A Toast to Good Health with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The Quest for Health is a universal pursuit by people of all ages and nationalities. All in the name of good health, we walk more, cut out processed foods, watch what we eat. While all valid options, sometimes, health benefits can come from what you add to your meals, not cut out. Extra virgin olive oil is one of those additions you can pair with almost any meal (or even dessert) for a little health-boost. Let’s get to it and answer some of the most common questions about why olive oil is healthy for you.
Why is Extra Virgin Olive Oil Healthy?
We’ve all heard the buzzwords tied to healthy food choices: antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, vitamins, etc. The beauty of olive oil is that it contains just about every good-for-you property imaginable. A key component of the most popular diet in the world, the Mediterranean diet, olive oil contains high levels of polyphenols, oleic acid, vitamins E and K, and other anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds which help you body to ward off many diseases.
Various studies have shown that moderate amounts of olive oil added to your diet can help combat a whole host of chronic ailments such as cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure, inflammation, and high levels of LDL cholesterol. When used within a Mediterranean diet, olive oil can even be an important part in managing diabetes and weight loss.
The saturated fats and oleic acid present in olive oils are the reason for all these benefits. In fact, the FDA released a statement in 2018 saying that even 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons daily of healthy olive oil can be enough to reap the cardiovascular benefits.
There is a catch though: not just every olive oil contains all these antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. So how do you know which are the best for your health?
Which Olive Oil is the Most Healthy?
As we discussed in our previous article on The Secrets of the Best Olive Oils and our EVOO Mythbusting Guide to get the most potential health benefits from olive oil, it must be Extra Virgin, meaning it has undergone no extra processing and is the oil in its purest form possible. By ensuring that an olive oil is first cold pressed, did not go through extra refining nor heat processing, look for the label extra virgin so that way none of the healthy components were lost. Additionally, the title of extra virgin is given only to the highest-quality olive oils that are free from impurities, so you know they will be delicious as well.
Which Olive Oils are Highest in Polyphenols?
Now we get to the crux of the heart-healthy matter. Of the main antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components within olive oil, the most important are the polyphenols. So which olive oil is highest in polyphenols?
As mentioned in our olive oil tasting guide, when tasting olive oils notice the bitter and spicy flavors that come out. These flavors, which, by the way, should cause you to cough when swallowing olive oil, are caused by the high polyphenol count in the oil. For reference, a good olive oil will have upwards of 100-250 mg/kg of polyphenols.
This is why we love La Maliosa’s extra virgin olive oils Aurinia and Caletra. A quick glance to the chart on the right shows us that Caletra has high polyphenols, measured at 460 mg/kg. Then, Aurinia is off the charts with an incredible 602 mg/kg of polyphenols! No wonder that these EVOOs are award winning… like how Caletrais an extra gold medal winner and was awarded THE best Tuscan organic extra virgin olive oil, meaning one of the best in the world!
As well, polyphenols are an important component found in tannins, which are also found in red wines. Imagine the polyphenol boost of a good Mediterranean meal containing both red wine and extra virgin olive oil!
Polyphenol-rich extra virgin olive oil Caletra is delicious served over dishes as an added health-boost.
Olive Oil Helps with Stress
The anti-inflammatory vitamins within olive oil can be considered as also brain-boosting as well. The oleic acid, especially when combined with omega-3 fatty acid rich foods, works with our brains to release compounds that help to calm us and reduce stress.
Adding EVOO to Your Diet and Kitchen
Buy some antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, vitamin rich, stress busting and brain boosting extra virgin olive oils to add a delicious and healthy twist to your next meals. Our oils from all over Italy, and are not only organic, vegan, and biodynamic, but gold medal rated and have polyphenols that are off the charts!
That’s right… we have extra virgin olive oil from not one, not two… but three different Italian regions! All of our EVOOs are organic, farmed biodynamically, and sustainably. So that means they are specialty foods that are not only good for you… but for the planet too! Try, of course, La Maliosa’s aforementioned extra virgin olive oils Aurinia and Caletra from Tuscany. Or, move over to the Adriatic coastline to Le Marche to try Quercia Scarlatta’s Il Nostro Oro, translated literally to “our gold”, which this buttery evoo will feel like your drinking! Finally, continue down the coastline to find Abruzzo and Febo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil, one of our favorites for all around versatility.
For those of you that know our curation style, you know that we love to support small producers and bring you unique and fun extra virgin olive oils, wines, and specialty foods. And you can enjoy these curations by trying a selection of different wines, foods, and olive oils from our portfolio. We sell to both businesses and consumers across the US:
We are enlarging our network of distributors around the country. Reach out to us if you are interested in distributing our products.
We sell to wine stores and restaurants in certain states - contact us if you would like more info.
We do corporate gifts and sommelier guided wine tastings. Email us and we’ll tailor unique and sustainable corporate gift ideas.
If our farm crafted wines, specialty foods, and olive oils are not in your local shop or restaurant buy wine online hereand we’ll ship it to you, and we ship to most states.
