Olive Oil Hunter News #170

Horiatiki Salad Recipe and The MIND Diet for Brain Health: More Benefits of Olive Oil

I’m a huge fan of both Greek and Middle Eastern salads, the ingredients of which are not only delicious but also mainstays of the MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet, a way of eating designed for brain health. It’s an offshoot of the super-healthy Mediterranean diet and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. Why the distinction? Because the latest research on the MIND diet shows it can slow aging as well as reduce dementia risk. Add this to the list of the benefits of olive oil—it’s one of the super foods that MIND suggests including every day.

Horiatiki: The Sequel!

• Olive Oil Hunter News #229

  Peach Upside-Down Cake Recipe, Spotlight on Parchment Paper, Why Your Brain Sends Mixed Messages About Hunger, and Movement Over Meds for Insomnia

  There’s nothing quite like juicy ripe peaches at the height of summer…unless it’s combining them with my other love, tender olive oil cake. This twist on pineapple upside-down cake makes a spectacular dessert or breakfast cake for your next brunch. I’m also sharing two intriguing studies that could help people address common concerns: overeating and insomnia. 

  Peach Upside-Down Cake

  

  Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

  Parchment Paper

  While not an edible ingredient, parchment is integral to numerous recipes, from baked goods to roasted vegetables. When many of us grew up, foil was the go-to for lining pans, but we now know that some of its metal can leech into foods. What’s more, foil needed oiling to keep food from sticking. I love parchment because it’s safer, plus it already has nonstick properties and can be used for cooking methods up to 400 or 450°F (check the label information before buying).

  Foil remains a great way to line a rimmed sheet pan when you’ll be elevating food with a rack, like a V-shaped one for roasting a turkey or a flat woven one for making bacon—easy-peasy cleanup.

  

  

  Quick Kitchen Nugget

  Prepping with Parchment

  It can be confusing: You use parchment to avoid sticking, yet some cake recipes say to oil or butter the pan and the paper. What gives? Lightly prepping the pan before placing the parchment gives the paper an anchor so it won’t slip out of place when you add batter, for instance. Oiling the paper makes it that much easier to peel it off after cooking. This is especially important with an upside-down cake because you’re trying to keep the fruit pattern intact. It also helps when making layer cakes—you want each layer to be as smooth and uniform as possible, without any nicks that could mar the finish.

  

  For Your Best Health

  Why Your Brain Sends Mixed Messages About Hunger 

  A team of scientists from University of Southern California (USC) has identified specialized neurons in the brain that store meal memories, encoding not just what food was eaten but when it was eaten to help the brain remember eating times and foods and regulate eating behavior by communicating with hunger-related areas of the brain. When these memory traces are disrupted, we’re more likely to overeat because we can’t recall recent meals, like the lunch we ate just a few hours earlier, triggering excessive hunger and leading to disordered eating. The research, published in Nature Communications, not only uncovered a critical neural mechanism but could also lead to new strategies for treating obesity by enhancing memory around food consumption.

  During eating, neurons in the ventral hippocampus region of the brain become active and form what the team of researchers called “meal engrams”—specialized memory traces that store information about the experience of food consumption. “An engram is the physical trace that a memory leaves behind in the brain,” said Scott Kanoski, PhD, professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and corresponding author of the study. While scientists have long studied engrams for their role in storing memories and other experiences in the brain, the new study identified engrams dedicated to meal experiences.

  “Meal engrams function like sophisticated biological databases that store multiple types of information such as where you were eating as well as the time that you ate,” added Dr. Kanoski.

  To reach their findings, the research team used advanced neuroscience techniques to observe the brain activity of laboratory rats as they ate, providing the first real-time view of how meal memories form. The meal memory neurons are distinct from brain cells involved in other types of memory formation. When researchers selectively destroyed these neurons, lab rats showed impaired memory for food locations but retained normal spatial memory for non-food-related tasks, indicating a specialized system dedicated to meal-related information processing. The study revealed that meal memory neurons communicate with the lateral hypothalamus, a brain region long known to control hunger and eating behavior. When this hippocampus-hypothalamus connection was blocked, the lab rats overate and could not remember where meals were consumed.

  Dr. Kanoski said it can be assumed that a human’s brain would undergo a similar phenomenon. When someone’s attention is focused elsewhere, like on a phone or television screen, these critical encoding moments are compromised. “The brain fails to properly catalog the meal experience,” said Lea Decarie-Spain, PhD, postdoctoral scholar at USC Dornsife and the study’s first author, “leading to weak or incomplete meal engrams.”

  The discovery has immediate relevance for understanding human eating disorders. People with memory impairments, like dementia or brain injuries that affect memory formation, may often consume multiple meals in quick succession because they cannot remember eating. Distracted eating, like mindlessly snacking while watching television or scrolling on your phone, may impair meal memories and contribute to overconsumption.

  Dr. Kanoski said the findings could eventually inform new clinical approaches for treating obesity and weight management. Current weight management strategies often focus on restricting food intake or increasing exercise, but the new research suggests that enhancing meal memory formation could be equally important. “We’re finally beginning to understand that remembering what and when you ate is just as crucial for healthy eating as the food choices themselves,” he said.

