diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 19feab4..a3f825c 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ RUN apk add --no-cache --update openjdk8-jre && \
     rm -rf /tmp/* /var/cache/apk/*
 
 ENV JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/default-jvm/jre
+ENV JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS ""
 ENV ALLOWED_USER_AGENTS_ON_ROOT_REGEX "GoogleHC"
 ENV AUTH_CACHE_TTL "300"
 ENV BIND_PORT "8080"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index cd3e6c3..3c1e766 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -169,6 +169,7 @@ $ ALLOWED_USER_AGENTS_ON_ROOT_REGEX="GoogleHC" \
 | `CLIENT_SECRET`                     | The abovementioned application's client secret. |
 | `CLOUD_IAM_AUTH_ENABLED`            | Whether to enable authentication against Google Cloud IAM. |
 | `ENFORCE_HTTPS`                     | Whether to enforce access by HTTPS only. If set to `true` Nexus will only be accessible via HTTPS. |
+| `JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS`                 | JVM options to provide, for example `-XX:MaxDirectMemorySize=1024M`. |
 | `JWT_REQUIRES_MEMBERSHIP_VERIFICATION` | Whether users presenting valid JWT tokens must still be verified for membership within the organization. |
 | `KEYSTORE_PATH`                     | The path to the keystore containing the key with which to sign JWTs. |
 | `KEYSTORE_PASS`                     | The password of the abovementioned keystore. |