Episode 295: The Best Olive Oil In The World
with TJ Robinson
Additional Information:
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In 295 episodes, this may be the most fun I have ever had recording Cellular Healing TV. You're about to find out why!
I'm excited to introduce my friend, TJ Robinson, who is also known as ‘The Olive Oil Hunter.'
TJ is delivering access to one of the best superfoods in the world, and you will learn why cold-pressed artisan olive oil can be one of the greatest game changers you can incorporate into your health routine. You will also learn how to properly taste, purchase, store, and utilize olive oil for the most health benefits.
So grab a small glass, a slice of apple, and the best olive oil you have in your kitchen, and you can play along too! Need to upgrade your olive oil? No worries. We've got you covered in the link below.
More about TJ Robinson:
T.J. Robinson is one of the world's most respected authorities on all matters olive oil.
Known for his “platinum palate,” he is one of the few Americans invited to serve as a judge in prestigious Italian olive oil tasting competitions.
He is dedicated to importing rare fresh-pressed olive oil, the most flavorful and most healthful extra virgin olive oil on the planet, until now virtually impossible to obtain year-round in the US. All his oils are independently lab tested and certified for 100% purity.
Transcript:
Dr. Pompa:
Maybe the most fun Cell TV ever. You’ll get to see me with this, with this, with this, and the rest is a secret. Let’s just say I got a little tipsy on this show, but no, this show is about the best olive oil in the world. I believe the biggest game changer which I’m asked all the time. If finances are an issue and I want to make a huge change in my health of myself and my family, what is it? You better watch this show because really this is it. It goes beyond olive oil, trust me, into, I believe, it is the greatest game changer you all can make in your health. Stay tuned for a really fun and exciting show. I learned so much. I had so much fun. I’ll see you on the show.
Ashley:
Hello, everyone. Welcome to Cellular Healing TV. I’m Ashley Smith and today we have a really fun episode. We are joined by TJ Robinson who is one of the world’s most respected authorities on all matters olive oil. He’s going to walk Dr. Pompa through a special tasting today to help you learn the difference between artisan olive oil and mass-produced olive oil. There is not only a huge difference in taste, but also in your health. TJ will share why his adventures have landed him the nickname, The Olive Oil Hunter. I cannot wait to hear why. I’m excited to get my taste buds educated. Let’s get started and welcome TJ Robinson and Dr. Pompa to the show. Welcome both of you.
TJ:
Thank you, so happy to be here. It’s a real pleasure. Thank you, guys. It’s an honor.
Dr. Pompa:
You know, I fell in love with you and your olive oil at the Mindshare seminar, and I’ve just been a consumer ever since. Italian is my blood and I use absolutely olive oil. I put it on everything, so a little bit here and there. I grew up that way.
TJ:
Love it.
Dr. Pompa:
I’ve become a connoisseur of really good olive oil meaning I know whether it has really good polyphenols which you’re going to explain more.
TJ:
Excellent, excellent.
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah. I get all the health benefits of it so I seek out the best oils. I have to say this right up front, you provided me with the best olive oils I’ve ever tasted.
TJ:
That’s so sweet. Thank you. That’s so kind.
Dr. Pompa:
I also mean that. There’s a reason for that. Just give our viewers a little background of how the heck you became The Olive Oil Hunter. What that means? Then we’ll go from there.
TJ:
Sure. I was living and working in New York City a little over a decade ago, and working as a food, wine, and travel writer. I had the opportunity to visit Sicily and when I visited Sicily, it was right at harvest time. I’m just a Southern boy. I don’t live in Northern California where there are olive trees. We only produce about 5% of what we consume in the US which mean we’re forced to import about 95%. Anyway, I was never—of course, I love fresh apple cider and fresh tomatoes and peach juice and that stuff, but I had no idea what fresh olive oil tasted like.
Anyway, I’m there. I hang out with this family, this very sweet Sicilian family. The guy’s name was Mateo. He invited me to his family’s harvest party. I’ve never been to a olive harvest party and didn’t know what this culture was all about. This type of olive culture. Anyway, that evening, we visited the mill. We harvested olives all day and we took them to the local mill. I stood there in front of the centrifuge where I had a small tasting cup similar to this and I plopped it under.
Dr. Pompa:
I’m ready, man.
TJ:
Yeah, I love it. You’re prepared. I stuck that cup under there and I put it under my nose and my life was changed. It was just immediately changed. I had never smelled an oil of this quality or freshness in my life. I was like, hmm, I feel like as an American I’ve really been duped here. I really feel like being a chef, my background as a chef and a pastry chef and culinarian, and I really thought that I understood the quality markers in olive oil, and even as a professional I had no idea. Anyway, that for me started this mission of educating, and I brought bottles back for my friends and family and my New York chef friends. They were obsessed with it.
What happened was, after this harvest happened in November and everyone got their oil in December and folks loved it, but the problem was, March came and everyone was running out of oil. They were like, hey, TJ, I want some more of that fresh oil. I’m like, dude, you got to wait. The harvest doesn’t happen again in the Mediterranean. It’s a one time a year thing and it’s happening next fall. Anyway, I like, just early days of the internet, started to do some research and I find out that immigrants had taken cuttings of olive trees and hidden them in their ties and actually sown them in their clothing like in the seams of their pants. They had hidden olive tree cuttings.
When they arrived in Chile and Argentina and Australia, they were actually able to plant olive trees which reminded them of their home in the Mediterranean, and of course, they use them for religious ceremony and all those important rituals that they were accustomed to. Anyway, I discovered that I could get fresh oil from the Southern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere which allowed me to invent the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club. Now we source from the Southern Hemisphere which is opposite of the Mediterranean also twice a year. Four time a year I deliver fresh-pressed oil delivered by jet directly from the harvest.
Dr. Pompa:
Yes. That’s the point is the only way to get fresh-pressed fresh harvest, I should say.
TJ:
Yes.
Dr. Pompa:
You can get fresh-pressed, but it is fresh harvest.
TJ:
Exactly, exactly.
Dr. Pompa:
Is to do it from different hemispheres, I mean, literally from different parts of the world. I guess, the challenge then was—by the way, the fresh-pressed fresh harvested olive oil is your healthiest and you’ll explain all that.
TJ:
Absolutely.
Dr. Pompa:
The bottom line is you can’t duplicate that unless you’re getting it, and it was impossible otherwise.
TJ:
That’s right.
Dr. Pompa:
Most of the oil that we’re consuming isn’t in fact fresh-pressed fresh harvest.
TJ:
Right. Around the time that I really started digging into this, UC Davis—again, this is about a decade ago. UC Davis did some testing. They took olive oil samples. They went to three places in California, I believe. They pulled samples from grocery store shelves and sent them off to a lab. The lab, when you’re certifying something as extra virgin, it goes through two different tests. One is a lab panel test. You have a team of professional tasters who certify it to be organoleptic, that’s nose, palate, of having no defects, and being of the quality standard of extra virgin. That’s one.
Then two is chemical analysis where they look at the actual healthy helpfulness of the fruit that went in to making that oil and the quality of the oil now. Anyway, they took these samples. They ship them off to Australia to an independent lab and they discover that almost 70% of them were not extra virgin at all.
Dr. Pompa:
Wow.