  

  Fitness Flash

  Movement Over Meds for Insomnia

  Having trouble sleeping? According to a large analysis comparing various treatments completed by Asian scientists and published in the online journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, yoga, Tai Chi, walking, and jogging may be some of the best natural remedies for improving sleep and tackling insomnia.

  Characterized by difficulties falling and staying asleep along with early morning awakening, the prevalence of insomnia ranges from 4% to 22% of the population, noted the researchers. It is associated with heightened risks of various mental and physical health conditions, including dementia and cardiovascular disease. Drug treatments for insomnia are not without their side effects, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), while effective, isn’t always available due to the shortage of trained therapists.

  An emerging body of research has suggested that exercise is helpful, but current guidelines don’t specify which types of exercise might be most beneficial. The researchers set out to plug this knowledge gap. They scoured research databases for relevant randomized clinical trials published up to April 2025 and included 22 in a network meta-analysis, a statistical technique used to simultaneously compare multiple interventions.

  The trials totaled 1,348 participants and 13 different treatment approaches to ease insomnia, seven of which were exercise-based: yoga, Tai Chi, walking or jogging, aerobic plus strength exercise, strength training alone, aerobic exercise combined with therapy, and mixed aerobic exercises. These programs ranged from 4 to 26 weeks in length. The other approaches included CBT, sleep hygiene, Ayurveda, acupuncture/massage, nothing, and existing treatment, such as usual care and/or lifestyle changes with durations ranging from 6 to 26 weeks. Validated scoring systems for sleep quality and insomnia severity, as well as subjective and objective measures of total sleep time, sleep efficiency (percentage of time spent asleep while in bed), number of awakenings after going to sleep, and time taken to fall asleep (sleep latency) were used to assess sleep patterns.

  Compared with existing treatment, CBT is likely to result in a large increase in total sleep time based on subjective sleep diary data. It may also improve sleep efficiency and shorten the amount of time spent awake after falling asleep, as well as sleep latency, with sustained improvements, the findings suggest. But some of the exercise-based interventions also seemed to be effective when compared with existing treatments.

  Yoga may potentially lead to an increase in total sleep time of nearly two hours and may improve sleep efficiency by nearly 15%. It may also reduce the amount of time spent awake after falling asleep by nearly an hour and shorten sleep latency by around half an hour.

  

  Walking or jogging may result in a large reduction in insomnia severity of nearly 10 points, while Tai Chi may reduce poor sleep-quality scores by more than four points, increase total sleep time by more than 50 minutes, and reduce time spent awake after falling asleep by over half an hour. It may also shorten sleep latency by around 25 minutes. Further in-depth analyses revealed that Tai Chi performed significantly better on all subjectively and objectively assessed outcomes than existing treatments for up to two years.

  There are potentially plausible biological explanations for the findings, said the researchers. With its focus on body awareness, controlled breathing, and attentional training, yoga may alter brain activity, thereby alleviating anxiety and depressive symptoms that often interfere with a good night’s sleep. Tai Chi emphasizes breath control and physical relaxation and has been shown to decrease sympathetic nervous system activity, dampening down hyperarousal. Its combination of meditative movement and mindfulness may promote emotional regulation, deactivate mental chatter, and reduce anxiety. It may also help curb the production of inflammatory chemicals over longer periods. Walking or jogging may improve sleep by increasing energy expenditure, curbing cortisol production, improving emotional regulation, boosting secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin, and enhancing the amount of deep sleep.

  The researchers acknowledged that 15 of the included trials contained design and methodological flaws. And there were no standardized, quantifiable metrics for the frequency or intensity of exercise interventions, while the sample sizes of some of the studies were small. Nevertheless, they concluded, “The findings of this study further underscore the therapeutic potential of exercise interventions in the treatment of insomnia, suggesting that their role may extend beyond adjunctive support to serve as viable primary treatment options…Given the advantages of exercise modalities such as yoga, Tai Chi, and walking or jogging—including low cost, minimal side effects, and high accessibility—these interventions are well suited for integration into primary care and community health programs.”

  Get More Recipes In Your Inbox!
• Peach Upside-Down Cake

  Juicy peaches and tender olive oil-based vanilla cake make the perfect summertime sweet treat. Feel free to get as artful as you’d like with the peach arrangement, but there’s no need to peel them.

  Ingredients

  For the peaches:

  • 4 medium peaches (more if needed)
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar

  For the batter:

  • 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
  • 1-1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1/2 cup white or golden whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

  For serving:

  • Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream (optional)

  Directions

  Step 1

  Halve the peaches and slice each half into thin wedges. Place in a large bowl and squeeze on the juice from the lemon half, then toss with the brown sugar. 

  Step 2

  Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly brush the bottom and sides of a 9″ springform pan with olive oil, line with parchment paper, and lightly brush the parchment with olive oil. Starting from the outer rim, arrange the peaches in concentric circles on the bottom of the pan; set aside. 

  Step 3

  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. 

