimal daily quantity.

What do large observational studies show regarding quantity?

In addition to nutritional interventions, there are large prospective observational studies.

These examine how much olive oil people consume over long periods and which health events are subsequently observed statistically.

Several large evaluations find links between higher olive oil consumption and a lower risk of certain cardiovascular endpoints or lower all-cause mortality.

A dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies published in 2024 found non-linear relationships.

The stronger observed risk differences were particularly in the range:

up to approximately 18 g of olive oil daily for cardiovascular diseases or up to approximately 22 g daily for all-cause mortality.

At first glance, this sounds like an optimal amount again.

But:

Observational data do not determine an individual optimal dose.

Why 18 to 22 g are not a new daily recommendation

In observational studies, people decide for themselves what they eat.

People with higher olive oil consumption may simultaneously differ in terms of:

• vegetable intake
• legumes
• fish consumption
• body weight
• exercise
• smoking
• alcohol consumption
• social and economic factors

Statistical models attempt to account for such factors.

But they cannot eliminate them completely.

Therefore, a dose-response curve from observational data cannot simply be translated into the recommendation that:

21 g is optimal and 30 g is wrong.

It provides epidemiological context.

Not personal dosing.

A large US long-term study shows something else | Replacement counts

A large US long-term evaluation observed more than 90,000 women and men over several decades.

People with higher olive oil consumption showed lower all-cause and disease-specific mortality in the statistical analyses.

Of particular interest were so-called:

substitution analyses.

This looked at how statistical relationships change when one source of fat is replaced by another.

The modeled exchange of certain amounts of:

• butter
• margarine
• mayonnaise
• milk fat

for olive oil was associated with more favorable statistical results.

When comparing olive oil with other plant oils together, however, no corresponding significant difference was found.

This is an important nuance.

The question is not just: How much olive oil?

The question is also: Instead of what?

Replacing is different from drinking in addition

Imagine two people.

Person A

Previously, they regularly used fat sources with a higher proportion of saturated fatty acids and replaced part of them with olive oil.

Person B

They leave their diet completely unchanged and drink several additional tablespoons of olive oil every day.

Both people consume more olive oil.

Nutritionally, however, the situation is not identical.

Person B may simply be increasing their daily energy intake.

That is why one of the most important Green Agora rules regarding the question of quantity is:

Replacing is often more sensible to consider than drinking in addition to.

How many calories do 10, 20, or 50 g of olive oil provide?

Olive oil is a calorie-dense food.

Fat provides approximately:

9 kilocalories per gram.

This energy is not automatically problematic.

It is simply part of the total energy balance.

However, 50 g of olive oil in addition to an already sufficient daily diet provides approximately 450 extra kilocalories.

This should be taken into account with recommendations such as:

"Just drink four extra tablespoons"

when considered.

Tablespoons or grams | Why I prefer grams for precise statements

A tablespoon is practical.

But it is not a precise scientific unit of measurement.

Household spoons and fill levels can vary.

Furthermore:

15 ml of olive oil

is not the same as:

15 g of olive oil.

Olive oil has a lower density than water.

Therefore, for scientific or legal considerations, the specification of:

grams

is more precise.

For everyday kitchen use, however, no one needs to stand at their salad plate with a laboratory scale.

Can you use olive oil every day?

Yes.

Olive oil can regularly be a source of fat within a balanced diet.

This is also typical of Mediterranean dietary patterns.

However, it does not have to be exactly the same amount every day.

One day you might use olive oil for a salad.

The next, for vegetables.

Then for fish.

Or for cooking.

What matters is the long-term dietary pattern.

The body does not keep a daily olive oil punch card.

Do you have to drink olive oil straight?

No.

For a normal diet, there is no scientific reason to necessarily drink olive oil straight.

It can be used quite naturally:

• with salad
• with vegetables
• with legumes
• with fish
• with bread
• over soups
• for sauces
• for cooking
• as a finish

Those who want to try an interesting premium olive oil pure can naturally do so as a:

delight and tasting.

But it is not a necessary health ritual.

Drinking olive oil straight | Understanding varieties and sensory properties

Olive oil on an empty stomach in the morning | Is this time better?

There is no convincing general evidence for this.

The conditions of the European Polyphenol Health Claim do not require:

in the morning.

nor:

on an empty stomach.

nor:

drinking olive oil straight.

Anyone who likes to enjoy a sip of olive oil in the morning can do so as a personal routine.

But this routine should not become a statement like:

Olive oil is more effective on an empty stomach in the morning.

This is not proven.

Do you have to spread the olive oil amount over three meals?

