Who knew. Looks like good science to me. Does anyone want to disagree?
"The phenolic antioxidant, oleocanthal, has been found to kill cancer cells. Oleocanthal is made when olives are crushed to make olive oil[2]. The compound can puncture a cell's lysosomes, which are where cells dispose of waste. Cancer cells often have larger and more numerous lysosomes, making them more vulnerable to oleocanthal than other cells. When the lysosomes are damaged by oleocanthal, the cell dies within 30 minutes instead of the normal 16 to 24 hours. Notably, oleocanthal does not damage healthy cells. This research was performed on breast, pancreatic, and prostate tumor cells.[3] Additionally, oleocanthal has also been found to shrink tumors in mice. [4,5]"
"“When you eat olive oil that has high content [of oleocanthal], you get a little burning in your throat. You may think that this is a bad quality, but that’s the opposite — it’s the [oleocanthal]”. Among the most popular olive varieties used to make olive oil, Arbequina olives, for instance, tend to be relatively low in polyphenol content while Coratina, Koroneiki, Cornicabra, and Picholine tend to have higher content. [6]"
[1] Add olive oil to cut risk of early death, study suggests (Harvard Gazette)
[2] Pro-inflammatory fatty acid profile and colorectal cancer risk: A Mendelian randomisation analysis
[3] Component in EVOO Kills Cancer Cells
[4] Oleocanthal Rapidly and Selectively Induces Cancer Cell Death Via Lysosomal Membrane Permeabilization
[5] Oleocanthal and oleocanthal-rich olive oils induce lysosomal membrane permeabilization in cancer cells
[6] If Your Olive Oil Tastes Like This, It Could Help Fight Cancer
People who consume high amounts of olive oil may lower their risk of premature death overall and from specific causes, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative disease, according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers also found that people who consumed olive oil instead of animal fat had a lower risk of total and cause-specific mortality. The study was published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
I have always had a very good things to say about olive oil. I believe in these studies without even knowing about them. But I stopped eating it since I have heard dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Urging people to stay away from ALL OILS including olive oil. He is a famous cardiologist. So, I am not sure who to believe.
Dr. Myers was very fussy about oils. Mostly to avoid the arachnoidic oils contained in most of them. He thought it fed the prostate cancer.
Here really really feared canola oil. And corn oil he didn't like.
But he really promoted Olive Oil, along with almond and avacado oil.
Pretty much all the others, he said to stay far away from. Which is hard to do for canola oils, as they are often used to secretly and fraudulently cut and dilute Olive Oil.
all of those varietals come up searched in Amazon. In the picholine type, one has 25,000 purchases and 4.8 feedback. Here in the Central Valley of California, olives are a huge industry. Many farms have family outlet stores right on the grounds. You can watch them squeeze the product in front of you. No dilutions, additives or screwing around with those . Lots of people take their olive oil seriously.
If searching for better/healthier EVOO, I think it wise to go with bottlings that are vintage dated... fresher is better. I think many Calif oils, while a bit pricy, put a priority on freshness and purity. Seems a safer bet than big-bottle brands out of Italy.
that wouldn’t be a surprise yayahahahaya. Must be good stuff tho … people really seem to like it. Tho I’m in an olive growing region, I use a Portuguese olive oil for my culinary cooking. I stole the brand name from Bobby Flay , he conceals the brands he uses but I accidentally got a good look at this. It’s made of cordivil, galega and verdeal olives. It’s impressive but pricey and sometimes seasonal availability.
you could contact your large local Italian food stores for one of the varieties you’re looking for…. They probably have numerous types of oils a ailable. Just a thought .
We have traveled to Spain and Portugal and visited small producers of olive oil. We have even purchased bottles of olive oil in their stores. That said. The stuff is expensive and generally not available on Amazon. Therefore, I agree with you, the California growers do not Mickey Mouse their oils: e.g., mix oils from not only different within a country but different countries, as well.
