October is a month of joy in my life, not just because my birthday is in October, or because we start harvesting our olives and finally bring home the fruit of a full year of love for our trees.

It is a month that lies between summer and winter, between different lifestyles and habits. And as we let the summer fun go, the excitement of the marvels of winter starts pulling us forward.

This week, we harvest, I will finally taste what our trees have done for us, if we have treated them well, and if the choices we made where the right ones.

A lot of people have come to associate me with olive oil, and upon meeting they kindly and eagerly ask me; how is the oil going? particularly so in this harvest period. Most are surprised when I tell them that I don’t really produce oil:

I thought you were an olive farmer!

Yes, I am an olive farmer, but my focus is not on the oil, not on the lipid profile of our product.

How can that be if you are an olive farmer? You are confusing me, what is the lipid profile?!

I go on explaining that while working on the trees and the soil, there are few things we can do to alter the profile of fatty acids contained in the olives:

One should know that olive oil is made up of three principal fatty acids, Oleic Acid that typically makes up about 70-80% of the total fatty acids in olive oil. Linoleic Acid that can vary vastly between 5 and 20%, just like Palmitic Acid that can fluctuate between 5-20% of the total weight.

I then explain that I let the olives make the fatty acids, they are quite amazing at doing it, just like the olive trees are amazing at producing olives. I focus most of our farming efforts on that part of the finished product that is not made up of fatty acids; the Biophenols.

Generally, at this point the eyes roll back, some think I had a drink or two too much, some change the subject, but some want to know more, and that is a great joy for a passionate man that thinks very hard about his products and their development!

What we try to control, with our decisions in the field, is the constant production of healthy fruit, and its content of Biophenols. During the harvest and the milling, we make sure that the content of these bioactive principles in our oil is very high.

Here most listeners tap me on the shoulder and walk away, they have an appointment and its all very complicate. I understand them, it’s not wine or gin we are talking about!

After all olive oil is olive oil, why make it so complicated? My uncle makes it, I have a relative in Jaen, a cousin in Bari, my godmother is from Greece, they send it to me, my mother buys that Italian brand in the supermarket or that Greek one from the grocer, or or or…

Face it it’s just a commodity for cooking, can’t spend much time thinking about this thing! Life is busy!

The cohort gets smaller, but some really get interested: What are Biophenols? I am getting really exited at this late stage:

Also known as Polyphenols, they are a group of naturally occurring bioactive compounds found in olive trees and all of its extracts, including olive oil.

Their concentration can vary significantly in different oils, and it depends on many factors including tree variety, climate, farming practices, harvest time and extraction techniques.

They are antioxidants and anti-inflammatory molecules that have been scientifically associated with real health benefits. They contribute to the overall nutritional and health-promoting properties of olive oil, amongst which:

• Prevention of Overall Mortality
• Prevention of CVD, Coronary Heart Disease, and Myocardial Infarction
• Prevention of Diabetes or improved Glycaemic Control in existing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
• Reduction in Overall Cancer Incidence
• Prevention of Neurodegenerative Diseases
• Prevention of Mood Disorders
• Reversal of Fatty Liver Disease
• Prevention of Overweight and Obesity

High Biophenols Olive Oil is central to the Mediterranean Diet, there is increasing evidence describing the unique and powerful role of high Biophenols Olive Oil at the heart of the numerous regional variations of the Mediterranean diet; a diet that is now recommended by nations, scientists and health professionals as a nutritional gold standard with a considerable body of evidence to support very significant beneficial effects on health and wellness.

Generally, at this point I have the attention of this happy minority, I get bombarded with many intelligent and relevant questions that I answer with joy, and I see that this “insider knowledge” will bring about curiosity and hopefully changes in behaviour, and I hope also in healthiness.

In fact, it is a characteristic of our brain, once it has been stretched it will never return to its original dimension, and that is why I like change, it brings about curiosity, questions, doubts and growth.

Do all olive oils contain Biophenols? Some more than others, most mass produced ones not enough.

If you want to know more about Biophenols and olive oil, drop us an email info@oleaprilis.com and we will tell you what we know and what we do to make sure that our Organic Olive Oil, is fully loaded for all of its shelve life with these supercharged bioactive compounds!

Later this week I will update you on the 2023 harvest and share some pictures!

Remember Buy Direct from Farmers!

Add some beneficial Biophenols to your life! Make sure that the olive oil you use for yourself and your loved ones has a content of Biophenols higher than 500 mg/kg.

Oils with low content of Biophenols do not provide the health benefits that olive oil is renowned for! Don’t get scammed!

Toscano Organic Olive Oil from the 2022 harvest.
Fresh, fruity  and pungent, obtained from a blend of olives from our trees of the Frantoio, Moraiolo, Pendolino and  Leccino cultivars.

Olea Prilis is an Olive Oil that expresses all the excellent sensations and nutritional virtues of the fruits of the Tuscan olive trees. Extracted  using state of the art technology of the renown Mori-Tem mills. Stored in oxygen free containers for optimum preservation. Sold in elegant recycled metal tins, ideal for storage and efficient shipping.

Sold in packs of 6 pieces

From: €17.31