A Spoonful of Olive Oil Keeps the Doctor Away

What you may not know is that if an olive oil has an exceptionally high level of polyphenols, above 250mg/kg, it and only it is allowed to shout about it under EU law. The label can then declare that it ‘protects blood lipids (fats) from oxidative stress’. It is specifically that damage – oxidised cholesterol, that wreaks havoc in the arteries which of course also nourish the brain. This seems to be particularly due to two compounds, oleocanthal and hydroxytyrosine.

Oleocanthals are potent anti-inflammatory painkillers. They give good olive oil that peppery ‘bite’ at the back of the throat a little like the strange taste of aspirin.  They have been shown to lower blood levels of markers for inflammation (IL-1, IL-6, TNFα) and raise NO (nitric oxide).

But there’s another hero ingredient in good quality olive oil – a polyphenol called hydroxytyrosol. This is an extremely potent antioxidantAntioxidants are substances that protect cells within the body from damage caused by free radicals. They help to strengthen the body’s ability to fight infection… which, among other things, protects LDL cholesterolLDL is short for low density lipoprotein. It is the “bad cholesterol” which collects in the walls of blood vessels, causing blockages. High LDL levels… from oxidation, thus also lowering it, according to research in the Journal of Nutrition. It is damaged LDL cholesterol that cannot be cleared so easily from the arteries and implicated in arterial disease.

I went on a hunt for the world’s best olive oil and had a lucky break in being introduced to a leading professor in Greece who had conducted a study of over 2,500 olive oils from around the world. I asked which was the winner as far as polyphenols were concerned. He told me it was a particular olive farm in a particular valley in a mountainous area of the Peloponnese, a large peninsula in southern Greece, growing a particular variety of olives, that consistently produced organic olive oil that had a polyphenol count over 2,000mg/kg which is eight times higher than the level required to make a health claim.

The oil variety is called Olympia (also known as Ladolia or Palaiokastritsa or ‘Drop of Life’) I contacted them and, unknown to me at the time, the agent I called was literally on the next floor up in the apartment I was staying in Athens. I ordered two crates of this ‘Drop of Life’ olive oil and asked Holford Nutrition them to look into stocking it. They stock their olive oil which has polyphenols over 1000mg/kg. It often runs out because their annual crop is limited. That’s why I always buy a few bottles when it’s in stock.

You can taste the polyphenols, which include the natural painkiller and anti-inflammatory oleocanthal thus fantastic for those with inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. I consider this medicine and aim to have a dessertspoon (20mls) every day, either is salad dressings, drizzled on vegetables or on toast. I never use it for frying or cooking. It is too precious.

Since then, I’ve tasted many no doubt good olive oils, with that ‘kick’ at the back of the throat that is consistent with high polyphenols, but never found one that could make that claim. Until just recently. An olive oil, sold in Waitrose, called Odysea. It therefore has a guaranteed high polyphenol count, but is not organic. It comes from Koroneiki olives and an early harvest from water-stressed groves on the island of Crete. I don’t think it is as good, or as high polyphenols, nor is it organic, but it is the only other oil I’ve found that guarantees a high polyphenol count above 250mg/kg.