  Step 4

  Beat the eggs and sugar until thick and light yellow in color (if you have a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment for all the mixing). Slowly add the 3/4 cup olive oil, yogurt, ricotta, and vanilla. On the lowest speed, add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed. 

  Step 5

  Carefully pour the batter over the peaches and use an offset spatula to smooth the top. Bake for about 60 minutes, until the cake is golden and firm to the touch and the blade of a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean (start testing after about 45 minutes). Let cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then carefully run an offset spatula around the pan ring, then take off the ring. Place a 10″ or 12″ serving dish over the cake and invert it. Lift off the pan bottom and gently peel away the parchment. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream or cold with whipped cream if desired.

  Yields 10 servings

• Olive Oil Hunter News #228

  Burrata and Stone Fruit Salad Recipe, Spotlight on Plums, Storing Stone Fruit, Is Black Coffee the Secret to a Longer Life, and Matching Workouts to Your Personality

  ’Tis the season … for stone fruit, that is. Nature’s bounty of plums, apricots, and peaches is at its height in late summer, and a composed salad is a fantastic way to enjoy them—no cooking required! Love your morning joe? I’m sharing new insights into its health benefits and why, in order to reap benefits from exercise, it’s so important to focus on activities you truly enjoy.

  Burrata and Stone Fruit Salad

  

  Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

  Plums

  Rich in antioxidants thanks to their high flavonoid content, plums deserve a place on your fruit list, and with dozens of varieties available, you can have fun hunting for the ones you like best. Of course, the deeper the color—which comes from its anthocyanins, a type of flavonoid—the more benefits you’ll reap. Plums are anti-inflammatory, have a respectable amount of fiber, and may even help keep blood sugar levels on an even keel. Eating dried plums, AKA prunes, has been linked to better bone health, too. Just avoid those with added sugar and limit quantities since they’re high in calories.

  

  

  Quick Kitchen Nugget

  Storing Stone Fruit

  Peaches, plums, and apricots can be stored at room temperature until ripe. If you’re not yet ready to eat them, move them to the fridge—that buys you a few days, though they may not taste as sweet. An ideal vessel is an empty egg carton (paper, not plastic or foam) because it offers cushioning to avoid bruising and moisture absorption to avoid mold.

  

  For Your Best Health

  Is Black Coffee the Secret to a Longer Life?

  Coffee might be doing more than fueling your morning routine—it could be extending your life. But here’s the catch: The benefits drop when sugar and saturated fats like cream are added in excess.

  In a new observational study, published online in The Journal of Nutrition, researchers from the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University found that having one to two cups of caffeinated coffee per day was linked to a lower risk of death from all causes and death from cardiovascular disease, but that the benefits dropped depending on what was added to it.

  Black coffee and coffee with low levels of added sugar and saturated fat were associated with a 14% lower risk of all-cause mortality as compared to no coffee consumption. The same link was not observed for coffee with high amounts of added sugar and saturated fat.

  “Coffee is among the most-consumed beverages in the world and, with nearly half of American adults reporting drinking at least one cup per day, it’s important for us to know what it might mean for health,” said Fang Fang Zhang, PhD, senior author of the study and the Neely Family Professor at the Friedman School. “The health benefits of coffee might be attributable to its bioactive compounds, but our results suggest that the addition of sugar and saturated fat may reduce the mortality benefits.”

  

  The study analyzed data from nine consecutive cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2018, linked to National Death Index Mortality Data. The study included a nationally representative sample of 46,000 adults aged 20 years and older who completed valid first-day 24-hour dietary recalls. Coffee consumption was categorized by type (caffeinated or decaffeinated), sugar, and saturated fat content. Mortality outcomes included all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Low added sugar (from granulated sugar, honey, and syrup) was defined as under 5% of the Daily Value, which is 2.5 grams per 8-ounce cup or approximately half a teaspoon of sugar. Low saturated fat (from milk, cream, and half-and-half) was defined as 5% of the Daily Value, or 1 gram per 8-ounce cup or the equivalent of 5 tablespoons of 2% milk, 1 tablespoon of light cream, or 1 tablespoon of half-and-half.

  In the study, consumption of at least one cup per day was associated with a 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality. At two to three cups per day, the link rose to 17%. Consumption beyond three cups per day was not associated with additional reductions, and the link between coffee and a lower risk of death by cardiovascular disease weakened when coffee consumption was more than three cups per day. No significant associations were seen between coffee consumption and cancer mortality.

  “Few studies have examined how coffee additives could impact the link between coffee consumption and mortality risk, and our study is among the first to quantify how much sweetener and saturated fat are being added,” said first author Bingjie Zhou, a recent PhD graduate from the nutrition epidemiology and data science program at the Friedman School. “Our results align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend limiting added sugar and saturated fat.”

  Limitations of the study include the fact that self-reported recall data is subject to measurement error due to day-to-day variations in food intake. The lack of significant associations between decaffeinated coffee and all-cause mortality could be due to low consumption among the population studied.

  

  Fitness Flash

  Matching Workouts to Your Personality 

  According to researchers at University College London (UCL), the key to sticking with and reaping the rewards of exercise over the long term, like boosting fitness and slashing stress, may be as simple as doing activities you enjoy and that align with your personality.