There is no general scientific rule for this either.

You don't have to plan:

a tablespoon in the morning.

one at lunch.

one in the evening.

for olive oil to be used "correctly".

Olive oil is a food.

It can be used wherever it makes culinary sense.

Should high-quality olive oil only be used raw?

No.

Extra virgin olive oil can also be used in warm cooking.

When heated, the following can change:

• aromatic substances
• phenolic compounds
• other accompanying substances

depending on temperature, duration, and cooking method.

However, that does not mean:

Premium olive oil must never be heated.

With particularly aromatic olive oils, it can additionally make sense to use a portion after cooking as a finish.

That way, the original sensory characteristics remain particularly clearly perceptible.

Heating olive oil | Frying, smoke point, and stability

Which olive oil for salad, cooking, or pure?

How do I find my personal amount without false precision?

Instead of looking for a magical number of grams, I would ask four questions.

1 | How do I use olive oil?

Only for salad?

Or for the entire kitchen?

2 | What other fat sources do I eat?

Butter?

Nuts?

Cheese?

Fish?

Other plant oils?

3 | Is the olive oil replacing something?

Or is it being consumed in addition to the existing diet?

4 | Does the amount fit my energy needs?

A person with a very high energy expenditure is in a different situation than someone with low energy needs.

These four questions are often more helpful in everyday life than:

20 or 30 g?

What about people who want to lose weight purposefully?

Then the energy density becomes particularly relevant.

Olive oil consists mainly of fat, and fat provides approximately 9 kcal per gram.

Its energy does not disappear just because the oil is high quality, organic, or polyphenol-rich.

However, this also does not mean that olive oil must be fundamentally removed from a weight-loss diet.

The crucial question is again:

How does it fit into the overall dietary pattern, and which fat sources is it replacing?

Weight management is a separate issue and should not be equated with a general daily olive oil amount.

Which olive oil for daily cooking?

If someone actually uses olive oil every day for cooking, vegetables, salad, legumes, and fish, besides quality, the following also plays a role:

the container size.

Then not every everyday pan has to be prepared with a small 500 ml special bottle.

Creta Eleon Organic | For regular kitchen use

Creta Eleon Organic is produced from Koroneiki olives in the Chania region of Crete.

The olive oil is classified at Green Agora as mild and versatile and is also available in larger canisters.

This can be particularly interesting for households that actually use olive oil regularly.

Discover Creta Eleon Organic 3 liters

Discover Creta Eleon Organic 5 liters

However, the decision for a larger container should also suit actual consumption.

A large canister only makes sense if the olive oil is consumed regularly and stored well after opening.

Storing olive oil correctly | Protecting quality and freshness

And when does an intense premium bottle make sense?

Olive oils with distinctive sensory profiles and detailed analyses fulfill a different task.

For example:

Pamako Gold Organic.

Here the focus is not on the question:

How many grams of this do I need?

But rather:

How does Tsounati taste?

How do bitterness and pungency work?

What does the current phenol profile look like?

How do harvests differ?

And how was this olive oil produced?

Discover Pamako Gold Organic

Pamako | Understanding Tsounati, production, and laboratory analyses

An everyday oil answers a practical question of quantity and container size.

A special bottle can additionally answer a question of taste and knowledge.

The olive oil with the highest polyphenol value does not have to be my daily olive oil

For me, this is an important point.

A very high-phenolic olive oil can be analytically fascinating.

But if it is too bitter or too pungent for you and therefore sits unopened in the cupboard for months, the impressive analysis figure helps you little in everyday kitchen life.

For regular use, the following can be at least as important:

• taste
• olive variety
• dishes
• desired intensity
• container size
• consumption
• budget

The human uses the olive oil.

Not the table.

How much olive oil per day? | Frequently asked questions

How much olive oil should one eat daily?

There is no scientifically established universal daily amount for every person. The appropriate amount depends, among other things, on diet, energy needs, and other fat sources.

Does the DGE recommend 10 g of olive oil daily?

The DGE uses 10 g of vegetable oil daily as a reference value within its nutritional circle for healthy adults with an energy requirement of approximately 2,000 kcal. Olive oil belongs to the plant oils mentioned there. This is not an individual olive oil dose.

Why do you hear 20 g of olive oil per day so often?

20 g is one of the conditions of the approved European health claim for olive oil polyphenols.

Is 20 g a general dietary recommendation?

No.

How many calories are in 20 g of olive oil?

Approximately 180 kcal.

How much is 20 g in tablespoons?

Household spoons and fill levels can vary. For precise scientific or legal statements, one should therefore calculate in grams.