TJ:
Even though they were labeled as such. That was like whoa, the slippery business of olive oil really started to get out there. We were the dumping ground for bad olive oil.
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah, and that’s actually in the last few years it’s geared up even more. Most olive oil that’s coming in even from Italy. They blame the mafia. Who knows?
TJ:
That’s right.
Dr. Pompa:
You bet. Anyway, the point is, is it’s being cut—if you go to any grocery store, you’re hard pressed not to find an extra virgin olive oil. Meaning, they’re all extra virgin olive oil, but I would argue that it’s even higher than 70% that’s in fact not.
TJ:
It’s really hard to say. They’re trying to do a better job. Honestly, they are. They’ve gone from mostly clear bottles to darker bottles. It’s still plastic, but at least it’s dark. Light damages olive oil. Time damages olive oil and heat also damage olive oil. They’ve made strides, but when you look at the back of a bottle from the supermarket and there’s eight different countries of origin. Honestly, how much control do you think that they had in that product? It’s not single estate. It’s not single varietal. It’s not flown in by jet. It’s not hand procured and sent directly to your door. Where the polyphenols, because they drop in the first six months by about 50%. There’s not really a chance honestly.
Olive trees, they actually produce higher quantities every other year. One year it will be low production. The next year high production. The next year low, etc. This is especially true when there’s no irrigation involved. What this means for the consumer is they actually hold the oil from the larger production years because they know next year what they need to sell. They hold that oil for a year and the labeling on the bottle is actually based on when it’s bottled, not the actual harvest date. It’s just honestly a bit of a nightmare for a consumer.
Dr. Pompa:
You’re out there ahead of us finding the best oils that aren’t cutting corners.
TJ:
That’s right.
Dr. Pompa:
Not cutting your product and most importantly, it actually really is a fresh harvested product. We’re getting the polyphenols. We’ve got a lot of goals here. I can’t wait. My mouth is salivating. As I’m looking down at my oils.
TJ:
I love it. I love it.
Dr. Pompa:
I have a little apple here and I have my cups already. Okay. I said that there’s obviously a taste benefit when you taste real oil.
TJ:
That’s right.
Dr. Pompa:
Fresh harvest oil in particular. You go, holy cow. I don’t even know if I’ve had anything like this before. Talk about the health benefits. Why are we after these things called polyphenols in high level?
TJ:
Sure. You’re more medical than I am. I’m more chef, but I can tell you that many of the experts I work with work in the gut biome. They say olive oil is incredible. Dr. Sarah Ballantyne says it’s incredible for your gut, brain health. It’s the ultimate in brain health and of course fight things like dementia and Alzheimer’s and all that sort of thing. Of course, cholesterol, heart health, that’s important. When you have high polyphenol oils, what’s really cool is—a scientist who was visiting Sicily—again, another Sicilian epiphany by this guy. He was visiting Sicily and tasted fresh oil for the first time.
He was actually a scientist who studies ibuprofen. He discovered the sensation in his throat was very similar to ibuprofen. It was like akin to the ibuprofen he was testing in the lab. Anyway, he went home. He took the fresh oil. He started to do some research and he discovered that in fresh olive oil, you have the same compound, nature’s version of ibuprofen. You get all those antioxidant and cooling for arthritis and any type of inflammation. It’s like mother natures miracle tree. Really, it’s pretty amazing stuff.
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah, exactly. You’re going to teach us how you know when an oil has high polyphenols or not.
TJ:
Absolutely.
Dr. Pompa:
I know. Our viewers would like to know. You can provide obviously—let’s get people in your olive oil club. Let’s do that now. I think as you go through the show have even more of a reason [00:13:00] to the olive oil club.
TJ:
I’m really excited that you mentioned that. To me, the epiphany is the proof is in the pudding. I’m a chef. I like people to taste the oil. What I do, everyone who comes in to my club comes in with a $1 offer. That $1 buys them their—the bottle is free. It’s just a dollar to help me offset shipping. That bottle goes direct to their homes and let’s them evaluate the oil for themselves. I invite them to take their bottle out of the cabinet, grab your espresso cup or shot glass like we’re doing and do a side-by-side tasting and see for yourself.
The number one thing you can do is get educated. That’s part of our corporate mission. We work with small family farmers. They’re all on board with this because they know that people who try the oil are just converts and can never go back to putting rancid, old, mediocre, low-yield—we can talk a little bit more about that. Olive oil in their system. Anyway, do you want to run through a tasting or you want to talk a little bit about the three oils?
Dr. Pompa:
Let’s do that, but let’s start with—okay, we have three oils. Now from the club, these oils are not from Italy because the harvest hasn’t happened in Italy. It’s about ready to happen right now.
TJ:
That’s right.
Dr. Pompa:
These are from Australia because I’m assuming that was where the last harvest was.
TJ:
That’s right. That’s right. The club members received these in September. There’s a mild, medium, and bold. What I’m going to do, I’m going to take for you guys that are just listening and not watching video, I have about a three-ounce white solo cup. You can use an espresso cup or a glass shot glass. I’m putting in about a tablespoon. I would say approximately a tablespoon of oil just so you can see that. Yeah, perfect, perfect. We’re going to do a sensory analysis before we taste the oil. We’re going to do a smell test.
Dr. Pompa:
I’m going to show them the color.
TJ:
Yeah, I want to see that. Look at that color. That’s insane. That’s insane. I already smell it. It’s already coming…
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah, I know I smell it.
TJ:
I know it’s coming out of the glass.
Dr. Pompa:
I want them to see that color.
TJ:
Yes. That’s insane.
Dr. Pompa:
Because the color is part of the magic. I mean, just so you know.
TJ:
Yes, yes. We’ll see the…
Dr. Pompa:
I hope you saw that. Can you see the…
TJ:
Yeah, I can. It’s beautiful. Thank you. The color, it’s not a true test that color is the be all, end all because in competitions, professional tasters actually taste out of blue glasses because they wanted to take that out of the equation because it’s not necessarily a quality marker.
Dr. Pompa:
Got it.
TJ:
Some producers, let’s say the bulk ones have realized they could add chlorophyll to low quality olive oil and consumers think, ooh, this is good. This is obviously not what’s happening here. What’s happening here is we harvest the fruit at a very early stage, so the yield—okay, so the olive itself is, once it’s pressed for my quality standards has about 10% oil yield, 10%. 90% goes away as pit and paste and water. Just the oil is about 10%.
Dr. Pompa:
It sounds like a bad business model already.
TJ:
It is. You got to pay. Exactly. If you have a mortgage, you leave the same green fruit on the tree for an extra month or so, maybe two months, maybe three, depending on where you are, and you can get up to 30% of the oil. The oil will be totally different from the health perspective. Your polyphenols are going to be miniscule. The quality flavor markers, health markers, all will be cut. It is like American consumers who want these super low prices on olive oil and don’t want to pay for high quality stuff, that’s just what they’ve done.
They said, okay, we can supply that market. Let’s just leave the olives on the tree three months. In fact, we don’t even have to pay to harvest them. We just let them fall to the ground. We don’t have to harvest them and then let’s run them through the mill and get 30% yield and then ship them off to the US or China or wherever else. Yeah, it’s one of those situations. All right. I’m actually going to pour all three oils, guys. The mild, the medium, and the bold.
