Halloumi Skewers Recipe, Spotlight on Bell Peppers, Safe Grill Cleaning, Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Brain Boosts and Meditation to Rewire your Brain

Members of the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club know how much of a halloumi cheese fan I am. This recipe uses the salty, firm Cypriot cheese as part of grilled skewers that will please meat eaters and non-meat eaters alike. I’m also thrilled to share two fascinating pieces of research concerning brain health: the roles of extra virgin olive oil and meditation.

Halloumi Skewers

• Halloumi Skewers

  Besides its great taste, halloumi holds its shape well under high heat and, unlike beef, chicken, and other proteins, it takes only as long as the vegetables to grill so all the ingredients on your skewers will be done at the same time.

  Ingredients

  For the marinade:

  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, and flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar of Modena such as Condimento Barili Exclusivi 
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  For the skewers:

  • 1 pound halloumi cheese block, cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes 
  • 1 medium zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch rounds
  • 1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into 6 wedges 
  • 2 large bell peppers, any colors, cut into 1-1/2-inch squares
  • 8 cremini or white mushrooms, cleaned as needed

  Directions

  Step 1

  Place the garlic and herbs in a mini chopper and process until finely chopped. Add the vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper and process until smooth. 

  Step 2

  Place the cheese and all the vegetables in a large bowl and add the marinade; toss well. Let marinate for 20 minutes, then shake off excess marinade and thread equal amounts onto four 12-inch skewers (if using wooden skewers, soak in water for 30 minutes first).

  Step 3

  Grill over medium-high heat, turning the skewers every 2 to 3 minutes to char all four sides (8 to 12 minutes total). Remove from the grill as soon as you see a light char. 

  Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as a main dish

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

The Colors of Bell Peppers

Bell peppers are a great source of vitamin C (two or three times as much as an orange) plus vitamins B6, K, A, and E along with minerals and antioxidants. They come in a rainbow of colors, determined by the variety and amount of time a bell pepper spends on the plant.

Green bell peppers appear first and are the least ripe and least sweet. As they mature, they usually turn another color, such as yellow, orange, or red. Nutrient content and taste vary among bell pepper varieties. The phytonutrients lutein and zeaxanthin, important for eye health, are found in green bell peppers. Violaxanthin, a carotenoid, is found in yellow bell peppers. Capsanthin makes fully mature bell peppers red. Red bell peppers are the most nutrient-dense and also contain lycopene and beta-carotene. 

When it comes to bell peppers, the advice is the same as with vegetables (and fruits): Eat the rainbow to get the max benefits.

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Safe Grill Cleaning

Recently, over 13 million grill brushes from Nexgrill and Weber were recalled because their small wire bristles can break off, stick to grill grates, and lodge in food, posing serious injury risks if swallowed. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends people stop using these brushes immediately and contact the manufacturers for a refund or replacement. Weber, for instance, was offering a replacement nylon bristle brush. 

How to clean your grill grates safely? A great way is to make a thick paste of baking soda and dish liquid. Smear it over the grates, then use a crumpled ball of aluminum foil to go over each groove. Thoroughly rinse and dry. To properly season the grates, finish with a light coating of olive oil dabbed on a paper towel. 

For Your Best Health 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Brain Boosts

Extra virgin olive oil, or EVOO, has long been a cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet, known for supporting heart and metabolic health. Now, new research suggests it may also help protect the brain. Scientists from the Human Nutrition Unit at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), and CIBEROBN have found that its benefits could extend beyond the body to the mind, working through the gut microbiome to support cognitive function.

“This is the first prospective study in humans to specifically analyze the role of olive oil in the interaction between gut microbiota and cognitive function,” explains Jiaqi Ni, PhD, first author of the article and researcher at the URV’s Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology.

The research followed 656 adults between the ages of 55 and 75 who were overweight or obese and had metabolic syndrome — a set of risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease. Over a two-year period, as part of the PREDIMED-Plus project, scientists tracked participants’ diets, including their intake of virgin and refined olive oil, along with detailed analyses of their gut microbiota. They also monitored changes in cognitive performance over time.

The findings showed clear differences depending on the type of olive oil consumed. Participants who regularly used virgin olive oil experienced improvements in cognitive function and had a more diverse gut microbiota, which is widely considered a sign of better intestinal and metabolic health. In contrast, those who consumed refined olive oil tended to show a decline in microbiota diversity over time. Researchers also identified a specific group of gut bacteria, known as Adlercreutzia, that may be tied to these benefits. Its presence could serve as an indicator of the positive relationship between virgin olive oil consumption and preserved cognitive function. These results suggest that part of the oil’s brain-supporting effect may come from how it reshapes the gut microbiome.

The difference between extra virgin and refined olive oil largely comes down to how they are produced. Extra virgin olive oil is obtained using mechanical methods, which help preserve its natural compounds. Refined olive oil, on the other hand, undergoes industrial processing to remove impurities. While this refining process improves shelf life, it also reduces beneficial components such as antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, and other bioactive substances. 