Why is 250 mg of polyphenols per kg mentioned so often?

Because 5 mg per 20 g mathematically corresponds to 250 mg per kg. However, the EU claim refers to hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives and not to any random total polyphenol value.

Do 250 mg of total polyphenols automatically fulfill the EU Health Claim?

No.

Do I need less olive oil with 1,000 or 2,000 mg of total polyphenols?

One should not calculate an individual reduced daily amount for a health effect based on a general total polyphenol value.

Why were approximately 50 g used in PREDIMED?

The EVOO group was supposed to consume at least approximately four tablespoons or around 50 g daily within a complete Mediterranean dietary intervention. This was not a dose-finding study for the general population.

Are four tablespoons of olive oil daily optimal?

Not universally.

Are 18 to 22 g the optimal amount?

A dose-response meta-analysis of prospective observational studies published in 2024 showed interesting non-linear associations in this range. However, this does not result in an individual optimal dosage.

Can you use olive oil every day?

Yes. It can regularly be a component of a balanced diet.

Do you have to drink olive oil straight?

No.

Do you have to drink olive oil on an empty stomach in the morning?

No. There is no convincing evidence for a special general benefit of this time.

Do you have to spread olive oil throughout the day?

No.

Should olive oil only be used raw?

No. Extra virgin olive oil can also be used for numerous warm culinary applications.

Is more olive oil automatically better?

No. Olive oil is calorie-dense and should fit into the overall diet.

Is a higher polyphenol value automatically better?

Not as a general quality or dosage judgment. Phenol profile, method, harvest, sensory properties, and personal use also belong to the classification.

What is more important than an exact number of grams?

The overall diet, energy intake, fat quality, and the question of which other fat sources are being replaced by olive oil.

Four numbers that should not be confused with one another

If you would like to keep only one table from this article:

This one.

Read more | Understanding daily amount, polyphenols, and nutrition

• Polyphenols in olive oil | Phenol profile and analysis values
• EU Health Claim for olive oil | Prerequisites and laboratory testing
• Measuring polyphenol content in olive oil | HPLC and qNMR
• Olive oil and cholesterol | Understanding fat quality and blood lipids
• Is olive oil healthy? | Properly interpreting research
• Drinking olive oil straight | Enjoyment instead of a dosage ritual
• Which olive oil for salad, cooking, or straight?

Premium olive oil at Green Agora | Quantity is only one layer

At Green Agora, we do not want to sell olive oil like a nutritional supplement.

We also look at:

• Olive variety
• Origin
• Producer
• Harvest
• Processing
• Sensory profile
• Phenol profile
• Laboratory analyses
• Container size
• Usage

For someone who cooks every day, a large, harmonious kitchen olive oil might be sensible.

For someone who wants to compare olive varieties, an intense 500 ml premium bottle might be more interesting.

Both people use olive oil.

But they do not automatically need the same product.

Compare premium olive oils

Ayhan's perspective | No polyphenol math at the dinner table

When someone asks me:

Ayhan, how much olive oil should I have daily?

today, I don't want to simply answer:

Two tablespoons.

I don't know the person and their entire diet well enough for that.

I want to understand first:

What do you use olive oil for?

What else do you eat?

Which fat sources do you use?

Do you cook every day?

Do you like robust olive oils?

Or rather harmonious ones?

Are you interested in polyphenols and laboratory analyses?

Or would you just like an excellent olive oil for the family?

Then come the numbers.

10 g.

20 g.

50 g.

And suddenly I see:

None of these numbers alone answers the personal question.

10 g comes from a dietary circle.

20 g comes from the conditions of a health claim.

50 g comes from a nutritional intervention.

And a high polyphenol value in turn tells me something about the analyzed bottle.

These are four different levels.

That is exactly why I do not want to dose food like medication.

I want to explain what a number means.

And also:

what it does not mean.

Then the individual can make a better decision.

Analysis without a human remains just a number.

And a number without context quickly becomes a wrong recommendation.

Ayhan from Green Agora

Technical basis | How much olive oil per day?

The following sources and research areas were particularly considered for this article:

• German Nutrition Society | DGE Food Circle and orientation values
• German Nutrition Society | Plant-based oils and fats
• EUR-Lex | Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 | Health claim for olive oil polyphenols | current consolidated version
• New England Journal of Medicine | PREDIMED | Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil
• PubMed | Systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis on olive oil consumption | 2024
• PubMed | Olive oil consumption and total and cause-specific mortality in US long-term cohorts

It is important to make a methodological distinction between nutritional recommendations, observational studies, randomized nutritional interventions, and legal health claim conditions.