Two Greek entrepreneurs have presented a new product: very healthy
organic Greek extra virgin olive oil in a 150 ml container that looks
like a medicine bottle. This is no coincidence: OLEO is designed to be
taken as a nutritional supplement in measured doses of five mls per day
for its health benefits, according to the OLEO team. So one bottle will
last a month.
"The phenols in olive oil create two new markets: one for food
supplements in capsules or liquid form (medicinal aspect) and one for
healthy oils that will be used in the kitchen," according to Dr
Prokopios Magiatis, Associate Professor of Pharmacy at the University of
Athens. Magiatis's team has made important discoveries about the
numerous health benefits of high phenolic extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
in recent years.
While other manufacturers emphasise olive oil's wonderful flavour and
its contributions to fine cuisine, OLEO's makers focus upon olive oil's
medicinal qualities. Their website states that "OLEO is a natural food
supplement made from 100 per cent Greek organic extra virgin olive oil,
which is produced in Ancient Olympia." It is produced from Ladoelia
olives and bottled in nearby Krestena, so it is wholly a product of the
Peloponnesian peninsula of Greece.
OLEO co-founder Ilias Nikolakopoulos claims that, "the health benefits
of olive oil are unrivalled, and research reveals more benefits nearly
every day. In fact, we are just beginning to understand the countless
ways olive oil can improve our health and our lives. As a result, we are
looking to educate consumers on the power of polyphenols and their
enormous health benefits through OLEO."
According to OLEO's website (www.oleo.healthcare),
oleocanthal and oleacein, the phenolic compounds that are plentiful in
OLEO, are "associated with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant,
cardioprotective, and neuroprotective properties." OLEO's "high
concentration of phenols and organic ingredients" qualify it to display
the health claim that it can "help protect blood lipids from oxidative
stress, according to the European Regulation 432/2012."
Referring to research on the health benefits of extra virgin olive
oil and its phenolic compounds, OLEO's website suggests that daily
consumption of one teaspoon of OLEO - an extra virgin olive oil rich in
phenolic compounds - could help prevent heart disease, treat
inflammation, lower cholesterol, and help protect "the human body
against osteoarthritis, Alzheimer's disease and cancer."
Their website's long list of potential health benefits from extra
virgin olive oil includes protection from osteoporosis and diabetes,
enhancement of the immune system, antimicrobial activity, and
antioxidant activity. OLEO's website supports these and other health
claims by displaying numerous abstracts from scientific studies that
provide evidence that the oleocanthal and/or oleacein in extra virgin
olive oil help to prevent or treat a number of diseases.
The OLEO team claims "the oleocanthal and oleacein concentrations in
OLEO are considerably higher than the average of the olive oil samples
(135 and 105 mg/kg) which were included in research at the University of
California, Davis. OLEO is remarkably high in phenols and organic
compounds with antioxidant effects."
A certificate on their website shows that the analysed sample
contained 41 mg of hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, or their derivatives per 20
g, which is far more than the 5 mg required for the European Union
health claim about helping to protect blood lipids from oxidative
stress, according to European Regulation 432/2012. More