The people who use a lot of olive oil also have a healthy mediterranean diet which makes difficult to attribute all the good things to the olive oil. Having said that, olive oil is the only one used in my family. Thanks for posting,
I’ll put my 2 cents in. The COOC (California Olive Oil Council) puts California olive oil through a series of organoleptic tests and chemical analytics to ensure that oils produced in California meet the highest standards applied to Extra Virgin Olive Oils. They award a seal that is displayed on the bottle or flavor-lock bag-in-box. Always buy current year production. Use within 3 months of bottle opening. Protect oil from heat and light. Use as drizzle on proteins, vegetables, salads, casseroles, and pasta dishes. Try to consume 2 tablespoons daily. Full Disclosure: I spent 10 years developing one of the top CA olive oil brands and am considered an expert in some academic circles.
An interesting feature of California Olive Oil is that there are a couple of producers that dominate sales with wide distribution. The varietals that are grown and harvested by the big guys are commonly Arbequina, Arbosana, and Koroneiki. The reason these cultivars are used is that the trees can be grown in hedge rows and mechanically harvested when the olives are green and just turning to maroon. The varietals are commonly blended, by the master miller, to achieve the desired flavor profile. Early harvest olives are rich in antioxidants including highly valued oleocanthal. Hand harvesting is labor intensive and is especially tough when the olives are still green on the tree. There are some small producers that grow and mill Coratina and Picholine in California that sell via mail order. Cornicabra is primarily grown in Spain. If you do an internet search using the varietal and California as key words you will find the producers. I am reluctant to name the producers but suggest when you research the websites, look for the COOC seal that they will proudly display along with the gold medal awards they have won at tasting contests. Opinion: The varietal is not as critical to health benefits as is the harvest date (Oct-Nov) and the ability of the mill to limit contact with oxygen from milling to delivery to the consumer.
Olives are harvested every year. The trees do tend to heavy bear, followed by a light year. In my experience the lighter year in California's high density groves is about 20% less tonnage than the heavy year. Oil that is stored in an oxygen free climate controlled cellar is stable for up to two years. That means minimal degradation in antioxidant levels. Oil harvested in November will not be ready for bottling for a least 3 months as it goes through the racking process that settles out the particulates that are suspended in the oil during milling. Reputable olive oil brands will have the harvest date on the label...or a use by/best by date.
Banjo, loving your advise! We spoke once about the olive oil from Bardi. I actually thought about you this morning when I put the tbs of olive oil in my husbands smoothie. Oil of Terra Di Bari Bitonto. This is a good helpful tread of comments… thank you everyone!
I've been bald most of my adult life, so I have heard every bald joke known to man and womankind. And I have an attorney friend who knows tons of great jokes about lawyers. This led me to suspect that you must have heard a few banjo jokes along the way. Thanks for these knee slappers.
I produce my own olive oil in Croatia and it’s 100% organic, no pesticides etc. I also watch/monitor the process of oil production to make sure, that only my own olives are used. Still I stay away from all oils including olive oil, based on my current believe, that all oils are bad and fat is feeding PC. Therefore I limit my daily fat i take whenever possible to 30 mg / day.
Your article behind the first link is from the North American Olive Oil Association. So no wonder that they are promoting it.
Would be interested in Tall Allen‘s comment on this. 🤔
"current believe, that all oils are bad and fat is feeding PC"
I would agree MOST oils are bad (but not evoo) and yes, fat is feeding PC... but what is the source of that fat? To the extent the source it is dietary, the source could just as easily be some of the carbs and proteins you consume because your PC can produce all the fat it needs through the process of de novo lipogenesis!
So all PC cells really require to "burn fat" as fuel are the constituent amino acids (proteins) from which the desired fats are put together in the presence of the proper lipid-building enzymes and pathway signaling and gene activiation.
So can you starve your PC of fatty acids by starving yourself of dietary fat? No. But I would think that the "bad fats" of industrial omega-6 oils (and perhaps some animal fats) help activate inflammatory pathways that make PC progress, and THOSE should be reduced or eliminated from the diet.
Aside from EVOO, the only fat I feel I should have MORE of in my diet is that from salmon, sardines, etc. that are rich in omega-3s.
"Oleocanthal is made when olives are crushed to make olive oil[2]. The compound can puncture a cell's lysosomes, which are where cells dispose of waste. Cancer cells often have larger and more numerous lysosomes, making them more vulnerable to oleocanthal than other cells. When the lysosomes are damaged by oleocanthal, the cell dies within 30 minutes instead of the normal 16 to 24 hours. "
Looks like the three wise men had it figured out a long time ago with frankincense and myrrh, not to mention other ancient cultures. If it’s good enough for baby Jesus, it’s good enough for me. I’ve been taking both for quite a while now. It’s good to see the mainstream medical acknowledge this, Big Pharma not so much.