We also have an award winning wine club for true wine explorers seeking to continually discover unique, sustainable and authentic small production wines they never had.
Start Adding Healthy Extra Virgin Olive Oils to Your Cooking
From the hills of Abruzzo near the Adriatic Coast of Italy, comes this Organic EVOO, or Extra Virgin Olive Oil, farmed and made by the Febo family. Farmed sustainably and organic, this natural extra virgin olive oil is also vegan and, like all evoos, a first run - cold press olive oil, the best kind of olive oil for you.
The 2024 harvest is still made from a blend of olives like leccino and 500 year old trees, but now it is mostly the dritta cultivar.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic
Fun Facts: The dritta cultivar is a rare one being saved by Davide Febo who is trying to save and rehabilitate it.
This is a woman made, limited production first cold press organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Maremma hills of Tuscany made from a blend of four Tuscan cultivars. Buttery deliciousness with a bitter kick at the end, thanks to its polyphenols. It has won gold medals in a competition which judges the best extra virgin organic olive oils from around the world.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic | Metodo Corino
Fun Facts: The natural farming method that produced this extra virgin olive oil, the metodo corino, is actually patented by La Maliosa woman winemaker Antonella Manuli after she helped to develop it with natural wine legend Lorenzo Corino of Case Corini.
A prestigious first cold press monocultivar organic extra virgin olive oil from the Maremma hils of Tuscany which has won best organic extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany! Its polyphenols which are used to determine how good an olive oil is, are exceptionally high!
Top awards include extra gold, as best Tuscan organic EVOO by Biol Novello which evaluates the best olive oils in the world. In the past this olive oil has also won Best in Italy, as well as Gambero Rosso 3 leaves (their highest rating).
Its aromas of grass, green pepper and mint lead to an intense hot pepper taste and a long finish with black pepper lingering in your mouth. Even just a little drizzled over a simple lettuce salad will bring it to life with flavor.
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic | Metodo Corino
Fun Facts: The natural farming method that produced this extra virgin olive oil, the metodo corino, is actually patented by La Maliosa woman winemaker Antonella Manuli after she helped to develop it with natural wine legend Lorenzo Corino of Case Corini.
This is an olive oil, super food for super foodies. This is small production organic & vegan extra virgin olive oil made primarily from a rare local cultivar from the area of Macerata Italy called Piantone de Mogliano. The buttery flavors and taste of this organic EVOO so inspired the family behind Quercia Scarlatta farm and winery in Le Marche Italy to name it ‘our gold’, or Il Nostro Oro.
Hand harvested and milled at the family’s farm, a first run, cold press evoo, this olive oil’s aromas remind you of stepping into a garden full of fresh green beans with a whiff of black pepper. Likewise, tasting it is like having fresh green beans with black pepper and butter, thanks to its buttery texture. Black pepper continues on the finish.
This organic extra virgin olive oil comes in a 3 liter container, made for following the Mediterranean diet to a tee!
Up your culinary game with delicious & hard-to-find organic extra virgin olive oils from small family run biodynamic farms in Italy. Made with local cultivars and sustainably farmed, these evoos are packed with flavor. This set comes with two 500 ml bottles, one from Abruzzo and one from Le Marche, Italy, great for stocking your pantry or to give as an olive oil gift for that special foodie in your life and for keeping really good olive oil always on hand!
Any add-on to your order has free shipping within the Continental US. If you’re a real foodie, try our other organic EVOOs from a woman-owned small Italian farm La Maliosa, both award winning and high in polyphenols, Aurinia and Caletra.
Included in this box are:
This gift set has the best olive oil around! It is farmed and made by woman owned La Maliosawho farms and crafts organic extra virgin olive oils (and natural wines too) in the wild area of Tuscany, Maremma.
This gift box comes with 2 organic EVOOs:
Aurinia, a buttery and vegetable garden tasting blend of Tuscan cultivars,
and the Monocultivar Caletra organic EVOO which has won best in Tuscan and best in Italy, and is amazing drizzled on veggies, salads and meats.
Use both Italian olive oils to up your cooking game with an added drizzle of flavor.
This set is available with evoos coming in a 250ml size or a larger 500ml size. Great for stocking your pantry or to give as an olive oil gift for that special foodie in your life!
Any add-on to your order has free shipping within the Continental US. If you’re a real foodie, try our other organic EVOOs from other small Italian farms, like this one from Abruzzoand this one from from Le Marche.
Included in this box are:
La Maliosa Aurinia Tuscan Blend Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
La Maliosa Caletra Tuscan Monocultivar Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Farming | Biodynamic | Vegan | No additives | Unfiltered | Organic | Metodo Corino
Fun Facts: The natural farming method that produced this extra virgin olive oil, the metodo corino, is actually patented by La Maliosa woman winemaker Antonella Manuli after she helped to develop it with natural wine legend Lorenzo Corino of Case Corini.