Dr. Pompa:
All right, I’m going to keep mine in order then. I’ll just share it because you shared with me.
TJ:
Yeah, thank you.
Dr. Pompa:
The mild has 204 polyphenol level.
TJ:
That’s right.
Dr. Pompa:
You could tell us how that’s measured. This one has 493. Holy cow that’s [00:17:57].
TJ:
Yes, yes.
Dr. Pompa:
Then the last one is much—it’s even higher. I wrote it down, 551 on that one. The color looks about the same.
TJ:
Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Pompa:
Maybe a little greener but…
TJ:
The [00:18:16] is a little greener, but that’s…
Dr. Pompa:
This one smells more like fresh cut grass, I would say.
TJ:
Yeah, yeah. What we’re going to do is first we’re going to go through and do a smell test.
Dr. Pompa:
I’m going ahead of you, sorry.
TJ:
Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah. Okay. The first one we want to do is Leandro since this is mild. We’re just going to do a smell test first. For me, I get things like green tomato, tomato leaf. I get banana like green banana and apple. It’s fresh. It’s green.
Dr. Pompa:
I do like I do wine. You give it a little…
TJ:
Yeah, exactly, exactly. I’m going to hold this cup up here. What I do, I put my hand under the cup and that warms the oil. When you warm the oil, that is what brings out all the aroma. It’s just like when you’re putting on warm food. It comes alive. Yeah, [00:19:08] like green tomato, some lime zest. It’s just a really beautiful—it feels like you’re in a garden, right? It feels like you’re in a garden. That’s what the first one smells like. Let’s smell number two which is AuLife. AuLife is a wonderful oil, and it’s T, totally different.
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah, totally.
TJ:
It’s got a lot of almond and baby lettuce, romaine and arugula. That’s a beautiful oil.
Dr. Pompa:
You had mentioned lettuces, I smell the lettuce’s smell.
TJ:
Yeah. It’s like fresh chopped salad or something in that one. Of course, it’s got basil and thyme and all that on the nose. Then the last one, let’s smell the last one. If you can smell it’s a little more intense. You can almost smell the polyphenols in there.
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah, yeah. I attune it to freshly cut grass.
TJ:
Yes, yes. Wheat grass, yes. That’s right.
Dr. Pompa:
Wheat grass is actually what I’m…
TJ:
Yeah, yeah. No, it’s perfect. Now we can actually go back and do the tasting. I’ll explain what we’re looking for as we’re going through. When I take an oil in my cup, I first warm it and smell it. That’s step one which we’ve already done, but we can do that again. Step two is we take about a teaspoon, half a teaspoon and we put in our mouth.
Dr. Pompa:
You said tomato on the—I’m sorry.
TJ:
Tomato leaf.
Dr. Pompa:
I smell that now.
TJ:
Tomato vine, right?
Dr. Pompa:
I went back to it. Now I smell that completely, yeah.
TJ:
It does change when you go back which is great. That’s one reason I just set my nose, so I kind of, I don’t know.
Dr. Pompa:
Got olive oil all over me.
TJ:
You’re going to have glowy skin, glowy skin. All right. Now I’m chewing on about half a teaspoon and I’m actually going drag some air through it like I would wine. I don’t know if you want to do that. I am a professional so be careful. I don’t want you to get to couching on here too much. That will be later when we get to the other oil. What you’re going to notice from the very green fruit is the bitterness in the fruit. That’s a set. Second thing we’re looking for in the olive oil as a quality marker, one is fruitiness which we’ve assessed. It’s green. It’s grassy. It’s got green tomato, lettuce, really nice.
Then the second thing we’re looking for is bitterness. We want astringency, a little astringency, like a green tea or a walnut skin. The reason we’re looking for that, that’s a quality marker that you know the olives were green. Then the third thing we’re looking for is a little pinch in the back of the throat of spiciness. This spiciness that you’re perceiving sometimes you feel it like a little white pepper on the tongue or Sichuan peppercorn depending on how much is in there. Those are the three markers you’re looking for.
Then you also want it to be harmonic in the end and balanced. That the fruitiness, the bitterness, and the spiciness are all in harmony. It’s like composing music. This is actually a blend of two olive oil varieties. In Italy, there are almost 600 varieties of olives in Italy alone. That to me is incredible. As a chef, I look at fresh olive oil as a sauce that Mother Nature made just for me. What I do I blend the oil to my taste as if I were making a sauce. In this one it’s made of [00:22:59] olive oil which is originally from Spain and also Koroneiki which is from Greece, originally from Greece. The two together I think just give you—it lingers. It’s beautiful, just harmony and grassy. Any particular things you’re noting, Dr. Pompa?
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah, it lingers. No doubt about it. It stays with you, right? Let me ask you a question. This milder oil what would your cooking suggestions be? Straight on salad. Would you use it in any preparations versus the higher phenol oils that we’re about to go to?
TJ:
That’s a great question. I don’t only label them mild, medium, and bold just because it’s their profile. I also label them that way so you know what to pair them with. In this case, it would be milder foods. I think this would be great with zucchini and squash and butternut squash and sweet potatoes and pumpkins and like fall. There’s something about this oil to me that’s very reminiscent of fall.
Dr. Pompa:
I agree with that, but here’s the thing. In your olive oil club, people are like, oh dude, how am I going to remember that? I’m not going to know that. I’m just not a chef. Even myself, I’m the health guy. You point things out. I go, oh yeah, I see that, but my palate is not—it took me years to get a wine palate. Olive oil, I’ve never—I just go, good olive oil.
TJ:
Yeah, good olive oil.
Dr. Pompa:
Good. I know okay and I know trash.
TJ:
That’s right. That’s right. That’s right. I love it. I love it. No, it’s true. I mean, in general, lighter foods, lighter oils. I love this one for baking. I think this would be great in banana bread. If you made a homemade using a nut flour, this would be amazing in a banana bread. I would definitely consider that. Olive oil is fantastic for baking. It has incredible flavor. In the Mediterranean I’m sure you’ve had olive oil cakes and pastries and that sort of thing. They’re just really good.
Speaking of coughing, just to set this up as we move on to two and three, I have to tell you a story about a Tuscan family I was hanging out with. I was at their mill and tasting the fresh oil. They warned me. They said, “TJ, be careful of this oil.” I’m like, “Okay, I’m professional. I can handle it.” This was early in my career of olive oil. They said, “Now us Tuscans we will say, is it a one cough oil, a two cough oil, or a three cough oil.” I’m like, “Oh, that’s great. I love it.” That’s their quality marker when we talk about spicy, so fruity, bitter, spicy. Those are the three markers we’re looking for.
Dr. Pompa:
I almost coughed with this one.
TJ:
Oh, you did. Oh, [00:25:58].
Dr. Pompa:
I probably gave it a [00:26:02] if I wasn’t on the air, but I [00:26:04] off and went away.
TJ:
Okay, good. You’re a tough guy. You’re a tough guy. Be ready with your mute button so we don’t all have to suffer through.
Dr. Pompa:
Can I ask you something before we move on just on that subject of just your cough? I got a nice newsletter with my club membership and I was just going to say, yeah. No. In there you make recommendations, right?
