Genius Food #1

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Place some extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) in a spoon, and
then slowly slurp it up like you’re eating soup and being
particularly rude about it. (Yes, I’m telling you to drink oil,
but you’ll see why in a second.) You should in short order
notice a spicy feeling in the back of your throat: that’s a
compound called oleocanthal. Oleocanthal is a type of
phenol—plant compounds that powerfully stimulate our
bodies’ own repair mechanisms when we consume them
(phenols are usually found linked together in the form of
polyphenols). Oleocanthal possesses anti-inflammatory
effects so powerful that it is comparable to taking a small
dose of ibuprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug,

but without any of the potential side effects.^1 Inflammation,
as you’ll learn, can strongly negate neuroplasticity (the
ability of the brain to change throughout life) and even
produce feelings of depression, as research is now
beginning to show.
Extra-virgin olive oil is a staple food in the
Mediterranean diet, and people who consume these kinds of
diets display lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.
Oleocanthal may play a role here as well, having
demonstrated the potential to help the brain clear itself of the
amyloid plaque, the sticky protein that aggregates to toxic