  Previous research showed that the personalities of people who engage in different types of organized sport tend to vary. But what was less clear was how personality affects the types of exercise people actually enjoy doing. The new study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, explored whether individual personality traits corresponded to the enjoyment of different types of exercise, whether participants completed a prescribed exercise program, and the subsequent impact on their fitness levels.

  Flaminia Ronca, PhD, associate professor at the UCL Institute of Sport, Exercise, and Health, and first author of the study, said, “We know that the global population is becoming increasingly sedentary. You often hear about people trying to become more active but struggling to make lasting changes. In this study, we wanted to understand how personality can influence this to support the development of effective interventions for changes in health behavior. We found some clear links between personality traits and the type of exercise the participants enjoyed most, which I think is important because we could potentially use this knowledge to tailor physical activity recommendations to the individual and hopefully help them to become and remain more active.”

  For the study, the team assessed 132 volunteers from the general public with a range of fitness levels and backgrounds, who were assigned either to an 8-week cycling and strength training program (the intervention group) or to a resting control group. There were three weekly cycling sessions that varied in intensity: a 60-minute light ride at an easy pace, a 30-minute threshold ride at a moderate but sustainable effort, or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) where the level of exertion varied.

  Participants’ benchmark fitness levels were assessed at the beginning of the program. Strength was tested using press-ups, performing a plank to failure, and countermovement jumps (jumping again immediately after landing). This was followed by a low-intensity cycling session for 30 minutes, then a cycling test to measure peak oxygen capacity (V̇O₂ max test) after a short rest.

  The team also assessed participants’ perceived stress levels on a scale of 1 to 10, as well as their personality traits using the Big 5 model, a common personality test in the field of sport and exercise psychology that groups people according to whether their dominant trait is extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, or openness. During the exercise program, participants were asked to rate their enjoyment of each exercise session. 

  Their fitness level was tested again once the program had been completed. Of the 132 starters, 86 people completed the intervention and all of these participants got fitter and stronger regardless of personality. While not all personality traits had a link to exercise enjoyment, several connections were uncovered by the study:

  • Extroverts tended to particularly enjoy high-intensity exercise, such as HIIT and a fitness test of maximum-intensity cycling.

  • Those with a strong neuroticism trait engaged well with the exercise intervention but preferred bursts of intensity rather than prolonged intensity. They also preferred not being monitored, such as not having their heart rate recorded while undertaking the program, suggesting that these individuals might appreciate being given space for independence and privacy when engaging in exercise.

  • Those who were conscientious tended to have a well-rounded fitness level, meaning that they tended to score more highly on aerobic fitness as well as core strength, and were generally more physically active. However, conscientiousness didn’t predict higher enjoyment of a specific form of exercise. The authors said this might be because conscientious individuals tend to be driven by the health-related outcomes of engaging in physical activity rather than enjoyment, suggesting that adherence to the program may be less about enjoyment than because it was good for them.

  At the beginning of the study, the stress levels of the intervention group and the control group were similar. However, the only group to experience a significant reduction in stress levels after exercising were those who scored highly in the neuroticism trait. “This suggests that there may be particular benefits in stress reduction for those with this trait,” said Professor Paul Burgess, PhD, professor of cognitive neuroscience and an author of the study.

  The researchers concluded that the most important thing people can do to improve their activity levels is to find something that they enjoy, which will make it more likely that they’ll stick with it.

  Get More Recipes In Your Inbox!
• Burrata and Stone Fruit Salad

  This dish is delicious any time of day—from breakfast to dessert. I love to mix different varieties of the same fruit, such as yellow, red, and purple plums, and white and yellow peaches, but most important is to buy local for the sweetest, freshest fruits.

  Ingredients

  For the dressing:

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons honey, preferably a variety local to your area
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar of Modena

  For the salad:

  • 2 plums
  • 2 peaches
  • 4 apricots
  • 1/4 lemon 
  • 1 fresh burrata
  • Fresh thyme, oregano, or basil leaves
  • Black pepper

  Directions

  Step 1

  Make the dressing by whisking together the oil, honey, and balsamic; set aside.

  Step 2

  For the salad, halve the fruit, remove the pits (the “stones”), and slice into wedges. Place in a large bowl and squeeze on the juice from the lemon.

  Step 3

  To compose the salad, cut the burrata in half and center a half on each of two plates. Arrange the fruit around the cheese and drizzle with the dressing. Top with fresh herbs and a few twists of black pepper from your grinder.

  Yields 2 servings

• Olive Oil Hunter News #227

  Chinese Eggplant with Tangy Garlic Sauce Recipe, Spotlight on Chinese Eggplant, Does Cheese Fuel Nightmares, plus Maximizing the Mood Benefits of Exercise 

  Eating your veggies is more fun when you tingle your tastebuds with new sensations. If you’ve never tried Chinese eggplant, you’ll be surprised at how versatile it is. It takes on the flavors of the other ingredients in a recipe, making it a wonderful vehicle for the sweet and tangy Asian sauce I’m sharing. An interesting study at the Université de Montréal found a connection between being lactose intolerant and having nightmares—it’s a real eye-opener! And when it comes to exercise, certain factors can have a big impact on how much your mood benefits from working out.