TJ:
I do. I do. Absolutely. You get the full story. You see me with the families. This is a cool photo. I don’t know if you guys can see that very well or not, but it’s me hanging out with Lisa at [00:26:40] and she rescues baby kangaroos that have been abandoned by their moms because they’ve been hurt in car accidents and etc. Anyway, she rescues and holds on her olive farm a few kangaroos every year that she hosts and she bottle-feeds them back to life. I just have a lot of fun. I get to work with the most talented people in the world. It’s really, really special.
There’s a guide in Italy called, Flos Olei and they rank the top 500 producers in the world. It’s just really comprehensive. Anybody who wants to be a top dog in the olive oil world, they send their oil to Flos Olei. Every year, they have a competition called the Flos Olei Top 20. These are the folks who are in the guide book have the highest scores in the world. They go to Rome. It’s like winning the Oscars. It’s a big deal. Anyway, I was at Paleo f(x) and I noticed on the table I got to mentioning—because they were like, “How do you find your oils and your producers?” I’m like, “Well, I get to work with the best in the world.”
As an example, on this table from my March selection and my June selection, out of the producers, the six producers that were on the table, five of them were Flos Olei Top 20 winners. Not only the best of the best, but been flown in by jet and directly to your house, loved and curated from me. I’m quite confident in you being pleased if you have an appreciation for good olive oil.
Dr. Pompa:
I have been. Again, I’ve been all around Europe. I tasted the best oils. I go to the—food is my thing now. I go to the best restaurants that have the best oils. If they have a cut olive oil and they cook with canola oil, they could accommodate me or I’m out.
TJ:
Yes, yes. It’s funny. Usually, when in restaurants, we take a bottle of oil with us. We sneak it in in my wife’s purse because we want to combat—if we do have to eat in a restaurant, we want to combat the bad oils that we’re consuming. A little olive oil, we have a small little glass, dark glass bottle and we decanted in there, or I take a full bottle if it’s a group of friends.
Dr. Pompa:
You know what, actually, that’s an interesting thing because my wife and I are very particular. I won’t eat vegetable or canola oil because studies show, it goes in to your cell membranes for 132 days on average because the omega-6 is actually the challenge. It’s the key part of integrating into the key parts of the cell membrane. People think omega-3, omega-3. It’s actually the omega-6 and when you’re taking in these vegetable oils and canola oils, the [00:29:37], they go in and they replace the good omega-6 and now you have a dysfunctioning cell membrane for 132 days. That’s why I don’t give in. I’d rather eat sugar or white bread than I would bad oil.
TJ:
Yes, yes, yes. That’s really smart.
Dr. Pompa:
Taking good oil is a good idea.
TJ:
Absolutely. It really can be the backbone of your healthy cooking. In a restaurant, what we do, every restaurant has lemons. You can get lemons and limes all day long in 99.9% of restaurants. We take our bottle of olive oil in my wife’s purse and we ask for lemons and limes on a plate to go with our water and they’re on our salad right there. It’s quite simple. We’ve got our olive oil. We’ve got our acid. We’re ready to go. You basically have a great salad dressing and you don’t have to consume all the junk oils and preservatives.
Dr. Pompa:
I wonder if the high polyphenol would offset some of that dysfunction if you do consume some products with canola oil in them, if you can offset it with the high polyphenol oil because that would be up taken into the membrane much faster and better and protect the membrane from the bad oil. I don’t have a [00:30:56] on that, but I’m thinking…
TJ:
I think that’s a great theory, and I would love to see some research on that. In fact, they talk about when you cook vegetables in olive oil, you actually get more nutrients when you consume the vegetables with olive oil if it’s on a salad, etc. If it’s high quality olive oil because it just helps with bioavailability of the vitamins and nutrients in the vegetables. Talking about that backbone of healthy cooking, it’s really one of those things and I should say for people that aren’t able to taste this with us right now that I like to think of store-bought olive oil as dried herbs.
Dried herbs that have been in the shelf for a while. They’re old, dried herbs when you pull that one out of your—yeah, and this is fresh herbs. If you don’t like fresh herbs then this is probably not for you because this has got a lot of antioxidants, a lot of polyphenols, and a lot of flavor. That’s I think a good way to explain. Number two, lets go on to AuLife. AuLife is a beautiful oil. It’s my medium selection. I’ll read to you—I don’t know how we’re doing on time or how much time we have but…
Dr. Pompa:
We want to get every bit out of this.
TJ:
Okay, okay, okay. For this oil, I’ll give you my organoleptic description in the pressing report that my members get. The aroma of fresh-cut grass and again, we’re doing the AuLife, the medium. The aroma of fresh-cut grass is evident in this marriage of two Cortinas. It’s one olive variety pressed in two different ways followed by chopped culinary herbs, green pear, green peppercorn, arugula, lime zest, kiwi and celery leaf. We sense a minty freshness and the subtlety of artichoke and green almonds. In other words, this oil is a green dream. The verdant theme continues on the tongue with walnuts, endive, fennel, arugula, green apple, artichoke, dandelion greens and fresh thyme. Well balanced exhibiting both fruitiness and bitterness with a spicy kick of Sichuan peppercorn on the prolonged finish.
Dr. Pompa:
That’s a mouthful but…
TJ:
That’s a mouthful.
Dr. Pompa:
My [00:33:38] is, I actually do taste the sweet notes of it.
TJ:
Awesome, awesome.
Dr. Pompa:
I do taste the stronger polyphenol level for sure.
TJ:
Arugula.
Dr. Pompa:
More in the back of my throat I can feel it sharpening down. I feel it tight.
TJ:
Definitely arugula, watercress, lime zest. I’m going to cough. It’s definitely a one cough oil. I can probably cough more.
Dr. Pompa:
That was two coughs.
TJ:
It was, it was.
Dr. Pompa:
That was two coughs.
TJ:
Yeah. Look at that lingering. You can taste the olive fruit. You can taste that bitterness. You can taste that spiciness. You just feel it’s alive and you just feel it in your cells. The fat make-up of olive oil is the same as human breast milk. Our bodies are dialed in to bring it on board. It really…
Dr. Pompa:
In between bites, you told me to have some apple, so here I am.
TJ:
Yes, please do.
Dr. Pompa:
I’m chewing some apple in between like a wine. I actually went and got cheese like a wine pairing, but you said professionals use apple, so I quickly ran and got an apple.
TJ:
Yeah, you’re a pro. I love it. I love it. When you’re testing a lot of oils in a row, and trying to make—this bitterness starts to build up. You get bitter build-up. The apple cuts through that and really helps a lot. Now a lot of people think olive oil ages like wine. It’s the complete opposite.
Dr. Pompa:
Opposite, yeah.
TJ:
The minute it’s pressed, it starts to deteriorate. When you think about cooking with olive oil or you think about how long an olive will last, if you start with an olive oil that’s higher in polyphenols and antioxidants literally antioxidant, think antioxidize. It keeps the oil fresh longer. Even if you’re heating it. My morning eggs. My wife is an amazing home chef and that comes from me, who’s a classically trained chef. She’s really a great home chef. I’m very spoiled and very lucky. Megan’s amazing, but anyway, she fries my morning eggs. I love fried eggs for breakfast and she fries my morning eggs in olive oil. Now she does it at a medium low heat.
