New Year, Better Nutrition: Why Olive Oil Helps You Get More From Vegetables

After the holiday swirl of cookies, cocktails, and “just one more snack,” January has a way of making us crave a reset. This is a time for many of us to return to healthier eating habits.

Here’s an easy New Year upgrade that doesn’t require a new routine at all:

Add extra virgin olive oil to your vegetables.

It makes healthy food taste better and helps your body absorb more of the nutrients that make those foods worth eating.

Scientists at the University of Missouri recently contributed to the growing scientific research that demonstrates adding olive oil to vegetables doesn’t just improve flavor—it significantly improves nutrient absorption.

Kale already has a reputation as a nutritional powerhouse. It’s rich in vitamins A, C, and K, fiber, and protective plant compounds called carotenoids. But this new research found that how you eat kale matters just as much as eating it in the first place.

Many of kale’s most valuable nutrients—such as lutein, α-carotene, and β-carotene—are fat-soluble. These compounds support eye health, immune function, and cardiovascular wellness, but they can’t be efficiently absorbed on their own. Without dietary fat, a large portion of these nutrients simply passes through the digestive system unused.

In other words, a bowl of plain kale—despite its impressive nutrition label—may not deliver its full benefits unless it’s paired with the right fat.

To test this, researchers evaluated kale prepared in different ways—raw, cooked, and served with various sauces—using a laboratory model designed to mimic human digestion. When kale was eaten alone, carotenoid absorption remained relatively low. But when researchers added a simple olive oil and water emulsion, absorption of key nutrients increased dramatically.

Even more interesting: it didn’t matter whether the olive oil was added before or after cooking. The presence of olive oil itself was the critical factor.

Why Olive Oil Makes “Healthy Eating” More Effective

Olive oil helps in two practical ways:

• It helps dissolve and release fat-soluble compounds from vegetables during digestion.

• It supports the formation of micelles (tiny carriers in your digestive system) that help transport carotenoids for absorption.

Extra virgin olive oil is particularly effective because it’s naturally rich in monounsaturated fats and bioactive compounds that complement vegetables rather than competing with them. This aligns with a growing body of research showing that vegetables consumed with olive oil—common in Mediterranean dietary patterns—are more nutritionally effective than vegetables eaten without fat.

The study also confirmed something home cooks already know: olive oil improves flavor. Bitterness in greens like kale is softened, making vegetables more enjoyable and easier to eat regularly—an important factor when building healthy habits that last beyond January.

Recipe - Kale Sauce Pasta

Here is one simple recipe to get started. This Kale Sauce Pasta from NYT Cooking, created by Joshua McFadden, turns kale into a smooth, vibrant green sauce blended with generous olive oil for a rich, satisfying result. The recipe is forgiving and versatile, working well with both bunches of kale and pre-chopped varieties, and it can be made with or without cheese depending on preference. Because the sauce blends completely, it’s an easy way to enjoy kale’s nutrients alongside olive oil in a form that feels indulgent rather than virtuous. A blender is the only essential tool, and the sauce can be made in advance and frozen for future meals. The full recipe can be found here.

Don’t like kale?

A healthy reset doesn’t require forcing down foods you’ve never enjoyed. The same science applies to vegetables you may already love—roasted carrots, sautéed spinach, tomato-based soups, and even simple sheet-pan vegetables. Pairing these foods with olive oil helps unlock nutrients like carotenoids and vitamin K, making your January meals more effective without making them feel restrictive or joyless.

The takeaway for the New Year is refreshingly simple: healthy eating isn’t just about what you eat, but how you eat it. Adding extra virgin olive oil to vegetables is one small, sustainable habit that improves flavor, satisfaction, and nutrient absorption all at once.

Zhu, H., McClements, D. J., Zhang, Z., & Zhang, R. (2025). Culinary strategies for improving carotenoid bioaccessibility in kale: The role of thermal processing and excipient emulsions. Food & Nutrition, Article 100049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fnutr.2025.100049