How Much Olive Oil to Drink for Good Health?

Use olive oil a tablespoon at a time. Photo Credit angelsimon/iStock/Getty Images

When it comes to choosing a healthy fat, olive oil's a good option. It's good for your cholesterol and overall health. But because it's a concentrated source of calories, you may not want to drink it by the cupful. Instead, use it in cooking or add it to your salad for flavor and health.

Oil Intake Recommendations

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's ChooseMyPlate.gov recommends you limit your intake of oil to 1 3/4 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons a day. Instead, the USDA suggests you include other sources of fat in your diet that offer other nutritional benefits, such as fatty fish, nuts, seeds and avocados. However, no matter where your fat comes from, tracking your caloric intake from all sources is important to maintain calorie balance for weight control and health.

Olive Oil Nutrition

All the calories in olive oil come from fat, which has 9 calories per gram. One tablespoon of olive oil has 125 calories, which means a 1/2-cup serving has more than 1,000 calories. While the 1-tablespoon serving has 14 grams of fat, most of the fat is in the form of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Olive oil is also a good source of vitamins E and K, meeting 10 percent and 11 percent of the daily value per serving, respectively.