Can You Put Olive Oil In Protein Shake?

Olive oil has uncountable benefits for your health, whereas protein shakes have proved as a wonderful supplement for athletes and gym freaks.

Protein shakes give your muscles quick recovery and energy boost. Mixing both ingredients will add value as well as better results.

Let’s find out how the combination of protein and omega-3 fatty acids responds in your body. And is there any negative impact of putting olive oil and protein shakes?

Can You Put Olive Oil In protein shake?

Yes, you add olive oil to your protein shake to make it more effective and nutritious.

Protein Shake by the name shows that it is high in protein, while olive oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids. The mix becomes calorie and nutrient dense and has many benefits.

A protein shake with added olive oil is a perfect snack for participants who have less or no time for meal preparation.

The addition of olive oil helps to absorb nutrients more readily through a process called hydrolysis. This process not only improves absorption but also positively impacts digestion and waste elimination.

What Are The Benefits Of Adding Olive Oil To Your Protein Shake?

Some main benefits of adding olive oil to your protein shake are hereby;

Fights Against Cardiovascular Diseases

The most notable benefit of adding olive oil to your protein shake is its property to prevent and fight against heart diseases.

Good fats like omega 3’s in olive oil improve heart health and reduce the incidence of cardiac arrest and other heart diseases.

A study reveals, the participants who consume about half a teaspoon of olive oil daily have a 15% decrease in heart-related issues contrary to those who didn’t consume olive oil in any quantity.

So, putting olive oil in protein shakes proved beneficial for people having cardiac issues.

Promotes Protein Synthesis

If you are on a keto diet, your carbohydrate levels are low, and fats are your primary energy source. Your muscles will require extra fat to use as a sole energy source.

To promote protein synthesis during a keto diet, add fats for individuals aiming to add muscle mass.

Helps In Muscle Recovery

Olive oil has anti-inflammatory properties due to its high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.

Free radicals in the body create stress and can cause trouble. But fatty acids in olive oil help to decrease free radicals in the body.

This anti-inflammatory property helps to reduce post-workout muscle inflammation and provides better muscle recovery.

Improves testosterone levels

Testosterone is involved in decreasing fat mass while increasing lean mass. But for testosterone production fats are required.

A study shows that individuals consuming olive oil have a 17% increase in testosterone levels.

Extra calories for bulking

Protein shakes are high in calories, but adding olive oil will make them more calorie-dense.

It works best for those who are looking for muscle gain. It becomes difficult to distribute the extra calories, but this cheat helps a lot.

Putting olive oil in a protein shake doesn’t make you feel heavy or stuffed, whereas it serves the purpose.

Are there any risks of adding olive oil to your protein shake?

Everything you do comes with pros and cons. So, here are some risks you can face by putting olive oil in your protein shake.

Unwanted weight gain

Serving size is critical, if you are taking olive more than your body’s requirements, that will lead to weight gain.

The situation can be worse if you have no workout routine during the consumption of olive oil, it will result in an unusual gain of fat mass.

Take no more than two teaspoons of olive oil throughout the day and cut down other unhealthy fats from your diet.

Off flavor

Most people don’t like the mouthfeel and the taste of olive oil in a protein shake. Olive oil has a certain flavor that doesn’t get along with all the food items and drinks.

Even after mixing it in a protein shake, the taste of olive oil stands out independently. Don’t add too much, start from a minute quantity and then gradually increase as per your palatability.

Delayed digestion

Olive oil belongs to the fat group and takes a little longer for fats to digest. Fats make you feel full, so avoid adding it to a pre-workout drink that will hinder your performance in the gym.

It’s better to put olive oil in a protein shake post-workout.

Most Suitable Type Of Olive Oil In Protein Shakes

Olive oil is available in different variations and properties. Some types of olive oils are:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Virgin olive oil
• Refine olive oil
• Pure olive oil

These types have different properties in terms of cooking and quality. Extra virgin olive oil is the most suitable type of olive oil to add to a protein shake.

Extra-virgin oil has high antioxidants as compared to the other types of olive oils.

Refrain from adding refined olive oil to your protein shake due to its low nutritional value.

Extra virgin oil is good for recipes that require no cooking. It is good for salad dressing as the quality of the oil remains preserved.

How To Mix Olive Oil With Protein Shakes Properly?

There are a few things you need to consider when you are planning to add olive oil to your protein shake. The amount and timing improve the efficacy of adding olive oil to a protein shake.

Dosage

Your caloric intake determines your dose of olive oil in a protein shake. The distribution of fats in your total calories in a day is around 25 to 30% which almost makes 50 to 65 grams of fats tentatively.

One serving of fat is equal to 5 grams of fat, which means you can have around 10 to 15 teaspoons of olive oil in a spoon.

But you don’t have to do it exactly. Your meals also have some amount of fat. So, consider taking one to two teaspoons maximum in your protein shake.

Other than that, you can have nuts and seeds to meet your fat intake.

Timing

You can have olive oil at any time of the day. Let’s make it easier, and it is best to have olive oil in your protein shake after training as it will help in muscle recovery and building.

Because if you are feeling full before a workout, it will make you lazy also, the digestion of olive oil takes extra time.

Tips For Adding Olive Oil To A Protein Shake

• As the olive oil takes longer to digest, start by adding half or one teaspoon to your protein shake and then gradually increase the amount as per your requirement.
• Opt for extra virgin olive oil because it is high quality and has the most suitable flavor compared to the other types of olive oils.
• Blend the olive oil and other ingredients of the protein shake well before consuming. You can add fruits or nuts to make the flavor more palatable. Manage the amount of olive oil according to your total caloric intake.

Conclusion

Protein powder will remain a main ingredient, even if you add olive oil to your protein shake.

The combo will be more nutritious and will help for building muscle mass. Not only it is involved in increasing muscle mass, olive oil participates in quick recovery and muscle strengthening.

The flavor may seem odd to some individuals. Try adding fruits and nuts to make it more flavorful.

Always look at the ingredients and calories of protein shakes before adding olive oil, and manage the calories. The surplus calories can lead to weight gain that can become a problem for you.