Move Over, Tequila! Olive Oil Shots Are Having a Moment.

October 27, 2026

Olive oil with a squeeze of lemon, first thing in the morning. Is this another celebrity wellness obsession, or have we been overlooking something that's been sitting in our kitchen cupboard all along?

If you've been scrolling through Instagram or TikTok lately, you might have noticed people downing olive oil as a part of their morning ritual. Not drizzling over salad or dipping crusty sourdough into it. They're pouring it into shot glasses and drinking it straight.

And we're not talking about a few eccentric health enthusiasts.

Even Hailey Bieber has joined the olive oil shot club!

In a 2026 interview with TIME, the model and founder of Rhode revealed that her three morning essentials are skincare, coffee and, rather unexpectedly, a shot of olive oil mixed with lemon juice.

She explained that she'd been doing it consistently for several months, believing it helps coat her gut and supports detoxification. Most importantly, she said the ritual makes her feel good.

And the taste? She compared it to swallowing a big gulp of salad dressing.

That's certainly one way to start the day!

Kourtney Kardashian has also embraced drinking extra virgin olive oil on an empty stomach, and suddenly this humble Mediterranean staple has found itself in the company of expensive serums, green juices and elaborate morning wellness routines.

An ancient ingredient with a very modern following

Long before wellness influencers started pouring olive oil into shot glasses, the ancient Greeks and Romans were already well acquainted with its value.

Olive oil was used in cooking, medicine, skincare and religious ceremonies. It was considered precious enough to feature in mythology and important enough to become a symbol of prosperity, peace and wellbeing.

Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, lived in a world where olive oil was used therapeutically.

So, is drinking olive oil first thing in the morning a secret passed down through generations?

What we're witnessing is probably a collision of two worlds: Mediterranean traditions and our modern fascination with quick, convenient wellness rituals.

And perhaps that's not such a bad combination.

After all, unlike some fashionable wellness ingredients that appear out of nowhere, extra virgin olive oil has an impressive body of scientific research behind it.

So, what's the idea behind olive oil and lemon?

Let's start with the olive oil itself.

A good extra virgin olive oil is much more than a cooking fat.

It's rich in oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid associated with cardiovascular health. It also contains naturally occurring plant compounds called polyphenols, some of which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

You might have heard of oleocanthal (a bit of a mouthful), one of the compounds responsible for that distinctive peppery sensation at the back of your throat when tasting certain extra virgin olive oils.

Interestingly, oleocanthal has demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity in laboratory research, although that doesn't mean swallowing olive oil works like taking an anti-inflammatory medicine.

And then there's the lemon.

Lemon juice contributes vitamin C, however, vitamin C is water-soluble, not fat-soluble. This means your body absorbs vitamin C without needing dietary fat. By contrast, carotenoids (such as beta-carotene, found in oranges) are fat-soluble, so consuming them alongside olive oil can improve their absorption, helping you to protect your cells, skin, and eyesight. Maybe you should try Sicilian Orange Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil as an alternative to the lemon and oil shots?

Could your digestive system appreciate a little olive oil in the morning?

This is probably one of the more interesting aspects of the trend.

When we consume fat, our digestive system responds by releasing hormones, including cholecystokinin, which stimulates the gallbladder to release bile. Bile helps the body digest and absorb fats.

Olive oil may also encourage bowel movements in some people, and small studies have explored its potential usefulness for constipation.

So when someone tells you that their morning olive oil shot seems to help their digestion, there's a plausible physiological explanation for their experience.

Of course, this doesn't mean the olive oil literally coats the digestive tract in a protective layer, as some wellness enthusiasts suggest.

But the idea that olive oil can influence digestive activity certainly isn't imaginary.

The more interesting question is whether drinking it before breakfast provides an advantage over consuming it with food.

And that particular question hasn't yet received a convincing scientific answer.

What about that famous Hailey Bieber glow?

Now we're getting to the subject that probably persuaded quite a few people to give this ritual a try.

Who wouldn't be curious about a beauty habit endorsed by someone whose complexion has practically become a brand of its own?

Extra virgin olive oil contains compounds that help protect cells against oxidative damage, and its monounsaturated fats are part of a nutritionally balanced diet.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are involved in many biological processes, including those associated with skin ageing.

So it's understandable why researchers are interested in the relationship between diet, antioxidants, and skin health.

But here's where we need to manage our expectations.

There isn't convincing clinical evidence that drinking a tablespoon of olive oil every morning will visibly transform your complexion.

Healthy skin depends on many things: genetics, hydration, sleep, sun protection, nutrition, and skincare, among others.

