High Phenol Olive Oil
Here at Mint Health, we do our homework when it comes to recommending foods that help nourish our bodies and provide the maximum amount of nutrients, minerals, and vitamins needed for optimum health. There are great ways olive oil can improve our health making High Phenol Olive Oil one of our favorite nutritional recommendations.
Did you know Olive Oil is also one of the nutritional mainstays for the world’s longest living cultures? For decades we’ve known about the benefits of the “Mediterranean diet” (fresh fruits and veggies, fish, whole grains, red wine, and olive oil). Modern science tells us that of those foods, olive oil appears to have perhaps the biggest impact on our health–but not just any olive oil- High Phenol Olive Oil is our recommendation!
So, your asking yourself… "What difference does the type of Olive Oil make? Olive Oil is Olive Oil, right?” Not true!
Selecting olive oil can be like choosing the right wine. With wines, you may look at the grape type, the place of origin, or the color. When it comes to olive oil, people look at the color, bottle type, smell, or extra virgin versus light.
Even more importantly, studies have been conducted on the purity or “realness” of olive oil and pointed out that consumers don’t often know if they’re buying a legit product. We know olive oil is healthy for us, but things can get confusing when it’s time to buy. Many EVOOs (extra virgin olive oil) that you buy in the store are cut with other oils like sunflower or soy. Adulterated EVOO does not have the same health benefits! To get the health benefits from EVOO, you need a pure quality oil with a high phenol count.
According to olive oil expert Katerina Mountanos, you should start with the smell and then move on to taste. Surprisingly, color is not your guide in this matter. A quality olive oil should have a scent like grass, fruits, herbs, or plants.
Here’s the method that Mountanos suggests for doing a smell check:
*Pour a little bit of the oil into a small glass and cover the top with your hand.
*Swirl the oil around in the glass, making sure that your hand is warming it gently.
*Remove your hand and do a quick sniff.
You want to look for notes of almond, tomato, or fruits, or something peppery like arugula. No scent, a waxy scent, or vinegary scent are bad signs. You don’t have a real quality EVOO.
But the ultimate test lies in tasting it. Mountanos has a developed a science to tasting that involves swirling, inhaling, and coughing. If you’re game, here’s what to do:
*Swirl it around and then take a small sip. Inhale a little bit of air through your lips, swish the oil around, and then swallow it. It should taste like plants. But according to Mountanos, the kicker is that you will cough after experiencing a bitter aftertaste in the back of your throat.
Those are the signs of a great quality, real-deal, extra virgin olive oil! She states that if the cough or other weird feeling in the throat don’t appear, you either have an oil that’s rancid or a low-quality impostor. There’s a chance it’s not even olive oil, let alone extra virgin.
The best Olive Oils are those Extra Virgin olive oils that contain high phenolic compounds, called polyphenols which are directly related to the health benefits of High Phenolic Olive Oils. According to an EU (European Commission) health claim, “the intake of 20gr (1tbs) of high phenolic olive oil contributes to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress”. The higher the Polyphenols, the greater the health benefits.
There are countless ways that Olive Oil can improve our health and lives; listed below are a few of the many health benefits:
· High Phenol Olive Oils are rich in antioxidants like Vitamin E. Olive Oil is also the highest oil in monounsaturated fat, which doesn’t oxidize in the body and is also low in polyunsaturated fat, which does oxidize in the body. We certainly don’t want fats that oxidize in our bodies!! UC Davis and Harvard University embrace this idea and have backed it up with research.
· Polyphenol rich olive oils have been found to help lower blood pressure, protect the arteries from damage and lower bad cholesterol, ie- good for heart health!
· There is current research showing that High Phenol Olive Oil also contains the phytonutrient “Oleocanthal” which mimics the effect of Ibuprofen and aids in the reduction of inflammation. Oleocanthal has the potential to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Decline, and help with Autoimmune, arthritis and inflammation.
· Diabetes/Insulin Resistance. Studies also show that High Phenol Olive Oil helps to improve blood sugar control. A study published in the scientific journal “Diabetes Care,” shows that a Mediterranean style diet rich in Olive Oil reduced the risk of Diabetes by almost 50 percent.
So, as you can see, High Phenol Olive Oils is an important addition to your daily diet!
So how do you know how many Phenols are in your Olive Oil?
The IOC (International Olive Council) recently approved a method of measuring an oil’s polyphenol content, so this indicator may become increasingly common on olive oil labels. At least in health terms, the higher the rating, the better, with numbers below 300 being low, and above 500 being high – though the latter can be too bitter, peppery or both for many consumers. (Some oils rate as high as 800 in polyphenols.)
Extra virgin olive oil: Picqual, Coratina, Koroneiki varieties are typically higher in phenols.
Here are a few links for our favorites:
*https://aristoleo.com/aristoleo-awards-2018-high-phenolic-evoo-winners/
*https://www.amazon.com/Governor-Unfiltered-Polyphenols-Health-Giving-Cold-Pressed
We all know that Olive Oil is great on salads, but did you know that it makes a wonderful addition to almost any food?
* Add it to your blender drinks, pour on your granola/oatmeal, there is no limit to the possibilities. When cooking, add EVOO after the cooking process is over because heat will destroy the health promoting phenols. You can steam veggies or use broth for cooking and add your favorite EVOO right before you eat. We recommend that nearly everyone, grownups and kids alike have a TBSP per day (at least!) of high phenol EVOO. Olive oil is not recommended for use with high heat, such as frying.
If you have a favorite recipe that includes High Phenol Olive Oil, we would love to hear from you! You can reach us on the Mint Health FB page.
Yours in Health,
Susan Miller, CIHHC