For most people, a spoonful of fresh extra virgin olive oil beats a capsule. You get more oil, usually more polyphenols, better value, and quality you can actually taste. Capsules are convenient, but they are often made from refined or low-polyphenol oil. Here is how the two compare so you can choose well.
What are olive oil capsules?
They are soft gel capsules containing a small measure of olive oil, sold as a supplement. The appeal is obvious: no measuring, no taste, easy to carry. The catch is what is inside, which varies enormously between products.
The case for capsules
- Convenience: quick, portable and no washing up.
- No flavour: useful if you dislike the peppery bite of a raw oil.
- Portion control: a fixed dose every time.
The case for drinking the oil
- More polyphenols: a fresh, high-quality extra virgin oil is richer in the compounds behind olive oil's benefits than most capsules.
- Quality you can verify: you can smell and taste an oil, and check its harvest date and origin. A capsule hides all of that.
- Better value: a bottle gives many servings at a low cost each, and it doubles as a finishing oil for your food.
- It is food, not a pill: drinking or drizzling good oil fits naturally into a Mediterranean way of eating.
Polyphenols: the deciding factor
The one authorised health claim here is that olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress, for oils containing enough polyphenols, at a daily intake of 20g of olive oil. A small capsule rarely delivers that much oil, and many use refined oil with the polyphenols removed. A fresh extra virgin oil, taken as a daily spoonful, is the more dependable way to get them. See the full health benefits of drinking olive oil.
Which should you choose?
For nearly everyone, drink the oil. Choose a fresh, peppery, high-polyphenol extra virgin olive oil and take a daily spoonful, as covered in can you drink olive oil, and which one to choose. Keep capsules for the rare case where you genuinely cannot take the oil at all.
