
The Anti-Inflammatory: Extra Virgin Olive Oil
‘Itis’ is a wonderful colloquial word to describe the feeling of tiredness after you eat too much (food coma is a pretty useful term too). But what if you are often feeling slight itis – always a little full and a little exhausted? Nutritionists will tell you it is worth considering your bacterial flora and that potentially, your digestive tract could be inflamed.
There is a growing consensus about how a heathy gut affects a heathy mind (See The Gut-Brain Connection: How it Works and The Role of Nutrition and focus on varied flora is now central to many recommended diets. Renowned methods to maintain a healthy gut (or to regenerate it after a course of antibiotics or after an illness) are fermented foods such as miso, sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha.
Having a seasonal and varied diet, with fibrous greens, can also help bacteria develop in the gut and extra virgin olive oil plays an essential part in this. Study after study has confirmed the positive effects it has on the correct functioning of the gut (we’ve enjoyed learning from these): Health benefits of olive oil and its components: Impacts on gut microbiota antioxidant activities, and prevention of noncommunicable diseases; Plant-Based Fat, Dietary Patterns Rich in Vegetable Fat and Gut Microbiota Modulation; and Influence of Phenol-Enriched Olive Oils on Human Intestinal Immune Function.
Lucky for us, gut bacteria loves a diet prominent in the phenolic compounds that we find in abundance in the best EVOO (For example in Cutrera’s extraordinary Mille) . Extra Virgin Olive Oil is an incredibly powerful natural anti-inflammatory, meaning you can keep that everyday itis feeling at bay.