Reduces inflammation.
Supports brain, gut & heart health.
Decreases cholesterol.
Regulates blood sugar.
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the juice of crushed and squeezed olives. By law, it must be produced without heat or chemicals which is what separates it from all the other edible oils. It’s a vibrant, fresh product teeming with antioxidants and has proven health benefits: improving digestion, regulating blood sugar, supporting gut and heart health, and reducing inflammation. It is also linked to lowering the mortality risks of cardiovascular disease, some cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, and respiratory diseases.
We work directly with small producers, and can trace each batch right back to the ground it was grown on—ensuring you get nothing but the juice, with all the associated health benefits.
While a ‘spoonful a day’ is a good start, current studies show that you actually need between 30-50ml of EVOO a day over a prolonged period of time to feel the benefits. To easily incorporate these amounts into your diet, simply subscribe to “la dolce vita”. The ‘Mediterranean diet’ is often hailed as one of the healthiest out there, in part down to their use of EVOO as a primary fat across all meals. Pockets of Greece and Italy are even designated ‘Blue Zones’—areas renowned for people living longer, healthier lives and this has been linked to their liberal use of EVOO.
Find ways to incorporate EVOO into your diet with seasonal recipes from our community.
Yes! Extra virgin olive oil is nature’s ibuprofen. It’s an anti-inflammatory packed with antioxidants, known to fight inflammation. It also supports better gut health, a happy heart, and blood sugar levels.
Polyphenols (the organic compounds that are mainly responsible for the health benefits) are mostly found in virgin olive oils, and even more abundantly in extra virgin olive oil, a grading which represents a superior quality oil. If it isn’t labelled ‘extra virgin’ or ‘virgin’, the oil is refined—a processing technique which strips away the polyphenols and flavour. In short, the more processed the olive oil, the fewer polyphenols.
Outside the virgin olive oil category, most olive oils are refined, highly-processed, bleached, and deodorised, creating shelf-stable, lifeless oil at a lower cost. Comparing EVOO to these oils is like comparing freshly squeezed orange juice to Fanta. Even avocado and coconut oils aren't regulated the same way as extra virgin olive oil.
Olive oil is said to line your gut, soften the stool and, as a result, relieve constipation. It’s also known to address the main causes of bloating. There’s also increasing research around gut microbes and EVOO’s benefit on them.
Having fats in the morning slows down the absorption of any carbs and sugars we might consume later on. When your blood sugar is not suddenly spiked, you will avoid the afternoon slumps and shield yourself from the triggers of
It reduces the abundance of pathogenic bacteria, stimulates the growth of beneficial bacteria, and increases the production of microbially produced short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which exert a wide range of anti-inflammatory effects.
The British Heart Foundation has recommended the use of olive oil for good reason. Not only is it a healthy fat but its oleuropein content acts as a vasodilator, helping to flush away aggregating platelets. Plus, its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties help keep our heart working in tiptop shape. Oleuropein is responsible for a whole lot more too. Alexis Kerner, a leading international olive oil expert & environmental scientist, tells us why.
EVOO contains oleocanthal, a potent polyphenol with anti-inflammatory effects that were found to act the same as a low-dose of ibuprofen, but completely nature-based.
While heat will reduce the total polyphenols, EVOO remains packed with nutritional value even when used for roasting and frying and easily beats refined seed oils in terms of health and flavour. Here’s why.
We’re firm believers in olive oil as a food, not a supplement: it’s delicious and elevates the flavour and texture of our meals. That being said, taking a spoon of extra virgin olive oil before any other food might just help with steadier energy levels as well as fend off those powerful sugar cravings. Plus, absorption of the nutrients will be higher after the night-long fast our bodies naturally undergo. Given that the recommended daily intake is between 30-50ml however, there’s room to do both: start your day with a teaspoon and save the rest for your meals!