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah, she doesn’t….
TJ:
Exactly, but the oil itself actually tastes really green, really vibrant, really fresh on my plate after the fact because we’re heavy users in this household. There’s no like, just a little bit in the pan. One of the tips is, put the pan on the stove and get the pan hot. Then add your oil, then add your food in that order because you don’t want your fat sitting in a pan getting rancid. That’s no matter what kind of oil you’re using. Heat your pan first then add the oil.
Dr. Pompa:
If it smokes, you blew it, start again
TJ:
Yeah, exactly. Honestly, it’s easier to go up in heat a lot of times than it is in down depending on what you’re putting in the pan. I’m going to grab a little water before we move on to [00:36:52].
Dr. Pompa:
Okay.
TJ:
The one we just tasted I think could go with almost anything. If I’m thinking of fall soups like vegetable soups, I would pour this on that. I would definitely like this on—if I had some cheese and baby tomatoes with some mozzarella.
Dr. Pompa:
No matter what I’m cooking I almost always use olive oil and then I like to garnish my olive oil especially with a stronger phenol. I like to add it on top of whatever I do.
TJ:
Yes, it’s the sauce.
Dr. Pompa:
It’s like adding a pepper to the end.
TJ:
Exactly, and you just feel it when you use oils like this.
Dr. Pompa:
That’s my hang up with—my wife and I have walked out of Italian restaurants because they’re using an oil that’s cut. You know how we find out by the way?
TJ:
How?
Dr. Pompa:
We say, “Oh, we’re allergic to canola oil or vegetable oil.” They come and go, “Oh, our olive oil actually has some vegetable on it.” Bingo, I’m out.
TJ:
Wow, that’s a great—I’m going to use that line. I love it. Can I steal it?
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah.
TJ:
I love it.
Dr. Pompa:
The good oils bring out—good olive oil brings out flavor of other food. I’m telling this to the chef, but the point is, if you’re using vegetable or canola, it doesn’t bring out the flavor at all.
TJ:
No, no. It’s a lubricant. It’s lubricant. It’s a lubricant. It doesn’t do anything culinary-wise. It doesn’t take it to the next level, bring it all together, and lift it into this amazing dish. Because you can take something super simple and I think for healthy cooking, the key is simplicity. Focus on steam some beautiful green beans. Take them off of the steamer, put them on a plate, a little great salt, I’m a real fan of high-quality salt. Then a little drizzle of olive oil. That’s all you need. Your kitchen is going to smell amazing like you’re in an olive grove, and then you’re just going to be so happy. The same with broccoli. The same with sweet potatoes.
Dr. Pompa:
[00:39:06] vegetables right there.
TJ:
Yeah, exactly. It’s just one of those foods that, once it’s in your toolbelt, you can’t go back. It’s one of those things.
Dr. Pompa:
I tell you it takes your cooking to a whole other level. People are like, wow, you’re an amazing cook. No, man. You start with amazing ingredients.
TJ:
That’s right. My wife, she said after we were married about two years, she’s like, “You know, my cooking has really improved. Hanging out with you, you’ve given me great feedback.” How to use the word feedback [00:39:35]. Feedback on my cooking. I was like, oh. I was like, “Do you think the olive oil has anything…” Oh, no. That’s what it was. It was just my olive oil.
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah, that’s it. That’s all it was. Look, I cheated on you. I sniffed at some of these.
TJ:
Okay, okay, okay.
Dr. Pompa:
I took a small sniff and I went…
TJ:
Oh, you’re already coughing. I love it, okay.
Dr. Pompa:
I was going to say, salud, chindon which is, in Italian, it’s obviously cheers, right?
TJ:
Love it.
Dr. Pompa:
A healthy hundred years is the chindon, but anyway, this is Australian oil so I think they would say cheers.
TJ:
Yes. They would. Now this is actually made by a Sicilian Calabrian family who were immigrants to Australia. When I enter the gates of this farm, they only speak Italian. Of course, they speak some English, but it’s like I just have gone through a portal. Sit down. Have a coffee. Let me make you espresso. We got you these pastries. Yeah, I’m like, I just want to see the oil. I wanted to know what’s going on.
Dr. Pompa:
In that case, it’s salud, chindon.
TJ:
Salud. This is a Tuscan blend actually. These are Tuscan varietals, so harvested very green. You’re going to get big bitterness, big spiciness, and a lot of this goes away on food. It’s there, but it’s not in your face. When you hear us talking about all these descriptors, this is—uh-oh, there he is.
Dr. Pompa:
That was the first one that got me.
TJ:
That really got you. We’re up to 551 now.
Dr. Pompa:
Oh, man.
TJ:
I got to have…
Dr. Pompa:
Let it be known that over 500 somewhere I will actually cough.
TJ:
Yes, yes. I love it. I love it. I got to take a sip now too. It’s just so green and bitter like radicchio. It’s got radicchio.
Dr. Pompa:
This is way up.
TJ:
Yeah. Radicchio, Belgian endive, watercress, arugula, a lot of arugula. I feel like I’ve just been biting on some spicy arugula.
Dr. Pompa:
You know that thing in salad. I don’t even know the name. Oh, it’s endive.
TJ:
Endive, Belgian endive. Yes, that’s it.
Dr. Pompa:
It’s really bitter, right?
TJ:
Yes.
Dr. Pompa:
I don’t take it myself because it’s so bitter, right?
TJ:
Okay, okay.
Dr. Pompa:
It has endive qualities to it.
TJ:
It does.
Dr. Pompa:
This isn’t one that I like. The other two I actually could keep sipping. This is almost so bitter that for me, on food would it would blossom the flavor.
TJ:
That’s right.
Dr. Pompa:
By itself, I’m like, [00:42:16].
TJ:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s cool. What I would use this one on would be like a grilled steak. Let’s say you’re like someone who loves to grill, where you got to char like bistecca Fiorentina with this on it, oh man, or make a pesto out of this would just be incredible. I mean, it’s like pesto in a bottle already. You can even use fresh oil as a stand-in for fresh herbs if you need to.
Dr. Pompa:
That’s the most powerful oil I’ve ever had. I mean, phenols on that are like just absolutely amazing. I mean, the health benefits of polyphenols it’s through the roof. It lowers blood pressure. It just shows you what it does to soften the arteries. By the way, it’s not just soften your arteries, it’s softening basically all of your elastic tissues in your body making them more vibrant.
TJ:
Wow.
Dr. Pompa:
Yes. It helps the skin, the hair, all of those things. Your collagens, your elastins, every bit of it. It’s an antioxidant for your cells. It down regulates inflammation. These are the things that studies show.
TJ:
Yes, absolutely. I appreciate you hitting all those important notes because I know the cellular science is so important part of your teaching. Really, using a key ingredient, something that you can just—like make very simple food, drizzle this on, a little bit of good salt, and that’s really all you need. This is like a hat. I think of this as a kitchen hat. You can just…
Dr. Pompa:
It’s a food hack. It’s a biohack all in one because the biohack is the hack that it does to your cells. That attracts fat. These fats go right in and around your cells and they protect the cell from the bad. That’s my theory of saying, go to a restaurant, bring in one of these little bottles. I actually have one of these little, smaller bottles. Your oils and sneak that in and protect your cells.