  Chinese Eggplant with Tangy Garlic Sauce

  

  Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

  Chinese Eggplant

  If you don’t think you like eggplant, give this long, thin variety a try. Chinese eggplants cook up quickly and have a milder taste than the traditional, bulbous variety because they have far fewer seeds. Traditionally deep-purple hued, they’re also available in white and striped versions. There’s no need to peel them, and they can be sliced in a variety of ways, making them a versatile addition to stir-fries and other recipes.

  

  

  Quick Kitchen Nugget

  Prepping Eggplant

  Like many other vegetables, including mushrooms, Chinese eggplant can easily absorb oil during stovetop cooking, so make sure your pan is hot before you get started. Sweating them to reduce their moisture content and giving them a light coating of cornstarch, as described in the above recipe, will keep them from turning soggy. When roasting, just lightly brush the eggplant pieces with olive oil before placing in the oven. 

  

  For Your Best Health

  Does Cheese Fuel Nightmares? 

  Although folk beliefs have long held that what you eat affects how you sleep, there’s very little evidence to prove or disprove them. To investigate, researchers from the Université de Montréal in Canada surveyed 1,082 students at MacEwan University about sleep time and quality, dreams and nightmares, and any perceived association between different kinds of dreams and different foods. They also asked about participants’ mental and physical health and their relationship with food. 

  About a third of respondents reported regular nightmares. Women were more likely to remember their dreams and to report poor sleep and nightmares, and nearly twice as likely as men to report a food intolerance or allergy. About 40% of participants said that they thought eating late at night or specific foods affected their sleep, and roughly 25% thought particular foods could make their sleep worse. People who ate less healthily were more likely to have negative dreams and less likely to remember dreams. 

  Most participants who blamed their bad sleep on food thought that sweets, spicy foods, or dairy were responsible. Only a comparatively small proportion—5.5% of respondents—felt that what they ate affected the tone of their dreams, but many of these people said they thought sweets or dairy made their dreams more disturbing or bizarre.

  

  When the authors compared reports of food intolerances to reports of bad dreams and poor sleep, they found that lactose intolerance in particular was associated with gastrointestinal symptoms, nightmares, and low sleep quality. It’s possible that eating dairy activates gastrointestinal disturbance and the resulting discomfort affects people’s dreams and the quality of their rest.

  “Nightmares are worse for lactose-intolerant people who suffer severe gastrointestinal symptoms and whose sleep is disrupted,” said Tore Nielsen, PhD, lead author of the article, which was published in Frontiers in Psychology. “This makes sense, because we know that other bodily sensations can affect dreaming. Nightmares can be very disruptive, especially if they occur often, because they tend to awaken people from sleep in a dysphoric state. They might also produce sleep avoidance behaviors. Both symptoms can rob you of restful sleep. These new findings imply that changing eating habits for people with some food sensitivities could alleviate nightmares. They could also explain why people so often blame dairy for bad dreams …We are routinely asked whether food affects dreaming, especially by journalists on food-centric holidays,” said Dr. Nielsen. “Now we have some answers.”

  Besides the robust link between lactose intolerance and nightmares, however, it’s not clear how the relationship between sleep and diet works. It’s possible that people sleep less well because they eat less well, but it’s also possible that people don’t eat well because they don’t sleep well, or that another factor influences both sleep and diet. Further research will be needed to confirm these links and identify the underlying mechanisms. In the meantime, the researchers suggest that simple diet tweaks, especially ditching late-night cheese, could turn scary sleep into sweet rest.

  

  Fitness Flash

  Maximizing the Mood Benefits of Exercise 

  Movement helps your mood, but it’s not one-size-fits-all. Researchers have known that exercising for fun, with friends, or in enjoyable settings brings greater mental health benefits than simply moving for chores or obligations. But a recent study done at the University of Georgia suggests that it’s not just physical movement that affects mental health. Their findings emphasize that context—who you’re with, why you’re exercising, and even the weather—can make or break the mood-boosting effects and may be more important than the actual amount of exercise you get.

  “Historically, physical activity research has focused on how long someone exercises for or how many calories were burned,” said Patrick O’Connor, PhD, co-author of the study and a professor in the Mary Frances Early College of Education’s department of kinesiology. “The ‘dose’ of exercise has been the dominant way researchers have tried to understand how physical activity might influence mental health, while often ignoring whether those minutes were spent exercising with a friend or as part of a game.”

  While research shows that leisure-time physical activity, like going for a run, taking a yoga class, or biking for fun, correlates with better mental health outcomes, these benefits may vary significantly depending on the environment and circumstances surrounding the activity, according to the researchers. They reviewed three types of studies: large-scale epidemiological studies that examined health patterns in populations, randomized controlled trials where some groups received exercise treatments and others did not, and a much smaller but growing set of investigations into “contextual factors.” For instance, multiple studies have found that people who engage in regular leisure-time physical activity tend to report lower levels of depression and anxiety. But it’s less clear for other forms of activity like cleaning the house or working for a lawn care company. Where the evidence is thinnest but potentially most important is in understanding contextual factors. 