I was excited to read this but everything they say helps prevent or reduce prostate cancer is what I’ve grown up on all my life.
Being Italian I’ve consumed olive oil almost every day of my life in cooking. Red wine almost daily. Been drinking pomegranate juice for the past 20 years. Had blueberry bushes at the family home and still eat them them several times/week. Watermelon has always been my favorite fruit and homemade tomato sauce is on every other meal, again, all my life. And of course raw garlic is used daily in my cooking.
Antioxidants, resveratol, lycopene, oleocanthal…you name it, I’ve eaten every type of food recommended to ward off pca and I’m a GL9 with reoccurrence rising psa (which fortunately has been kept in check with prosectomy and Lupron).
I too have had an olive oil centric diet and have prostate cancer. I know we all would like to find the silver bullet that protects us from the ravages of life, but, in my opinion, there are too many variables, both known and unknown.
Same here. Maybe we were using the wrong kind of olive oil. Maybe we should be using the kind where the olives are only picked during a lunar eclipse. 🦊
I’m not denying the exchange of this info. I’m sharing my personal experience with it. Granted, I am a sample of one, though several others said similar right above me.
Your link is from an olive oil trade association. They certainly have a biased point of view. Many of the other links go to pop articles, not studies. But the actual studies have some interesting information .
Saying I’m dubious of it doesn’t deny anyone the ability to say otherwise, or to run out and buy a bottle I use EVOO daily, I just don’t believe it’s going to cure my advanced prostate cancer. It certainly didn’t prevent my from getting it.
Snuffy Myers was big on olive oil, so we’ve been using it daily in my house ever since, we go through a bottle every week. My favorite brand is California Olive Oil, both the domestic one as well as their global blend. Always get a good peppery burn from this brand. I feel I can trust that brand. Gotta be careful, there’s a lot of fraud olive oil brands out there.
For a while, California Olive Oil was selling "California Olive Oil" that was not from California.
I found that so offensive, that I just stopped buying their products. And I sent them an email asking them to fire the MBA responsibile for this.
There is just way too much back room fraudulent adulteration endemic to Europe for me to trust any European olive oil. Some experts say 40 to 60% of it is adulterated. Most likely with arachnoidic acid heavy canola oil.
So which of the California Olive Oil products do you use? I don't think they use the recommended olive oil varietals. Do they?
California Olive Ranch is the largest producer of California Olive Oil. Olive trees are cyclical. They tend to follow a good year with abundant fruit, with a light year. Several years ago along with a light year there were some other climate related impacts to the trees so California Olive Ranch outsourced oils from world sources to keep their market share. I agree that you need to trust your supplier. Look for the COOC seal to insure that the oil is milled in California and has met California's strict standards.
They offer the pure California sourced olive oil and their world blend that lists countries on the label sourced from small farms, I usually get the world blend it’s cheaper, and seems to be pretty legit to me.
Old news for me. One should also look for the ICEA certification which is usually in small print unlike the eye-catching symbol that USDA Organic uses.
Copy all three lines or you may not access the article,
Food – ICEA Certifica
icea.bio/en/certifications/food/
icea.bio/en/certifications/food/
LifeExtension sources organic olive oil from a California farm. The olives are crushed the day they are picked. It is a little pricy. The Italian Mafia was adulterating organic and extra virgin olive oils with cheap oils about seven years ago, hence, the ICEA certification became more important.
Black seed oil is also a good oil to use as a supplement.
ICEA certification is better than no certification, but their focus is less on the chemistry and quality of the end product and more on sustainable farming practices. This is their statement:
“ An independent and qualified certification body, a non-profit consortium comprising experts in inspections and certifications oriented towards ethical and environmental sustainability criteria.”
These are the two entities that you referenced. The first is one of the many government commissions that are appointed in CA. The second is an active trade group that has a focus on elevating California produced olive oil.