TJ:
I love it. Do you want to give your listeners a few takeaways? Let’s say they aren’t able to join the club on what they should look for when shopping for olive oil?
Dr. Pompa:
Absolutely.
TJ:
If I’m on a desert island—no, there would be no store there. Anyway, something along those lines. A, I would look for something in the dark bottle. That’s key. Two, it has to have a harvest date, harvest season, year—you want pressing date. All those sorts of things are really important. If you don’t see that—not expiration date. I said harvest date. You want to look at the back of the bottle and make sure that it’s got a harvest date. For example, this one says Australian harvest season 2019. This gives you the season. Sometimes it will be the actual date. May or whatever the date was for that particular selection. Dark glass, harvest date, freshness, and single estate. If you can find oils, it just gives the producer a lot more control.
If you’re buying a bottle, a big one that’s filled with air which causes the olive oil to die essentially, it makes it go rancid. Buy small containers, that’s another rule. Harvest date, small containers, freshness. If you see something that says it’s going to expire next year on the supermarket shelf, no way because it’s probably two years old already, maybe three. Pick a store that has high turnover. Pick a store where you can taste the oil before you buy it. That’s also a good idea. You want to look for that fruitiness, the bitterness, and the spiciness. If you don’t’ get those things, it’s not fresh and high quality. Sometimes they’ll put on a bottle like the polyphenol count. I don’t do that because it changes over time. It’s not a static thing.
Dr. Pompa:
True. Yeah, you said in six months it’s 50%.
TJ:
About six months, exactly, 50%. Just using Chile is a great example. They’re in the first two weeks of May and then the first two weeks of June about four weeks later. My club members have the fresh-pressed oil from Chile and will be the same…
Dr. Pompa:
What are the four regions? Australia obviously and then there’s Chile. There’s Italy. I’m sure Italy, Spain, France are the same harvest.
TJ:
There’s different customs in different areas that do different things. In Spain, the harvest can last as long as March or it could start as early as say even October. Believe me, if I could send—most of my club members are probably not consuming—there’s two sizes. There’s the 250 ml size and the 500 ml size in most families. A smaller family will use—who cook at home will typically use a small bottle a month. A larger family will go through the 500 quite easily. Probably if you lived in your house or mine, you would go through it more faster than that. You get friends around the dinner table and you put this on it, it’s like, what happened to my oil. Then you have to guard it.
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah, yeah. I pour heavy.
TJ:
Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Pompa:
What do you expect to pay for a good bottle of olive oil? You’re not going to get a good olive oil for ten bucks. Let’s face it.
TJ:
No, no. Especially if you’re going high quality, low yield which is called early harvest olive oil. That’s another thing you can look for when you’re shopping is early harvest. You can expect to pay roughly $30 and that really has a lot to do with the yield of getting it from really green fruit and only having about 10% of oil versus the 30% that’s closer to the number for commercial quality.
Dr. Pompa:
People would be accustomed to paying ten bucks and getting it on sale, who knows in Costco or wherever else. That may sound like a lot, but it’s a huge investment in your health. It really is.
TJ:
Yes, it is.
Dr. Pompa:
Nothing means more than the oxidation and formation of your cell membranes. These polyphenols are a protective factor here and so invest in your health. How much is it for your membership?
TJ:
Sure. It’s always an introductory offer. We set it up for your folks at pompaoliveoil.com, so it’s P-A-M-P-A oliveoil.com.
Dr. Pompa:
P-O-M-P-A.
TJ:
Then that will be there at the end, and that’s for your $1 bottle. Everybody signs up there, that starting point, and then what happens depending on when they join, at least three weeks to a month later, they get their first three-bottle shipment. Depending on when they entered, there are two different sizes. There’s the 250 ml size and that is 99 a quarter. That’s 33 bucks a month essentially. That will do a lot of plates of food and a lot of meals. I think about a bottle of wine in a restaurant, I easily spend $30 to $50 and it’s gone on one meal. I’m not ordering wine all the time, but I’m just saying I can improve a lot of plates of food and the healthfulness of my food with one expense a month.
Dr. Pompa:
I look at it as the number of cells. I’m thinking how many cells could actually improve upon and therefore feel better and therefore produce more. Be happier. Sleep better. Less pain. Yes, my mind goes there.
TJ:
Yeah, I love it. I love it. Then the larger set which is double the volume is 139 a quarter. If you’re a heavy user, it’s always great as a gift around the holidays. People buy. They love my Italian selections. I’m working on one this year, a very special one from Greece, a charitable organization that I’ve been working with who produces an amazing oil in Northern Greece. I’m working on one Greek oil and most likely two Italian oils is what I’m thinking of for my December shipment. Mother Nature will dictate. She owns 51% of the company.
Dr. Pompa:
Dominant share.
TJ:
Yeah. I’m in there with the farmers on the ground, supervising the harvesting, supervising the milling to make sure our temperatures are really low because you don’t want to cook the oil. That’s how you get more yield from the oil. You cook the olives and you extract more off flavors and aromas and all that sort of thing.
Dr. Pompa:
You’re killing all the good stuff doing that.
TJ:
Exactly. I’m there. My producers are already amazing and then I just retool what they do a little bit which we get and take it to the next level. We’ll produce several batches and then I’ll taste the different lots and I’ll be like that’s for me, that’s for me. That will blend perfectly with that one. It’s a lot of fun for my culinary background.
Dr. Pompa:
I mean, we want you to do our homework for us hence The Olive Hunter, right?
TJ:
That’s right.
Dr. Pompa:
It’s The Olive Oil Hunter.
TJ:
That’s right.
Dr. Pompa:
I just said The Olive Hunter. I’m like, what am I missing? Oh, the oil.
TJ:
Yeah, it kind of is the olive—you got to find great olives to make great oil. For me, yeah. No, it’s perfect. For me, one important point of the fresh oil is that these families—this is the oil that’s celebrated in their local communities. This is the oil they keep for their families. They make a small amount of this oil. This is not how they pay their bills. This is a passion project for them. This is love. It’s really a lot of love.
Dr. Pompa:
That’s your reward getting in the club. That’s cool, dude.
TJ:
It’s cool. It’s really cool. It’s an adventure.
Dr. Pompa:
Where is our next three? This is from Australia. Where is our next three bottles coming from?
TJ:
Now, when will this episode air? Just so I have an idea.
Dr. Pompa:
Oh, yeah. That’s true.
TJ:
Do we have an idea on that?
Dr. Pompa:
Ashley’s the only one.
TJ:
Okay, okay. I assume it will be in the next month or so, but Ashley, you have an idea for us?
Ashley:
Yes, I can tell you the exact date. While I’m looking, I just wanted to give the link for this olive oil club. It’s pompaoliveoil.com. That will just take you to the link in order to order this great…
Dr. Pompa:
I have my own club. Not really. It’s just…
Ashley:
Right, it’s just a special link so you guys can…
Dr. Pompa:
Be a part of my part of the club, right?
Ashley:
Yes.
