Hand harvested
Harvest & press date: November 21, 2006
Hand bottled from stainless steel tanks as needed in 375ml. bottles 

TUSCAN PAIN KILLER! 

When we drink the estate wines at Carmody McKnight we not only know it tastes uniquely special, but we know how naturally beneficial it is for us since it derives from the most mineral and nutrient rich soils in the world.  We hope you agree.  And now more heart-thumping news -- about our Tuscan olive oil -- grown side by side with the vines in the same wondrous vineyard. 

As we all well know, the Mediterranean-style diet has been found to protect against heart attack, stroke, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.  And we all love the Mediterranean diet!  But it has now been discovered, by way of major research from all over the world, that the one reason eating the Mediterranean way may help you live longer, healthier and wiser is olive oil.  Not ordinary olive oil.  Extra virgin olive oil, Tuscan olive oil.   The Tuscan olives that we hand-pick and hand-bottle at Carmody McKnight!

Olive oil is known to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, but new stunning studies are proving that Tuscan olive oils, the extra virgin oils of Carmody McKnight, quell the inflammation believed to play a key role in a variety of chronic diseases.  It has been revealed in these studies that certain olive oils contain oleocanthal, a chemical which works like ibuprofen and aspirin, and there is ample evidence that every-day use of low-dose anti-inflammatory drugs reduces the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and breast, lung and colon cancers.  Oleocanthal is found mainly in the Tuscan olive oils.  According to the LA Times, "Only the freshest -- and usually most expensive -- olive oil has significant amounts of the pungent compound, called oleocanthal.  The irritating intensity of the taste of a fresh extra virgin olive oil turned out to be directly related to how much oleocanthal the oil contains." 
                                                   
Even more wonderful for olive oil lovers is the news that Tuscan olive oil also possesses painkilling properties.  Most importantly, Tuscan olive oil is the natural way to kill pain (this comes as bad news for the pharmaceuticals!). Oleocanthal has the pain-relieving qualities of ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).  Dr Russell Keast, an Australian sensory scientist and molecular gastronomist at Melbourne's RMIT University, has discovered that oleocanthal inhibits the activity of the cyclooxygenase enzymes, COX-1 and COX-2. "These enzymes are activated as part of the body's inflammatory response to injury and cause pain by stimulating the production of prostaglandins, which irritate nerve endings.  NSAIDs and oleocanthal can target one or both of the COX enzymes and suppress COX activity.  Oleocanthal levels are highest in oil from early season olives, newly pressed or extra virgin oil and the olive oils of Sicily and Tuscany."

Another major researcher, Paul A. S. Breslin, PhD, advises that we "Shoot for forty to fifty milliliters (about three tablespoons) a day of an oleocanthal-rich extra-virgin olive oil, which effectively amounts to a low-dose anti-inflammatory.   Buy extra-virgin olive oil that stings your throat -- a sign that it has high levels of pungent oleocanthal.  Once you find a tasty olive oil with a throaty bite, use it on raw and cooked vegetables and use it up quickly.  Aging destroys oleocanthal (as does heat when you cook with olive oil)."  Dr. Breslin further advises that, "Tests show that olive varietals originating in Tuscany contain high levels of oleocanthal."