OLIVE OIL COMMISSION OF CALIFORNIA (OOCC)
The Olive Oil Commission of California is a government entity of the State of California and operates with general oversight from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The OOCC was established and is funded by California olive oil farmers.The OOCC conducts research to assist farmers in successfully growing a healthy, sustainable crop. It also works to develop and enforce standards for the purity and quality of California olive oil.The OOCC has implemented a mandatory process for verifying the quality and purity of their members’ products through a government sampling program and third-party sensory and chemistry analysis. Under the OOCC program, labels on California olive oil must provide a clear indication of the quality grade.
CALIFORNIA OLIVE OIL COUNCIL (COOC)
The COOC is a trade association with the mission of encouraging the consumption of certified California extra virgin olive oil through education, outreach and communications. The COOC is committed to upholding the highest standards within the olive oil industry through its Seal Certification Program. The COOC Taste Panel, founded in 1998, has certified over 400 oils through its quality program.
OOCC is concerned that all California produced Olive Oil is accurately labeled.
COOC is concerned that California Olive Oils have exceptional organoleptic properties.
There is overlap in the functions of the two organizations. Growers wanted an organization that would help raise market awareness and invite trial. Hence the COOC seal that tells consumers they can trust the brand.
Here are the two tests that COOC exempts small producers from:
Pyropheophytins (PPP)
Breakdown products of chlorophyll. Over time, chlorophyll breaks down first into pheophytins then into PPP, making PPP an excellent indicator of the age of an oil. Light and heat can accelerate the production of PPP.
1,2- and 1,3-diacylglycerol (DAGs)
Breakdown products of the fats. 1,2-DAG is high in well-made fresh olive oil from good fruit and 1,3-DAG is higher in olive oil made from poor quality fruit or oxidized or refined olive oils. The ratio between 1,2-DAGs and 1,3-DAGs declines steadily and is a good indicator of the age of an oil.
ICEA certifies the integrated farming with the trademarks Agriqualità, Qualità Trentino, and Sistema di Qualità Nazionale di Produzione Integrata (SQNPI) The product enhancement is based on some key points such as soil development and preparation, sowing, crop rotation, limited use of crop protection produc…
I worked in pharmaceuticals for years. It isn't just a chemical analysis of the end product which might not always happen.
Follow reporting such as Peter Whoriskey does. It is eye opening. A link to a blurb but what he uncovered about organic Chinese food--!!
That is just one reference to an article Whoriskey wrote in maybe 2017. Ships laden with soybeans and corn conventionally grown in the Ukraine for whatever reason had a stopover in a Turkish port. When the ships left the Turkish port the soybeans and corn were then "organic".
I know a bottler in Los Angeles that buys olive pomace oil (solvent extracted olive oil). After they add chlorophyll to color it green they bottle the oil. It is labeled extra virgin and sold to distributors looking for bargain prices. Yes, they’ve been caught. Paid the fine and continue to do business today. Buyer Beware !!
I have noted in some of my replies that I worked in pharmaceuticals.
In 2002 or maybe 2003 the director of materials management stated that he had an inquiry and a buyer for a solvent the company used in manufacturing one of its products. There would be more profit from selling this solvent than in manufacturing the product it was used for. There were thousands of gallons in an above ground tank of this solvent. One use for this solvent is to extract oils from nuts and plant products.
Heptane was the solvent.
Verification is important. Use your search bars!
Ahh! The company did use the heptane to continue manufacturing its product. The company could have lost its customer base by being shortsighted and temporarily profiting from the heptane shortage.
I guess I'm confused. There seems to be more than one reference to olive oil here? Also did these researchers put the oil directly on cells or invivo? Seems hard to actually target cells with olive oil.
There is a manufacturer in Europe who produces an EVOO with a lycopene extract infused in it. I wrote to them asking how much lycopene they are adding to the oil. I am currently awaiting a reply. Push comes to shove, I could prepare such a mix in my blender.
Nice research Cesanon. Thank you. Will investigate where to purchase olives like Coratina, Koroneiki, Cornicabra, and Picholine tend to have higher content. [6]" Mike
While less than 10% of world olive oil production meets the criteria for labeling as extra-virgin, it has been estimated that up to 50% of retail oil is labeled "extra-virgin".[6]
Checked my bottle of EVOO olive oil from Toscano Italy a Costco Kirkland brand. It has passed the taste test. It has a certification on the back of the bottle written in Italian. Has anyone looked at this brand? Coming from Costco it most likely is 100% EVOO.
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