Live longer with olive oil, reduce risk of cognitive decline by drinking red wine, and make the shift to sublime time.
A study recently published on PubMed titled, Olive oil consumption is associated with lower cancer, cardiovascular, and all-cause mortality among Italian adults: prospective results from the Moli-sani Study and analysis of potential biological mechanisms aimed to look beyond the research associating olive oil consumption with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and wanted to determine any potential associations with lower risk of cancer, as well as peeling back some of the layers on the actual biological mechanisms at work, resulting in any potential lower risk of disease.
The authors of the paper performed a longitudinal analysis of 22,892 men and women from the Moli-sani Study in Italy and examined the association with olive oil consumption and mortality.
First and foremost, the findings of an analysis of 22,892 men and women is a pretty solid sample size, thus, a good amount of confidence can be placed on these findings.
And secondly, I mean, if you’re going to study the potential benefits of olive oil consumption, Italians would definitely be the population of people to study right!?
Dietary data for this study was collected from 2005-2010 and subjects were broken up into a “High” and “Low” olive oil consumption group.
The “High” olive oil consumption group consumed 3 or more tablespoons (tbsp.) of olive oil daily, and the “Low” group consumed 1.5 or less tbsp of olive oil daily.
They found that high consumption of olive oil (> 3 tbsp/d) was associated with a 21.2% reduced risk of cancer and all-cause mortality, and the low consumption group (< 1.5 tbsp/d) was associated with 13.7% reduced risk of cancer and all-cause mortality.
The authors of the paper go on to state, “Higher olive oil consumption was associated with lower cancer, cardiovascular, and all-cause mortality rates, independent of overall diet quality.”
Takeaways
Above all, it seems pretty clear that olive oil consumption will help you live longer and reduce your risk of disease.
Peeling back the layers a bit more, there are a couple key takeaways from this study aside from just working more olive oil into your diet.
✔️ First is that it appears the more olive oil you consume the better.
The benefits did appear to be dose dependent, as the high consumption group had a more greatly reduced risk of all-cause mortality, which of course includes cancer and cardiovascular disease.
An over 20% reduced risk of all-cause mortality, meaning literally dying from anything (non tragic accident related) disease related is quite significant, especially from simply consuming > 3 tbsp/d of olive oil.
That said, the “low” consumption group did show what I would consider a statistically significant reduced risk of cancer and rates of all cause mortality as well, so it definitely appears that any olive oil is better than no olive oil, and the more olive oil the greater benefit.
✔️ Secondly, this was INDEPENDENT of overall diet quality, meaning these benefits seemed to be entirely dependent on the consumption of olive oil, isolating it as a true anti-aging powerhouse of a food.
Naturally, the better and cleaner your diet is, the more your risk factors for all-cause mortality will go down, however, this study shows that even with a less than ideal diet, by simply adding olive oil, and the more the better, to your daily diet, the more you will reduce your risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and literally dying from any other disease.
For context, 3 tbsp of olive per day is roughly a shot glass of olive oil, which is kind of funny, as I’ve been consuming a shot glass of olive oil daily on a pretty regular basis for about 2-3 years now, as well as adding it as an oil to foods I cook, and even cooking with it when I’m cooking on heat lower than medium (as anything medium and up will hit a smoke point, and denature many of the therapeutic properties of olive oil).
Not All Olive Oils Are Created Equal
Unfortunately, it is estimated that up to 80% of the olive oils sold on shelves in the U.S. aren’t 100% olive oil, as they’re often cut with cheap, processed, pro-inflammatory seed oils like soybean and canola oil.
You want to make sure you’re buying your olive oil in a glass and glass only bottle, that is dark in color, as olive oil, especially extra virgin olive oil (which contains higher amounts of therapeutic, disease preventive compounds) is sensitive to heat and light, and is easily oxidized.
Also avoid buying jumbo sized bottles of olive oil, as it simply makes it more likely that it will take you longer to go through the bottle, meaning it will sit out much longer at your house, and be more prone to oxidation over time and going rancid.
Buying smaller bottles ensures you go through your olive oil more quickly, and thus, are continually keeping fresher olive oil in your house.
Finally, if you want to ensure your olive oil is rich in polyphenol flavonoid antioxidants, (which appear to be one of the main types of compounds that extra virgin olive oil is extremely rich in, and are associated with much of the reduced risk of all-cause mortality), it should pass the cough test.
The “Cough” Test:
Consume a big swig or shot glass of olive oil and give it a second before you drink any water.
