As cold and flu season is upon us, one way to boost our immune system is to increase our consumption of high-phenolic extra virgin olive oil. Are you curious about how exactly olive oil can help and how it works?
High-phenolic foods are full of bioactive micronutrients and antioxidants. Antioxidants help our body regulate its reaction and interaction with free radicals and infections by improving immune function and significantly protecting against infections caused by viruses and bacteria. Free radicals are molecules that have one or more unpaired electrons in their outer orbit, making them unstable. Our body creates them through normal metabolism, causing stress, cell damage and inflammation as the free radicals take electrons from other healthy cells to stabilize. It is this process that contributes to many diseases and puts our immune system into overdrive.
How do you know if your olive oil is high in polyphenols?
You could ask your supplier for the polyphenol numbers but many will not have this information. There is also a taste signifier to look for that indicate high polyphenol content: Pungency, the peppery kick in the back of your throat, is associated with high levels of the phenol oleocanthal, (which acts in a similar way to Ibuprofen, as well as being a known cancer-fighting agent).
Interestingly enough just in October of 2024 Olive Oil Times – the leading global source for olive oil news and information – reported this:
“Researchers from the University of Teramo and Sapienza University in Rome developed a new method to sustainably extract oleocanthal (found solely in extra virgin olive oil, oleocanthal demonstrates potent anti-inflammatory properties and has been linked to beneficial impacts on cancer and dementia.)and oleacein from extra virgin olive oil, obtaining a highly concentrated solution.These extracts could provide more effective anti-inflammatory results than well-known drugs such as Ibuprofen. While phenol extraction has been typically expensive, the new extracts can be produced at a fraction of the cost.”
So, by consuming high-phenolic olive oil, we are boosting our immune system by adding nutrients that work to keep us healthy and grow our tolerance against the cold and flu season ahead.
Stay healthy – Eat EVOO!
