Unlocking High Phenolic Olive Oil: Health Benefits Galore!
You might have seen your feed suddenly flooding with morning rituals including high phenolic extra virgin olive oil shots, on which health gurus swear by, and wondered what on earth is happening and when did ginger shots became obsolete (thank God they did).
Truth is that high phenolic olive oil has its global moment, but more than truth is, that this moment started more 3000 years ago in Greece and the Mediterranean and has never stopped since.
But what does actually make an olive oil high phenolic and why is it good for you? Let’s deep dive and get our hands oily, shall we?
First and foremost, extra virgin olive oil significantly differs from any other oil, as it is technically a fresh juice, made only using early harvested, perfectly picked olives being cold pressed, no heat, no additions.
It has been the cornerstone of Mediterraenean diet for thousands of years, and is proven to be one of the main reasons behind the longevity observed along the area, especially in Greece and Italy’s “blue zones” like the island of Ikaria, and the southernmost part of Sicily.
Why?
The answer is simple: extra virgin olive oil is consisted of mono-saturated, “good “ fatty acids, that promote our HDL cholesterol and several other functions of our bodies, contrasting animal fat and other trans fats, coming from ultra processed seed oils.
With high phenolic extra virgin olive oils, things get one step further because of -what else- the phenols.
Polyphenols are the natural, bioactive compounds that occur during seed growth on an olive tree.
These compounds include hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, oleuropein, oleacein, and oleocanthal, which are responsible for the characteristic bitterness and peppery sensation often experienced when tasting high-quality olive oil.
Ready to be fascinated?
An olive tree develops the phenolic compounds for no other reason, but the very purpose of sustaining and protecting the little olives from the oxidative stress that high temperatures, lack of water, and sunlight exposure cause.
We have the privilege to nest our lives and our company, Vendema, in Greece, the perfect corner of the world for creating and enjoying such a product: Greece’s heat and unlimited sunshine, combined with rich, limestone soils, create the perfect conditions for amazing Greek high phenolic olive oils to develop.
As nature is indeed our medicine, we, as human bodies, tend to need the exact same compounds to fight our own cells’ oxidative stress and maintain health and prosperity.
Phenols are scientifically proven to be nature’s antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, as well as true cardiovascular health protectors, LDL cholesterol lowing factors whereas improving HDL cholesterol levels, and bonus, skin and hair health boosters.
Anti-oxidative action: the bioactive phenolic compounds in a great quality, high phenolic extra virgin olive oil like our Vendema Limited Edtion Dwarf King, have the capacity to neutralize the free radicals in our bloodstream, acting like a shield that protects lipids, proteins, and DNA from damage. Hydroxytyrosole is mainly behind this function, especially the heavy work of improving the “good” HDL cholesterol levels and minimizing the “bad” LDL ones. Your cardiovascular overall health can be promoted by consuming just 20mg of a high phenolic extra virgin olive oil per day – you didn’t hear this from us.
Anti-inflammatory action: oleocanthal is one of the most researched phenols, proven to have similar effects with ibuprofen to the human body. Chronic inflammation is one of the root causes of several health issues of the modern world, from gastro-intestinal issues to auto-immune diseases. A daily incorporation of high phenolic olive oil to one’s food routine, can severely help minimize inflammation and protect overall health.
Anti-microbe and anti-canceric action: flavonoids, another set of phenols, are proven to have a strong cell protective action, that acts against DNA deterioration of every kind.
Brain health: recent research has shown a strong correlation between high phenolic olive oil’s compounds and long term brain health, again, due to the anti-oxidative power of hydroxytyrosol and oleocanthal, which help clear harmful protein aggregates, associated with cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Metabolic and gut health: High phenolic olive oil can help stabilize our blood sugar levels and improve glucose metabolism, as it slows down carbohydrate absorption and helps enhance insulin sensitivity. Also, polyphenols can act beneficially to the human microbiome, as they promote the growth of beneficial bacterial in the digestive system, while helping eliminate harmful microorganisms.
Phenolic levels in olive oil are usually measured in milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg). While typical extra virgin olive oils may contain anywhere from 50 to 250 mg/kg of phenols, high phenolic oils often contain 250 mg/kg or more, like our Vendema EVOO and Vendema Organic EVOO that show levels around 500 mg/kg and 550mg/kg respecively, and some exceptional oils exceed 1000 mg/kg, like our Vendema Limited Edition Extra Virgin High Phenolic olive oil does for this year’s harvest. It’s our high score to date and we are more than proud to share it with you.
But how we end up with this liquid gold in our hands?
We in Vendema, follow some simple steps during our production and olive oil pressing, respecting nature and following ancestral techniques, combined and enhanced with today’s knowledge:
-Our trees belong to the Koroneiki variety, one of the most resilient olive varieties, that can handle really well the extreme weather conditions during heatwaves, thus, producing some of the highest phenolic levels we see in Greek extra virgin olive oils.
-We tend to our orchards with care, examining the soil and the tree leaves frequently, to make sure the tree’s developmental process transfers all the necessary minerals from the soil to the tree.
-We monitor the water supply of our trees, especially during heatwaves: high temperatures and the lack of water may promote the phenolic development, but we don’t want to get in extremes, where the tree stresses so much, that the process stops and the seed is deteriorated.
-We harvest our trees early, making sure that the nutritional value, not the quantity, of seeds is at peak condition. That means that most trees are harvested during October, or during the first week of November, for most of the harvesting periods, but we also have seen great high phenolic olive oils produced at early December, depending on each year’s weather conditions. To honour transparency in this process, you will find the harvest date clearly stated in every single one of Vendema's bottles.
-We cold press the olives straight after harvesting, preserving their top condition and protecting them from staying too long after picking and become rancid, as well as shielding them from high temperatures that are often used in mills, so that more olive oil is extracted. We are interested in those few, amazingly nutritious litres.
-We keep our high phenolic extra virgin olive oil bottled in our non-see through bottles, protected from sunlight, the main oxidation accelerator.
All in all, besides getting your salad to the next culinary level with its unique peppery and pleasantly bitter taste, a high phenolic extra virgin olive oil acts like a superfood in your diet and it’s so easily incorporated in almost every meal, it’s a sin not to!
Let’s oil it up, shall we?
