High Phenolic Olive Oil Explained: Episode 1 - Beware the Man in the White Pants

Bryan Johnson is the high profile “Blueprint” billionaire who has created a brand based around his attempts to reverse ageing. As part of his process and research he “discovered” the amazing health benefits of high phenolic olive oil, where he has stated that 15% of his daily calorie intake is from high phenolic olive oil.

Now as for any claims on discovery, maybe there are a few others who knew before. Hippocrates called it “the great healer” and Homer “liquid gold”.

Of course Bryan then launched his own brand of high phenolic olive oil - under his Blueprint brand and gave it the mischievous name of “snake oil”, a nod to the quack medicines of the early 20th century and two fingers up to his doubters. For an olive oil expert (I am learning a lot but not there yet) this is where the issues arise.

Under EU rules, to make a health claim, the olive oil must contain at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives (e.g. oleuropein complex and tyrosol) per 20 g of olive oil. So that's roughly 250 mg per kg.

If these levels are over 250 mg per kg, you can claim your oil is “high phenolic”, and anyone claiming this in the EU will be required to supply a verified certificate showing the actual levels. For example, industry superstars Wild Sparta - who really do produce “liquid gold” have a white label variation of oil with 3367 mg per kg!

The Blueprint Oil from the man in the white pants has a level of “over 400” mg per litre, but doesn't seem to substantiate this with certification - a legal requirement in the EU but not the USA.

There are a good number of amazing olive oil producers now producing oils in the 500 - 1500 mg range. These are in the range of £20 to £40 per 500 ml bottle, and the oil will typically be good for dressings / salads / dips and have a great taste.

On top of this is a small group of “champions league” producers who are achieving super high levels of polyphenols from 1,500 mg all the way up to 4,000 mg per kg.

More on these oils in episode 2...