  Context may matter as much as the intensity or amount of physical activity. “For example, if a soccer player runs down the field and kicks the game-winning ball, their mental health is fantastic,” Dr. O’Connor said. “In contrast, if you do the exact same exercise but miss the goal and people are blaming you, you likely feel very differently. Anecdotes such as these show how context matters even when people are performing a similar exercise dose.” In other words, the same physical activity can feel very different depending on who the activity was done with, as well as where, when, and how. 

  Context can range from peer dynamics and instructor style to external conditions like weather or time of day. “If you’re outside and it’s hot, and you’re having to walk to work, that’s part of the context,” he said. “Or if you go and take a group exercise class—some instructors you really like, and some you don’t. So, that’s also part of the context. If we’re trying to help people’s mental health with exercise, then not only do we need to think about the dose and the mode, we also need to ask: What is the context?”

  Numerous randomized controlled trials have shown that adopting regular exercise routines boosted mental health, especially for people with mental health disorders. However, these studies were typically based on small, short-term, and homogenous samples, so the results likely aren’t generalizable to larger, more diverse groups. “The average effects on mental health are small across all the randomized controlled studies of exercise, and that’s partly because most of the studies focused on people who were not depressed or anxious—you do get bigger effects in those studies,” explained Dr. O’Connor. “We’re communicating to scientists that larger and longer-term controlled studies are needed to make a compelling case whether exercise does, or does not, truly impact mental health.”

  For Dr. O’Connor, the takeaway is already clear: It’s not just movement that matters. It’s the meaning, the setting, and the experience surrounding the activity that determines the impact of exercise on mental health.

  Get More Recipes In Your Inbox!
• Chinese Eggplant with Tangy Garlic Sauce

  I particularly love the sauce for the eggplant—try it on chicken, pork, and Asian noodles, too. A common misconception is that olive oil is too flavorful for Asian cooking, but that myth was dispelled some time ago by Melissa Wong, a great friend of the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club and a consummate foodie. You’ll read more about Melissa in the Pressing Report that comes with our next quarterly shipment of olive oils—she’s the force behind one of my amazing Australian selections. If you’re not currently a member of the Club, please click here to join now, so you don’t miss my sumptuous trio of Oz oils in September.

  Ingredients

  For the sauce:

  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch 
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes, more to taste
  • 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce 

  For the eggplant:

  • 2 small purple or white Chinese eggplant (about 8 ounces), sliced into 1/2-inch discs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced

  Directions

  Step 1

  Make the sauce: In a small dish, dissolve the cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water; set aside. Heat a saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the olive oil, garlic, and ginger, and cook until the aromatics soften. Add in the rice wine vinegar, sugar, water, chili flakes, and soy sauce. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Add in the cornstarch mixture and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat. 

  Step 2

  Make the eggplant: To extract excess water, place the eggplant discs in a colander set over a bowl and toss with the salt. After 15 minutes, rinse with cold water, then pat dry with paper towels.

  Step 3

  Heat a large skillet or flat-bottom wok. Coat the eggplant discs with the cornstarch. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil, garlic, and ginger and cook until the aromatics soften (don’t let them burn). Add the eggplant in a single layer and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes, then flip and continue cooking until brown on both sides. 

  Step 4

  Transfer the eggplant to a serving bowl and top with 1/2 cup sauce; serve the rest separately.

  Yields 4 servings

• Olive Oil Hunter News #226

  Tropical Shrimp Salad Recipe, Spotlight on Shrimp, Choosing and Deveining Shrimp, Fasting to Manage Type 2 Diabetes, plus Weight Gain Despite Exercise

  When it comes to classic warm-weather dishes, shrimp salad is often at the top of the list. But when summer’s heat is raging, the traditional mayo dressing can feel heavy. This recipe pairs shrimp with sweet mango and creamy avocado for a tropical taste sensation. Need to tweak your diet for better diabetes control? A new study compared three top options to uncover the best option, while other research I’m sharing found that too many calories rather than a lack of exercise is what’s behind weight gain.

  Tropical Shrimp Salad

  

  Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

  Choosing Shrimp

  According to the National Fisheries Institute, each American eats about 5 pounds of shrimp a year. To meet the demand both here and around the world, many countries, including Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Vietnam, farm shrimp for export, often under conditions that could be unsafe and hard to check on. Farmed shrimp clustered in ponds require antibiotics and chemicals to ward off diseases—they’re not only in these shrimp, but they also leech into waterways, raising concerns for the environment. One positive step forward is recirculating farms, which are in early stages in the US, that raise shrimp in large indoor tanks or under hoop houses.

  For a variety of reasons, many people choose wild-caught shrimp over farm-raised. The shrimp may be healthier, but there has been the problem of bycatch—other fish and sea creatures that get caught in shrimp nets. Fortunately, more sophisticated equipment and innovations have reduced bycatch amounts in some waters, especially in the Gulf of Mexico and around Oregon’s pink shrimp fishery.