TJ:
You are. You are. You are. You help us get the word out there and that’s so important. It just supports our mission. They’re the rebels in their communities. Really, who else is—most people have a lot of bills and a mortgage. They want all this stuff and they have to—they’re forced to produce the lower quality stuff to get to the bulk market. No, I was going to say most producers don’t have access to the American market either. I walk through their door and I’m like, I have 15,000 passionate lovers of olive oil. I want your very best. You just see them light up like it’s birthday and Christmas all on the same day. It’s a beautiful thing.
Dr. Pompa:
We’re glad to be a part of it, honestly. I was just thinking, people ask me this question all the time. It’s like the one thing they can do on a budget to really move the needle for their family’s health. You know what my answer is, change the oils that you’re eating. Honestly, I say that. Change the oils you’re eating. Just make no exceptions. Be a good consumer. Get rid of everything, canola oil, vegetable oil because you go to Whole Foods, it still has it in it.
TJ:
Yes, yes.
Dr. Pompa:
It’s like replace that, add this, join the club, man. Watch what happens to your family’s health. This is like on a scale. This is a big massive deal. People focus on the little things. Oh, we’re going to take gluten out of our diet, but they’re going to [00:54:31] that are loaded with crap. It’s super sugars. I do shows on that. This is a big deal, man. Your oil.
TJ:
I really, really appreciate the support. It’s my life mission and my plan. When I see people taste it just like I did, I saw you taste fresh oil that I handed to you. One of my selections. I’m part olive oil concierge and part olive oil sommelier. Not only do I weed through the 9,000 that are out there to get the three for you and then rush them to your door—it’s like people say, well, what do you do? I’m an olive oil taster. You could say I’m an olive oil sommelier and a concierge. I get you the access to the great stuff and then I select it and I get it to your home directly. No middle man.
Dr. Pompa:
Let’s have some fun here for one second. Hey, Merily.
TJ:
Don’t give her the big one, please.
Dr. Pompa:
She ignoring me. She’s ignoring me.
TJ:
Don’t scare her. Don’t scare her.
Dr. Pompa:
She always hears me. No. She’s ignoring me. She knows where I’m at. I want her to come in. I want to give her a taste sample because I want to see her cough reaction. Here’s my dog. [00:55:41] go get mama. Go get her. There she is, okay. All right. Here she is. Bringing her on. Cell TV.
Merily:
Oh.
TJ:
Come on in.
Dr. Pompa:
This is TJ.
TJ:
Hi. Nice to meet you.
Merily:
Hi. How are you?
TJ:
Olive oil sommelier right here.
Merily:
I met your wife.
TJ:
Yes, you did, Meagan. She’s a great chef. I love her.
Merily:
[00:56:00].
Dr. Pompa:
Taste this one.
Merily:
[00:56:04] with my rice.
Dr. Pompa:
Ashley should be testing them.
TJ:
Yeah. You’re looking for fruitiness which should be green and grassy and fresh. Maybe something like…
Merily:
Very, very, very fresh.
TJ:
Herbal, right? Very herbal like fresh herbs and grass. It should be bitter on the palate and also a little spicy. You might even cough a little bit or get a pinch on your…
Merily:
Not with this one and I’m used to good olive oil so I…
Dr. Pompa:
I didn’t cough with that one either.
TJ:
Awesome. Okay, we’re going to dial up the polyphenols with you.
Dr. Pompa:
I’ll just give her a little apple.
TJ:
Yes, yes, yes.
Dr. Pompa:
Give her a little apple to cut that.
TJ:
Yes, yes. Clean the palate. Clean the palate.
Dr. Pompa:
She came ready to taste.
TJ:
That will work. I like it.
Merily:
I haven’t eaten yet today.
TJ:
I don’t know if you guys eat much dairy at all but things like yogurt, cottage cheese.
Dr. Pompa:
This is grass-fed, 100%.
TJ:
Yeah, fantastic.
Merily:
This is just slightly peppery, just slightly.
TJ:
She’s tough.
Merily:
Based on my palate.
TJ:
She’s tough.
Merily:
I like it.
Dr. Pompa:
By the way, I have to credit her. You said can you borrow the line. It’s actually her line. She discovered when she says I have an allergy too that that’s when they get serious and come back and go, our olive oil has some vegetable oil on it. We’re out of the restaurant. We [00:57:21] restaurants like that. Okay, now this one.
Merily:
I’m serious about my oil.
Dr. Pompa:
Hold on. This one has 551 polyphenol level. What does that mean 551?
TJ:
It’s actually a total polyphenol count. First of all, all my oils are—I forgot to mention this. All my oils are independently third party certified to be extra virgin by the best lab in Italy. By not only the tasting panel, but also the chemical analysis. It’s a total polyphenol or actually biphenols. I’m going to butcher these, but there’s total polyphenol as tyrosol. There’s a hydrotyrosol. There’s tyrosol. There is another one called OLEO European and [00:58:15]. I don’t know what that one is. Essentially, the total polyphenol count is when you add all of these different plant sterols. These are the things in the olive. Olives are very bitter if you’ve ever tried one directly off the tree. Actually, you may have done that.
Dr. Pompa:
Oh, yeah.
TJ:
They’re very bitter, but those are the protection of the fruit. That bitterness that you’re tasting in the oil, you’re getting all these plant sterols that are exactly what you were saying about cellular health and how it helps protect oxidative stress. They’ve really dialed in the benefits of the Mediterranean diet not being solely the healthy olive oil fat, but the real key being the polyphenols. They’ve done research studies where they take groups of people who don’t consume much olive oil. Let’s say a group of Scandinavians. They will put them on a low polyphenol, medium polyphenol, and a high polyphenol. About three different groups and look at all of their testing. It’s very impressive. The differences of the high polyphenol oil, the lower cholesterol, lower triglycerides, more healthy in general.
Dr. Pompa:
[00:59:31] are actually mild binders as well of things of things like heavy metals. One of the things that we are—I said this. I said we’re going to start carrying our own olive oil at every restaurant. I said this like…
Merily:
This is the perfect size.
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah, yeah.
TJ:
I love it. Yes, yes, yes.
Dr. Pompa:
I said that recently.
Merily:
Send a few more.
TJ:
I love it. I love it. Thank you.
Dr. Pompa:
Here’s the thing, it’s protecting you from a lot of the toxins in the food. The toxins make their way just like bad oils to the cell. They drive inflammation and then you have dysfunction for over three months. That’s why we don’t make exceptions, but the protective factors are the plant sterols, the polyphenols. It’s acting completely different than eating other healthy fats. There’s many different healthy fats. None of which have these really high levels of these polyphenols.
TJ:
How do you feel about grapeseed oil? Are you a fan of grapeseed oil? How do you feel? I don’t know so much about it.
Dr. Pompa:
Grapeseed oil it actually can take moderate heat. We’ll cook with almond oil, avocado oil. They take real high heat without [01:00:37] at all.
Merily:
Ghee, we cook well with ghee.
Dr. Pompa:
With ghee.
TJ:
Ghee is great, yeah.
Dr. Pompa:
This all have different benefits. None of which—and grapeseed oil. None of which have the really super high protective factors of the polyphenols that the olive oil does. I think you get more benefit from that than like you said even the fats themselves.
Merily:
I’m sorry, I have to go and make dinner.
TJ:
Oh, thank you. Take some olive oil with you, please.
