Let us be careful here, because olive oil attracts more overclaiming than almost any food on the shelf. It is not medicine. It will not undo a bad diet. What follows is what is reasonably well established about its composition, and what is still uncertain.
What is actually in it
Extra virgin olive oil is roughly three-quarters monounsaturated fat, almost all of it oleic acid. It carries vitamin E, vitamin K, and a group of compounds called polyphenols, including hydroxytyrosol and oleocanthal. It contains no carbohydrate, no protein and no cholesterol.
Like every oil, it is calorie-dense: about 120 calories per tablespoon, the same as any other fat. Olive oil is not a low-calorie ingredient, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.
The evidence that is reasonably solid
Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats is associated with improved blood lipid profiles. This is one of the better-supported findings in nutrition and it is why dietary guidelines in most countries suggest the swap.
Extra virgin olive oil is also the defining fat of the Mediterranean dietary pattern, which has been studied extensively and associated with favourable cardiovascular outcomes. The important caveat: those studies looked at a whole pattern of eating, with vegetables, legumes, fish and whole grains alongside the oil. Pouring olive oil over an otherwise unchanged diet is not the same intervention.
The polyphenols are genuinely interesting. Oleocanthal, the compound responsible for the peppery sting at the back of the throat, has been the subject of real laboratory research into anti-inflammatory activity. But laboratory activity and clinical benefit in humans are different things, and the gap between them is where most food marketing lives. Treat the pepper as a marker of a fresh, carefully made oil rather than as a health claim.
What we will not tell you
We are not going to say olive oil prevents, treats or cures anything, because we do not know that and because saying so would be against Indian food labelling rules. If you have a specific health condition, ask a doctor or a registered dietitian, not a brand's blog.
The practical questions people actually ask
Can you cook Indian food in it? Yes. Extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point in the region of 190 to 210°C depending on acidity and freshness, comfortably above the temperature of a normal tadka, sauté or oven roast. Deep-frying at length is where it stops making sense, mostly on cost.
Does heating destroy the benefits? Heat does reduce the polyphenol content, which is why finishing oils are added raw. Cook with it, and also drizzle it raw over the finished dish. You get both.
Is it better than ghee or mustard oil? Different, not straightforwardly better. Ghee is largely saturated fat and has a higher smoke point. Mustard oil has its own fatty acid profile and a flavour olive oil cannot replicate. A kitchen with all three is better equipped than a kitchen dogmatically committed to one.
How much? The Mediterranean diet trials typically used quite generous amounts, but they were replacing other fats, not adding on top. That is the principle worth taking away: substitute, do not accumulate.
How to keep the good stuff in the bottle
Polyphenols degrade with light, heat and oxygen. Three habits protect them:
- Store the bottle in a cupboard, not on the shelf beside the stove.
- Keep it closed between uses, which is one of the arguments for a squeeze bottle over a pour spout.
- Use it. An opened bottle is best within a few months. Oil bought to be saved for guests is oil that quietly goes flat.
The honest summary
Extra virgin olive oil is a well-made, minimally processed fat with a favourable fatty acid profile and some genuinely interesting compounds in it. It is worth using because it tastes good and because swapping it in for less useful fats is a sensible, low-effort change. That is a strong enough case without inventing a stronger one.
If you want to start using it properly rather than saving it for salads, our recipes are built around Indian cooking. And if you want to know what separates a real extra virgin from the bottle next to it, read how it is made. The oil itself is here.