How About Drinking Your Olive Oil?

That’s a recommendation from a local importer who has many success stories

Yes, I know I’m supposed to use horizontal photos, but this is mine, and it’s vertical. Olive grove in Palaia, Tuscany, Italy. Photo by the author.

I’ve chased dietary solutions to my health problems for decades. Back in the 1980s, a hospital in town had a special department that chased the fad problem of that moment: Candida. Not candy, no. It was like an infection. A fungus. It is a yeast that can grow out of control.

That hospital had a special diet to rid our bodies of Candida. I followed it religiously. Did it help anything? Not that I remember.

Over the years, I’ve observed and sometimes participated in the diets of the moment. For a few months, I managed a weight loss clinic and did theirs. It’s the one time I lost too much weight. But eventually, I gained it all back, which started my ongoing weight challenges.

I didn’t participate in the all-meat diets. Sounds like a cholesterol nightmare. On the other extreme, I’ve never been a vegan, though I have friends who are, and their reasons vary. But, hey, I like an occasional burger.

But tallow? RFK Jr.’s fad exchange for seed oil? Hell no. Now you can get tallow in your face cream if you want it. But why?

The last diet I tried was when I decided to go spend my money on a functional doctor. It was a couple of blocks from where I’d worked. I started going there in February of 2020, just before the pandemic began. I had seen functional doctors on PBS talking about diets that would be specific to my needs.

But this clinic (and most that I’ve looked into) had a standard diet that they expected would help everyone. I did it for three years. At first, I lost 10 pounds a month for three months. We thought, “Wow!” But that’s before we discovered I was being overdosed on the thyroid drug I’d been on for years.

All I’ll say about that is: stay away from pig thyroid. It’s not stable.

After I was back to normal, a full year after we discovered the problem, the weight came back. The functional cardiologist left the clinic and promoted intermittent fasting after that for a while. I found that I couldn’t do it. It may have helped him and his wife, but it just confused my body.

What happened to a diet based on the individual? I have no idea…

One good thing that came out of working with the functional clinic was its belief about oils. Like RFK Jr., they didn’t like seed oils. The only approved oils they wanted on their diet were Olive, Avocado, and Coconut.

I’d always liked olive oil, but didn’t use it as a primary oil until then. They were also particular about what brands to use. At that moment, it was Costco’s. I forget who tested olive oils. Maybe it was Consumer Reports? Whoever it was, announced that Costco’s olive oil was the purest. I also used their avocado oil.

Later, in 2023, when Andy and I went to Tuscany in Italy and spent a day on a farm, we learned that it’s best to use oils that all come from one farm and are processed right away. We couldn’t afford to buy a whole case from that farmer and have it imported.

However, there’s a guy in my area who imports from select farms. One in Italy for one kind of olive oil, and another in Greece for the one I’m currently using for cooking. They’re expensive, too, so I don’t use his oils all the time.

We try to be careful with the oils we use for salads and cooking. And, most of the time, it’s olive oil.

The local importer even suggests drinking at least a tablespoon of his oil every day for all kinds of health issues, and has customers who swear by its effects for arthritis, even cancer.

I’ll be getting a set of his white balsamic vinegar and lemon olive oil for my salads tomorrow at the farmers market. Delish.

I’m staying away from the fads of the moment from now on, things like peptides and GLP-1s. After all my experiences and trials, I just don’t trust the latest and greatest “cures,” either from doctors or alternative practitioners. I’ve spent way too much money over the years with negligible results.

But I’m glad for the knowledge about olive oil. At least that’s legitimate. And tasty.

This story was prompted by Do Capozucca in The Challenged for August. Thanks for the prompt, Do! I’m eating a salad with lemon olive oil right now!

Join us!

[embed]August Prompts I’m all out of appropriate adjectivesmedium.com

Sondra Singer - Still Vital is a writer and musician.