Nevertheless, nourishing your body with good-quality fats and a varied, antioxidant-rich diet is a sensible foundation for supporting overall health. And healthy skin is certainly one reason to care about what we eat.

The real health benefits are actually much more impressive

While social media is busy discussing glowing skin and morning digestion, scientists have spent decades investigating something considerably more important: the relationship between olive oil consumption and long-term health.

One of the best-known examples is the PREDIMED study, a large Spanish clinical trial involving more than 7,000 people at elevated cardiovascular risk.

Researchers found that following a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil was associated with fewer major cardiovascular events compared with the control dietary advice.

Other large observational studies have linked regular olive oil consumption with favourable cardiovascular outcomes and lower risks of certain causes of death.

Why might that be?

Part of the explanation lies in olive oil's fatty acid composition. Replacing fats high in saturated fatty acids with unsaturated fats can help maintain healthier blood cholesterol levels.

Then there are those fascinating polyphenols, which researchers continue to investigate for their antioxidant and other biological activities.

We're talking about an ingredient that can form part of a dietary pattern associated with better long-term health. And perhaps that's the real reason extra virgin olive oil deserves a place in our daily routine.

But does it have to be a shot?

Imagine two people.

One wakes up, squeezes a little lemon into a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, drinks it and gets on with the day.

The other takes that same tablespoon of olive oil and drizzles it over tomatoes, avocado and toasted sourdough at lunchtime.

Who's getting the better deal?

Well, both are consuming the same quantity of olive oil, and both can benefit from its nutritional properties.

But there's an interesting bonus to the second approach.

Some nutrients found in vegetables, including carotenoids, are fat-soluble. That means eating them alongside a source of dietary fat like olive oil can help the body absorb them. Oranges contain the fat-soluble beneficial carotenoids! Curious to try this combination? Discover our Sicilian Orange Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

So combining olive oil with vegetables isn't merely delicious. It can actually improve the nutritional value we obtain from the meal. Win-win situation!

And as for the timing, there is currently no convincing evidence that olive oil becomes more beneficial simply because we consume it on an empty stomach.

If you love the ritual, wonderful.

If you prefer yours with food, you're not missing out on some secret nutritional advantage.

One thing I would pay more attention to

The quality of the olive oil itself.

Not all extra virgin olive oils contain the same quantities of beneficial plant compounds.

The olive variety, growing conditions, harvest timing, handling of the fruit, milling process and storage conditions can all influence the oil's composition.

Take early-harvest extra virgin olive oil, for example.

Olives harvested while still relatively green can produce oils with particularly intense flavours and potentially higher concentrations of certain phenolic compounds (antioxidants naturally produced by plants).

That fresh grassy aroma, the bitterness on your tongue and the peppery finish at the back of your throat are part of what makes a characterful extra virgin olive oil so fascinating.

Of course, flavour alone can't tell us exactly how many polyphenols an oil contains. That requires laboratory analysis.

But freshness, careful production and proper storage are certainly worth paying attention to.

After all, if you're making the effort to consume extra virgin olive oil for its nutritional qualities, wouldn't you want to know something about how it was produced?

At Olive Kin, this is precisely why we care so much about the people growing the olives, the timing of the harvest, and what happens to the fruit between the tree and the mill.

So, should you try an olive oil shot tomorrow morning?

Why not, if you're curious and it agrees with your digestion?

Just remember that one tablespoon contains approximately 120 calories, so it's worth considering how it fits into your overall diet rather than automatically adding extra calories every day.

And if you have gallbladder problems, digestive conditions or find that acidic foods aggravate reflux, the ritual might not be suitable for you.

As for the claims that olive oil and lemon cleanse the liver or flush toxins from the body, those are best left in the world of wellness marketing. Our liver and kidneys already do a remarkable job of that without needing a special morning cocktail.

But does that make olive oil shots a pointless fad?

I don't think so.

If this trend encourages more people to discover good extra virgin olive oil, become curious about its nutritional qualities and appreciate the difference between a carefully produced oil and an anonymous supermarket bottle, that's something worth celebrating.

Perhaps the trend is new, but the ingredient certainly isn't.

And while the shot glass might eventually disappear from our social media feeds, the science supporting olive oil as part of a healthy Mediterranean diet isn't going anywhere.

So whether you prefer your olive oil with a squeeze of lemon first thing in the morning or enjoyed with a piece of warm sourdough, the important thing is making it a regular part of a balanced diet.

But if Hailey Bieber has inspired you to reach for a shot glass tomorrow morning, I certainly won't judge.

Just make it a good olive oil.

With love, Olive Kin