Jordi Salas-Salvadó, MD, PhD, principal investigator of the study, emphasized the importance of choosing high-quality fats: “This research reinforces the idea that the quality of the fat we consume is as important as the quantity; extra virgin olive oil not only protects the heart, but can also help preserve the brain during aging.” 

Two of the other researchers involved, URV professor Nancy Babio-Sánchez, PhD, and Stephanie Nishi, PhD, now a professor with the Toronto Metropolitan University (Canada), highlighted the broader implications of the findings as populations continue to age: “At a time when cases of cognitive decline and dementia are on the rise, our findings drive home the importance of improving diet quality, and in particular prioritizing extra virgin olive oil over other refined versions as an effective, simple, and accessible strategy for protecting brain health.”

Fitness Flash

Meditation to Rewire your Brain

Researchers at the University of California San Diego report that a weeklong program combining meditation and other mind-body techniques can quickly produce measurable changes in both brain activity and blood biology. The study found that these practices activated natural pathways involved in brain flexibility, metabolism, immune function, and pain relief. Surprisingly, the experience mirrored psychedelic-like brain states—without any drugs involved. Published in Communications Biology, the findings offer new evidence that mental practices can influence physical health in significant ways.

Meditation and similar approaches have been used for thousands of years to support well-being, but scientists have struggled to explain exactly how they affect the body. This new research, part of a large initiative funded by the InnerScience Research Fund, is the first to systematically measure the combined biological effects of multiple mind-body techniques delivered over a short time.

“We’ve known for years that practices like meditation can influence health, but what’s striking is that combining multiple mind-body practices into a single retreat produced changes across so many biological systems that we could measure directly in the brain and blood,” said senior study author Hemal H. Patel, PhD, professor of anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and research career scientist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. “This isn’t about just stress relief or relaxation; this is about fundamentally changing how the brain engages with reality and quantifying these changes biologically.”

The study followed 20 healthy adults who took part in a 7-day residential retreat led by neuroscience educator and author Joe Dispenza, DC. Participants attended lectures and completed about 33 hours of guided meditation along with group-based healing activities.

These sessions used an “open-label placebo” approach, meaning participants were aware that some practices were presented as placebos. Even so, such interventions can still produce real effects through expectation, shared experience, and social connection.

Before and after the retreat, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor brain activity. Blood samples were also analyzed to track changes in metabolism, immune function, and other biological markers. After the retreat, several notable changes were detected:

• Brain network changes: Activity decreased in regions linked to internal mental chatter, suggesting more efficient brain function.
• Enhanced neuroplasticity: Blood plasma collected after the retreat encouraged lab-grown neurons to extend and form new connections.
• Metabolic shifts: Cells exposed to post-retreat plasma showed increased glycolytic (sugar-burning) metabolism, indicating improved metabolic flexibility.
• Natural pain relief: Levels of endogenous opioids, the body’s natural painkillers, rose following the retreat.
• Immune activation: Both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signals increased, pointing to a balanced and adaptive immune response.
• Gene and molecular signaling changes: Small RNA and gene activity shifted in ways linked to brain-related biological pathways.

Participants also completed the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ-30), which measures feelings such as unity, transcendence, and altered awareness during meditation. Scores increased from an average of 2.37 before the retreat to 3.02 afterward. Those who reported stronger mystical experiences also showed more pronounced biological changes, including greater coordination between different brain regions. This suggests that deeper subjective experiences may be tied to measurable changes in brain function.

The researchers found that the brain activity patterns observed after the retreat closely resembled those previously linked to psychedelic substances. “We’re seeing the same mystical experiences and neural connectivity patterns that typically require psilocybin, now achieved through meditation practice alone,” added Patel. “Seeing both central nervous system changes in brain scans and systemic changes in blood chemistry underscores that these mind-body practices are acting on a whole-body scale.”

The findings help explain how non-drug approaches like meditation may support overall health. By boosting neuroplasticity and influencing immune activity, these practices could improve emotional regulation, stress resilience, and mental well-being. The increase in natural pain-relief chemicals also points to potential applications for managing chronic pain.

Future studies will explore whether similar programs could help people with chronic pain, mood disorders, or immune-related conditions. The team also plans to examine how different elements of the retreat, including meditation, reconceptualization, and open-label placebo healing, contribute individually and together. Another key question is how long these biological changes last and whether repeated practice can strengthen or maintain them.

“This study shows that our minds and bodies are deeply interconnected — what we believe, how we focus our attention, and the practices we participate in can leave measurable fingerprints on our biology,” said first author Alex Jinich-Diamant, a doctoral student in the Departments of Cognitive Science and Anesthesiology at UC San Diego. “It’s an exciting step toward understanding how conscious experience and physical health are intertwined, and how we might harness that connection to promote well-being in new ways.”

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