Pretty quickly after swallowing, you should feel an irritation in your throat, and even a bit of spiciness, and it should actually make you cough.
This is a good thing, as it’s those highly beneficial polyphenol flavonoid antioxidants that cause this.
If you have a processed olive oil, denatured or rancid olive oil, or even worse, an olive oil cut with cheap, highly processed, pro-inflammatory seed oils, it will taste more neutral and won’t make you cough.
The cough test is a great way to know if the olive oil you are consuming is a legit anti-aging, disease fighting superfood or a cooking oil with little to no therapeutic properties.
We carry Kosterina Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is an early harvest Greek olive oil that is third party tested and shown to yield more of those anti-aging polyphenol antioxidants I referred to above than other olive oils.
It was also selected as part of the “World’s Best Olive Oils” for 2025, so it’s full flavor and anti-aging compounds.
A paper published in May 2022, titled, Association Between Wine Consumption and Cognitive Decline in Older People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies, aimed to examine evidence on the association between wine consumption and cognitive decline.
In this meta-analysis, the authors did a search in MEDLINE (via PubMed, which is also where I found this paper) on longitudinal studies measuring the association between wine consumption and cognitive decline all the way from the inception of these studies thru May 2021.
The search turned up 6,065 articles, with 12 of the studies qualifying for this meta-analysis.
The meta-analysis performed in the study mentioned above showed a Relative Risk (RR) of 0.65 with wine consumption compared to those who don’t drink wine.
This is a pretty big finding, so let’s break this down a bit.
The RR is the risk factor of one control compared to the other control group. In this meta-analysis, it was wine consumption and its association to cognitive decline compared to no wine consumption and its relative risk associated with cognitive decline.
An RR of 0.65, (or anything under 1.00), in this case for those who regularly consume low to moderate amounts of wine (it should be noted that this is red wine) means that the risk of cognitive decline is 35% lower (1.00-0.65) for those who regularly consume low to moderate amounts of wine than those who do not consume wine at all.
First, this alone is a pretty significant decline in the relative risk of cognitive decline for those who drink low to moderate amounts of wine regularly, however, when you also consider that this reduction in risk is actually in comparison to those who do not drink wine, it is even more remarkable.
Furthermore, low to moderate wine consumption is defined as one to up to three glasses of wine per day, with a standard glass of wine being around 5 oz.
I will go ahead and share a bit of an assumption, that this reduction in risk is a testament to the many therapeutic and anti-aging compounds specific to red wine, and not a positive correlation between alcohol consumption and a reduction in cognitive decline.
Now that said, we’ve spent the last few weeks discussing the potential therapeutic benefits of alcohol consumption, and how low to moderate alcohol consumption (one to two drinks per day depending on bodyweight) has been linked to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and reduced rates of all-cause mortality, so this study at minimum, definitely affirms a benefit to having a glass of high quality red wine a day, or most days.
Much like olive oil, not all red wine is created equal.
I think it’s worth noting that there is a lot you can do to ensure you are drinking a higher quality, less toxic glass of wine, if you are drinking to your health.
I exclusively drink, and for what it’s worth, highly recommend, going with an “Old World” style wine.
Any wine produced in a region that traditionally makes their wine old world style, simply means, wine that is produced using methods hundreds of years old, and you know what they didn’t have hundreds of years ago?
Herbicides, pesticides, preservatives, and even complex irrigation systems that can result in toxic, contaminated soil.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to select an “Old World Style” wine, CLICK HERE to read my full segment on the subject.
Banal time is how we often fall into the trap of experiencing time in day-to-day life—routine, mundane, and disconnected from a sense of deeper purpose or urgency.
Sublime time is a heightened experience of the present moment, where one is deeply aware of the finite nature of life and acts with urgency, presence, and purpose.
Banal time is marked by distraction, procrastination, and passive existence.
People living under banal time live as if they have unlimited time, delaying dreams and avoiding risk.
Sublime time emerges when one confronts mortality or experiences life intensely. This can happen during times of crisis, artistic or creative flow, and deep love. Hold your breath (confronting mortality), or kiss someone you love deeply and watch how time instantly slows.
Living under sublime time leads to bold action, clarity of priorities, and a fearless engagement with life. Under sublime time, time feels more vivid, precious, and charged with meaning.
The more we shift from banal time to sublime time, the more we face our mortality, which is actually invigorating, as it’s a reminder to stop wasting time and to begin living with more intensity, purpose, and presence.
