When was the last time you went looking for a polyphenol?
Likely never. But finding them matters. Because without a good dose of polyphenols on your menu, you age faster than you need to. Joints ache a little more than they should. Your heart works harder than it needs to. The slow, barely noticeable damage that builds when your polyphenols run low.
That's their job. You may know them better as antioxidants — same compound, different name. One is what they are, one is what they do. And what they do is hold back the damage.
It only makes sense that you'd want more of them. So let's find them.
First stop — plants. All kinds of plants. Polyphenols are a plant's defence system — built to protect it from heat, sun, and exposure. The more a plant is pushed, the more it produces. The gentler its life, the less it needs to build.
Think about the peach tree in your neighbour's backyard. Watered, given a good amount of sun, living a good life. Enough polyphenols to protect the fruit and make some darn juicy bites. But it was never really pushed. Which is why an Ontario summer, long and warm as it is, only asks so much.
Now move to the Mediterranean. Summer there isn't a season. It's a siege. Relentless sun. Soil so dry it cracks. No rain coming, no relief in sight. The olive tree does the only thing it can — it manufactures its own defence, deeper and deeper, layer by layer. The harder it works, the more polyphenols it builds. The bigger the shield.
The most stressed olive trees produce the most protective oil. We harvest the fruit of these hard-done-by trees at the precise moment their defences are at their peak. When those olives are pressed, the oil locks in the exceptional levels of polyphenols, including two specialists: Oleocanthal, the natural anti-inflammatory, and Oleacein, the heart guard.
Since it's something you reach for every day, you're not just eating. You're getting a dose of these two specialists every time you sit down at the table. And when you cook with them, those polyphenols don't disappear — they move into everything in the pan. The vegetables. The soup. The stew. The marinade. You didn't just make dinner. You found a defence system. Don't be shy with the pour. The shield only works if it leaves the bottle.
Lozano-Castellón, J. et al. (2020). Domestic Sautéing with EVOO: Change in the Phenolic Profile. Antioxidants, 9(1), 77. University of Barcelona. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox9010077
Tovar, M.J. et al. As cited in: Ben Aouicha, A. et al. (2022). Study on the Effect of Climate Changes on the Composition and Quality Parameters of Virgin Olive Oil "Zalmati." ACS Omega. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9647867/
Dias, A.S. et al. (2020). Modulation of phenolic and lipophilic compounds of olive fruits in response to combined drought and heat. Food Chemistry. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814620310530
De Alzaa, F. et al. (2018). Evaluation of Chemical and Physical Changes in Different Commercial Oils during Heating. Acta Scientific Nutritional Health. As cited in: https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/world/extra-virgin-olive-oil-safest-most-stable-for-cooking/63179
Journal of Food Chemistry. Phenols and the antioxidant capacity of Mediterranean vegetables prepared with extra virgin olive oil using different domestic cooking techniques. As cited in: https://www.aboutoliveoil.org/usda-recommends-olive-oil-for-deep-frying