Join us as we discuss the health benefits of a good quality Olive Oil with Tony Kasandrinos. The keywords here are “good quality.” Tony walks us through how to find a good quality olive oil and what makes it good quality to begin with. Olives are an amazing source of polyphenols. Polyphenols are reducing agents, and together with other dietary antioxidants, protect the body's tissues against oxidative stress and associated pathologies such as cancers, heart disease and inflammation.

 

For centuries, in places like Greece, Italy, Tunisia, and Spain, good quality olive oil has been regarded as a necessary staple in the diet if you want to live long, have good overall health and vitality and a healthy gut microbiome. 

 

So where do you find “good quality” olive oil? Tony explains that if you want to derive the health benefits from olive oil, it must be grown in places where the olive trees have produced for many decades without requiring any pesticides to hurry their growth. He tells us what to look for on the labels and explains what certain buzz words mean in the olive oil industry like “product of Italy.” 

 

So get yourself a good quality olive oil and pour it on everything you eat!

 

 

Episode Takeaways:

The health benefits of a good quality olive oil:

• Optimize Heart Function
•  Reduce Inflammation
• Increase Brain Function
• Help Maintain Healthy Weight
• Fight Disease
• Lift Mood And Lower Anxiety
• Smooth Digestion and Gut Microbiome
• Lengthen Your Life

 

The down side to mass produced olive trees (and olive oil): 

• Olive Trees planted in mass production are sprayed with pesticides, allowing them to grow and produce more olives at a faster pace. 
• Pesticides are getting sprayed on the majority of olives 
• Fruit gets bruised by machinery vs hand picked in orchids 
• It’s difficult getting it to the consumer before it’s too old - look at the harvest date
• Most bottles won’t say how old the oil is, it’s typically edible but past the point of deriving any health benefits from it

 

The much older trees remain fruitful without having to invade with pesticides 

• Handpicked olives
• They are pressed (cleaned)

 

Olive is a fruit 

• All the polyphenols and antioxidants will start to dissipate over time 

 

Stick to organic if you can 

• Generic olive oil has likely had many different pesticides sprayed on it
• Look for USDA organic labels
• Look for batch testing on their website

 

What does Extra virgin mean?

• Extra virgin refers to the acidity level of the oil

 

Health benefits of olive oil 

• Polyphenols and antioxidants 
• Brain health
• Heart health
• Bone health
• Hair and Skin health
• Increases life expectancy

 

Will it oxidize?

• Olive oil will oxidize over time, with air, and light - doesn’t oxidize as fast as other oils like vegetable oils

 

Fat is good despite what you’ve heard

• Your brain and body need the right kinds of fat

 

What about cooking with olive oil, is it safe?

• In greece they use it often for cooking
• Different olive oils have different smoke points
• Smoke point - if it’s smoking, you are cooking it too hot

 

What about flavored oil?

• Don’t buy flavored olive oil, make it at home
• The bottles of flavored olive oil in the stores almost always use synthetic flavoring

 

Non-consumption uses for olive oil

• Skin - soaps, body butter, hair care 

 

Microbiome connection

• Polyphenols are excellent for the microbiome
  • Increase the growth of acromansia which is very important for metabolic health 
  • Polyphenol count is tested in the Kasandrinos on a regular basis
  • About 1000 milligrams of polyphenols per kilogram 
  • However polyphenols do degrade in oil over time, after about 2 years polyphenols drop off considerably

 

Can you give olive oil to kids? Babies?

• Yes, ideally it’s organic olive oil that is less than two years old so they can benefit from the healthy compounds in it

 

 

 

Connect with Tony:

• Website 
• Instagram: @kasandrinos 
• Facebook 
• YouTube

 

 

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