  While there’s no single right answer, you can look for packaging that bears the label of an organization that looks out for consumers. The Marine Stewardship Council or MSC is the main certifier of sustainable wild fisheries, and 36 shrimp fisheries currently carry its blue fish label. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watchis a program that provides science-based recommendations about which seafood to buy based on sustainability. 

  Also to keep in mind: Whole Foods stores have their own standards for both wild shrimp and farmed shrimp. The company’s standards for farm-raised shrimp ban antibiotics and preservatives and prohibit the conversion of sensitive ecosystems such as mangrove forests into shrimp farms, a practice that has devastated parts of Southeast Asia. 

  

  Quick Kitchen Nugget

  Deveining Shrimp

  

  What looks like a vein running the length of a shrimp’s back is actually its digestive tract. If the shrimp ate before getting caught, the tract can be very noticeable. Though it might be safe albeit gritty to eat, many people like to “devein” their shrimp before cooking. Allow yourself a few minutes: since you’ll be using a sharp knife, you don’t want to rush through the process, which is simple enough.

  Once the shrimp is peeled, simply run the tip of a paring knife down the length of its back to expose the digestive tract and then pop it out. Rinse the shrimp under cold water and place it in a colander before moving to the next one.

  

  For Your Best Health

  Fasting to Manage Type 2 Diabetes

  A new study from the Endocrine Society is the first to compare three popular diets head-on—intermittent fasting (also known as 5:2 intermittent energy restriction or IER), time-restricted eating (TRE), and calorie cutting (continuous energy restriction or CER). 

  Researchers found that all three can help people with type 2 diabetes lose weight and lower blood sugar, but one diet stood out: intermittent fasting. This involves eating normally five days a week and restricting calories on the other two. It led to better results in fasting blood sugar, improving insulin sensitivity, lowering triglycerides, and sticking with the plan.

  “The research fills a gap in directly comparing 5:2 intermittent energy restriction with 10-hour time-restricted eating in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. The findings provide scientific evidence for clinicians to choose appropriate dietary strategies when treating such patients,” said Haohao Zhang, PhD, chief physician at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, China. 

  Dr. Zhang and colleagues performed a single-center, randomized, parallel-controlled trial at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from November 19, 2021, to November 7, 2024. Ninety patients were randomly assigned to one of the three diet plans, with consistent weekly caloric intake across all groups. A team of nutritionists supervised the 16-week intervention.

  At the end of the study, there were no significant differences in HbA1c reduction and weight loss between the IER, TRE, and CER groups. However, the absolute decrease in HbA1c and body weight was greatest in the IER group. The IER group had the highest adherence rate at 85%, followed by the CER group at 84% and the TRE group at 78%. Dr. Zhang said these findings highlight the feasibility and effectiveness of dietary interventions for people who have obesity and type 2 diabetes.

  

  Fitness Flash

  Weight Gain Despite Exercise 

  

  We aren’t moving less—we’re just eating more, according to a Duke University study showing that diet, not laziness, is fueling the obesity epidemic across industrialized nations. Our diet, not our activity level, is what has changed the most. 

  “Despite decades of trying to understand the root causes of the obesity crisis in economically developed countries, public health guidance remains stuck with uncertainty as to the relative importance of diet and physical activity. This large, international, collaborative effort allows us to test these competing ideas. It’s clear that changes in diet, not reduced activity, are the main cause of obesity in the US and other developed countries,” said Herman Pontzer, PhD, principal investigator with Duke University’s Pontzer Lab, part of the department of evolutionary anthropology at the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.

  The researchers analyzed thousands of measurements of daily energy expenditure, body fat percentage, and body mass index from adults aged 18 to 60 across 34 populations spanning six continents. The more than 4,200 adults included in the study came from a wide range of lifestyles and economies, including hunter-gatherer, pastoralist, farming, and industrialized populations. To further categorize the level of industrialization, the researchers also integrated data from the United Nations Human Development Index to incorporate measures of lifespan, prosperity, and education.

  “While we saw a marginal decrease in size-adjusted total energy expenditure with economic development, differences in total energy expenditure explained only a fraction of the increase in body fat that accompanied development. This suggests that other factors, such as dietary changes, are driving the increases in body fat that we see with increasing economic development,” said Amanda McGrosky, PhD, a Duke postdoctoral alumna and lead investigator for the study, now an assistant professor of biology at Elon University.

  The researchers hope the study helps clarify public health messaging and strategies to tackle the obesity crisis and explain that the findings do not mean that efforts to promote physical activity should be minimized. Instead, the data support an emerging consensus that both diet and exercise should be prioritized. “Diet and physical activity should be viewed as essential and complementary, rather than interchangeable,” the study noted. The researchers will next work to identify which aspects of diet in developed countries are most responsible for the rise in obesity.

  Get More Recipes In Your Inbox!
• Tropical Shrimp Salad

  This shrimp salad refresh uses a light vinaigrette to bring out the flavors of the shellfish as well as the mango and avocado. For ease, zest the citrus fruits before juicing them.