Dr. Pompa:
Tell him what you’re…
TJ:
Yeah, what are you making? Tell me.
Dr. Pompa:
He’ll tell you which one.
TJ:
Yeah.
Merily:
I’m making actually basil—I want to make a chicken with pesto—a basil pesto.
TJ:
Ooh, I would go with AuLife. I think I would go AuLife because it’s beautiful and it works super well with all those things you mentioned. Just think of this is a sauce Mother Nature made for you.
Merily:
I have to tell you, they’re all very good. I can’t necessarily say I like one more than another. Maybe it just depends on the mood you’re in.
TJ:
Yeah, absolutely. It’s like wine. You can have red wine with fish. There are no rules. Really, there are not a lot of rules. Have what you like and let the food fight it out inside.
Merily:
Yeah. It’s a pleasure. Thank you so much.
TJ:
Thank you. Take care.
Dr. Pompa:
It’s an olive oil party.
TJ:
Good luck.
Dr. Pompa:
I think I’m getting a little buzz, man. I’m getting a little olive oil buzz.
TJ:
Your cells are happy. They’re dancing.
Dr. Pompa:
We don’t know what’s going to come out next.
TJ:
You go to the Mediterranean and you see these people. They use olive oil for everything. They fry in olive oil and they actually—it’s very stable. I can send you research studies on olive oil and frying. In the Mediterranean, that’s all they use.
Dr. Pompa:
I want to see that because I know certain temperatures, I educate people, don’t go over with olive oil, but if there’s a reason with the higher polyphenol oil that potentially—I want to see that please.
TJ:
Absolutely. I will more than happily share that with you. That’s not just for any oil. It is a higher polyphenol oil. Again, you can use it as a marinade if you’re going to grill something like some shrimp or chicken, marinade in olive oil. That’s great before you put it on the grill. There’s just a lot of culinary uses for it.
Dr. Pompa:
I want people to understand too, I’m not afraid to go into a place and spend $40 to $50 on a bottle of olive oil, but even when I do, none of them compare to these oils. Obviously, I’ll never do that again.
TJ:
Yeah, thank you.
Dr. Pompa:
I love it, honestly. It’s like when I discovered Dry Farm Wines. I was so excited. Todd was out there.
TJ:
I love Todd. I love Todd. Yes, I love it.
Dr. Pompa:
You put these two things together, your life changes.
TJ:
I know, exactly.
Dr. Pompa:
Olive oil and good wine. Come on.
TJ:
Life is really good at that point. If you can manage to get both of us in your lives, you’re going to be really happy. Yeah. When you join the club, there’s a member’s only Facebook group. I just started two weeks ago. I’m behind on social media, but we already have about 800 members in the private group of the 15,000 club members. They were sharing lots of recipes, videos from the road. How to use the oil. People are sharing their ways to use it. There’s always creative and interesting ways to use the olive oil. Share your opinion on which one you like best and what you like it with.
It’s just a lot of fun. It’s like a lifestyle change. It’s a lot of fun. One thing I didn’t mention about olive oil is I work with a lot of people who are into keto, paleo, that sort of diet. The research on the satiety level of olive oil and how it helps your hunger hormones is insane. When you start to read how full it keeps you, a high-quality olive oil will keep you full and just so satisfied deep to the core, people are using this like crazy for weight loss. I’m like, olive oil for weight loss? Really? I got to looking at the studies and I’m like, heck yeah. I love this.
Dr. Pompa:
What’s funny about that, with some of the clients that I coach, I do fat, F-A-T, fast, F-A-S-T.
TJ:
Love it.
Dr. Pompa:
One of the key is that they do use different fats because they have trouble controlling their appetite. They have trouble fasting so we do a fat fast. Many of them have said, you know I think the olive oil because I have to insist on really good olive oil.
TJ:
Yeah, of course.
Dr. Pompa:
More so than the coconut, more so than the ghee, the butter, the olive oil curves their appetite the best out of all the fats to your point. To your point.
TJ:
Absolutely. I love it. I love it. I’m glad you’re on board and you actually have road tested the idea because I see these studies, I’m like, that makes sense because I really am hardly ever hungry between meals and I’m a high user of olive oil. Yeah, it’s great that you’ve road tested it.
Dr. Pompa:
I fast four times a year and I bring this fast coming up. We have 25,000 people in our group.
TJ:
Whoa, that’s incredible. Congratulations.
Dr. Pompa:
Anyway, not this fast because I’m doing pure water. The next one I’ll be doing a partial fast. I’m going to try something for the first time. I’m going to do your olive oil only for the fasting.
TJ:
Oh, I love it. I love it.
Dr. Pompa:
Yeah. I’m going to do an olive oil, early harvest fast. We’ll bring you on the Facebook live. It will be a lot of fun.
TJ:
I love it.
Dr. Pompa:
Thousands of others with me on it. I’ve never done just an olive oil fast. As I said, I do the fat fast. I want to just do the olive oil and I just want to see.
TJ:
It will be fun to do the markers, to do some testing of before and after, a blood panel. That would be so interesting to see oxidative stress and all that stuff at the cellular level. That would be so cool. Now, two of your boys are in Europe right now? Is that what I understand?
Dr. Pompa:
Yes, right. My son Isaac is there with some of his friends and then my son, Daniel, who broke his back…
TJ:
Yes, I’ve been following it.
Dr. Pompa:
They said 12 weeks without walking. He’s going to Europe and here we are at…
TJ:
Oh, I love it. Oh, so cool. Now will they be in Italy at all?
Dr. Pompa:
As a matter of fact, they want me to find a job for that. Some place that’s harvesting.
TJ:
Okay, I can give a job. I know a lot of artisanal farmers.
Dr. Pompa:
For two weeks and I can stay longer.
TJ:
I love it. I love it. Yeah. There’s a good organization that pairs people who want to work on farms and they stay in [01:07:25] most which are like farm hotels or bed and breakfast in Italy. We’ll connect you offline about that and I’ll be happy to hook you up if you need it.
Dr. Pompa:
TJ, it’s been a lot of fun.
TJ:
Hey, it has.
Dr. Pompa:
We’ll do a Facebook live before this airs so we could bring—I want everyone to see it. I think this is a really huge game changer for you and your family, folks. Share the video, please, and like I said, I’ll do a Facebook live before so we can bring as many people to it as we can, TJ. You deserve it.
TJ:
Thank you so much. I appreciate it. It means so much. Thank you again, Ashley for setting this up and for taking great care of us, making sure we were organized with our tasting cups and ready to go and looking good and sounding good. I know that’s very important. Thank you again for your time.
Ashley:
Of course.
TJ:
We really appreciate it. Thank you, Dr. Pompa. Let me know if you need anything. Take care.
Dr. Pompa:
All right.
TJ:
Ciao, ciao. Arrivederci.
Dr. Pompa:
All right.
Ashley:
That’s it for this week. We hope you enjoyed today’s episode. This episode was brought to you by CytoDetox. Please check it out at buycytonow.com. We’ll be back next week and every Friday at 10:00 AM Eastern. We truly appreciate your support. You can always find us at cellularhealing.tv and please remember to spread the love by liking, subscribing, giving an iTunes review and sharing the show with anyone you think may benefit from the information heard here. As always thanks for listening.
