Game. Set & Match!

Early Harvest High-Phenolic Olive oil and Berry Powders:

A Grand Slam pairing for your health

Welcome to Akaki Grove's very first blog post! With Wimbledon having just come to an end and the US Open—the year's final Grand Slam—just around the corner, I couldn't resist taking inspiration from the tennis world. As an avid tennis lover and devoted tennis mum, I felt inspired to follow a tennis theme.

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Around a year and a half ago I started  a short course to get a specific qualification,  something I had wanted to do for years and years but the dates never worked out until finally they did. It was a bit more rushed in the mornings than the usual craziness that are mornings with children, schools, and jobs, so breakfast-my favourite meal-  needed to be light, nutritious yet satisfying and very quick to prepare. I found a new excitement in my morning routine.  No, it was not Strawberries and cream, although not far off …sort of.  I rediscovered berry powders, a  range of products I used to enjoy all the time but life got busy, and I forgot about them for a while.  Though I always include early harvest high phenolic olive oil in my morning routine, something was missing. A reminder email from Arctic Power Berries prompted me to place an order that same day. Their pure berry powders are from wild-grown, nutrient packed berries thriving in their clean environment. Since my order's arrival, I have been making tasty morning bowls that I find beyond fulfilling. I make a yoghurt bowl (it can be a yoghurt or a cultured coconut yoghurt) with a good amount of berry powders, and a large drizzle of early harvest high phenolic olive oil.  One can add  nuts, fruit, granola and cacao, depending on the mood and needs of the day. Whilst some of you may already be consuming olive oil on your yoghurt (or ice-cream or chocolate mousse!) for others it may seem a bit odd, however, the ingredients complement each other, I can assure you.  There are also health benefits and there is emerging research; to summarise some of the science, let’s do so using tennis as the theme. 

Meet the Polyphenol Doubles Champions

Berry powders and high-phenolic olive oil are a bit like a terrific tennis doubles team (too many of them to mention here!).  They both bring polyphenols to the court but they don't play the same strokes or shots—which is  exactly why they work so well together.

Berry powders bring vibrant anthocyanins (I love the exciting purples and blues and reds), while olive oil contributes unique compounds like hydroxytyrosol, oleocanthal and oleuropein derivatives. These aren't just antioxidants—they are part of the reason that extra virgin olive oil has earned its reputation as one of the healthiest fats on the planet, and one that people should definitely have in their kitchens. 

Once inside your body, these polyphenols follow various pathways, interact in distinct ways with your gut microbes, and produce a broader range of beneficial compounds than either food could generate independently. Each brings a different set of strengths to the team. 

Think of it as follows: the berries are the speedy player, delivering colourful anthocyanins that head down one biological pathway. High-phenolic olive oil is the tactical partner, packed with unique compounds like hydroxytyrosol and oleocanthal working through different routes. So, whilst it is not proven that olive oil polyphenols directly boost the bioavailability of anthocyanins, they appear to enhance the microbiome and digestive environment, which can improve the processing of anthocyanins and metabolite production.

Just as great doubles partners cover different parts of the court, these polyphenols seem to support different biological pathways—from helping your body's antioxidant defences to supporting heart, blood vessel, and metabolic health; but instead of  overlapping, they complement one another, giving your body a wider variety of natural plant compounds to draw from. Together, they cover more of the court than either could alone.  To top it off, it’s a tasty and visually satisfying way to start your day. 

‘Advantage In. Championship point. Game,  Set and Match! ’

https://arcticpowerberries.com/products/mixed-berry-70g