  Ingredients

  For the vinaigrette:

  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons lime zest
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley

  For the salad:

  • 1 pound jumbo or extra-large shrimp, preferably wild caught, peeled and deveined if needed
  • 1 large ripe mango, diced
  • 1 large ripe avocado, diced
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 6 cups mixed lettuces such as arugula, radicchio, and green leaf, rough chopped

  Directions

  Step 1

  Boil the shrimp in a large pot of salted water until they turn pink, 3 to 5 minutes; drain and set aside to cool.

  Step 2

  In a small bowl, whisk together the zests, juices, honey, and soy sauce. Keep whisking as you drizzle in the olive oil. Fold in the cilantro or parsley.

  Step 3

  In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, mango, avocado, and tomatoes. Drizzle on half the vinaigrette and toss gently. 

  Step 4

  Divide the lettuces among four plates and top with equal amounts of the shrimp mixture. Pass the rest of the vinaigrette separately.

  Yields 4 servings

• Olive Oil Hunter News #225

  Caprese Bites Recipe, Spotlight on Summer Squash, Foods that Lower Blood Pressure plus Exercise and Vitamin D Levels

  Have a bumper crop of summer squash? Turn a Caprese salad into succulent morsels wrapped in slices of summer squash for a great light meal or party-ready hors d’oeuvres. If you’re a tea or chocolate lover, you’ll be pleased to read about the effects of a micronutrient found in them as well as in apples and grapes. Summer is a great time to add to vitamin D stores—a new study outlines how to better maintain levels come winter.

  Caprese Bites

  

  Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

  Summer Squash

  Whether you’re choosing yellow squash or zucchini, these thin-skinned veggies are very versatile—they can be enjoyed raw or cooked and don’t need peeling. A key difference between the two varieties is size. While most yellow squash are on the short side, zucchini can be short or long, thick or thin. Similarities include their nutritional profile with good amounts of vitamins A and C, potassium and magnesium, and fiber. When shopping, choose firm vegetables without soft spots and treat them with care because those thin skins can get nicked or bruised easily.

  

  

  Quick Kitchen Nugget

  Storing Summer Squash

  Summer squash will keep for up to a week in the crisper drawer of your fridge, wrapped in paper towel and then in a cloth vegetable bag for protection. 

  

  For Your Best Health

  Foods that Lower Blood Pressure

  

  A study from the University of Surrey in the UK has found that naturally occurring compounds called flavan-3-ols, a subgroup of flavanols, may improve blood pressure and the health of blood vessels. The research, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, analyzed data from 145 randomized controlled studies and found that regular consumption of flavan-3-ols, found in cocoa, tea, apples, and grapes, can lead to a reduction in blood pressure readings, particularly in people with elevated or high blood pressure. In some cases, the average blood pressure-lowering effects were comparable to those seen with some medications.

  Flavan-3-ols were also found to improve the function of the endothelium, the inner lining of blood vessels, which is crucial for overall cardiovascular health. This improvement occurred independently of blood pressure changes, suggesting a broader positive impact on the circulatory system.

  “The findings are encouraging for those looking for accessible ways to manage their blood pressure and support their heart health through enjoyable dietary changes,” said Dr. Christian Heiss, lead author of the study and professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Surrey. “Incorporating small amounts of commonly consumed foods like tea, apples, dark chocolate, or cocoa powder into a daily balanced diet could provide beneficial amounts of flavan-3-ols. While not a replacement for prescribed medications or medical advice, including more flavan-3-ol-rich foods in a daily routine could be a valuable addition to a healthy lifestyle, especially for those with higher blood pressure. These are findings that, although promising, require ongoing investigation.”

  

  Fitness Flash

  Exercise and Vitamin D Levels

  With all its outdoor activities, summer is a great time to naturally boost the body’s vitamin D levels. But how can you maintain those levels come winter? A study from the University of Bath, University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge, and others in the UK, published in Advanced Science, has found that regular moderate-intensity exercise helps maintain crucial vitamin D levels during the darker months.

  Participants who were either overweight or obese and who completed a 10-week indoor exercise program over winter experienced significantly smaller drops in vitamin D levels compared to those who didn’t exercise, even though their body weight was deliberately maintained. The program involved four sessions per week: two treadmill walks, one longer steady-state bike ride, and one high-intensity interval bike session.

  Notably, exercise completely preserved the body’s active form of vitamin D (1,25(OH)₂D₃), which plays a key role in supporting bone health, the immune system, and various organs. Previous studies suggested that vitamin D supplements alone do not help maintain this active form.

  Key findings:

  • People who exercised saw a smaller drop in their overall vitamin D levels over winter—about 15 percent compared to a 25 percent drop in those who didn’t exercise.
    
  • Those who exercised kept healthy levels of the active form of vitamin D, which helps support the immune system and bone health.
    
  • Weight was kept stable throughout the study, indicating the effect was due to exercise—not weight loss.

  To ensure sunlight didn’t skew the results, the study ran between October and April, when natural vitamin D production from sunlight is minimal in this part of the UK, and participants were asked to avoid supplements.

  A previous study from the team showed that a single workout can briefly boost vitamin D levels. This is the first one to show that regular cardio exercise can maintain basal circulating vitamin D levels and offer lasting protection during the winter months.

  As Oly Perkin, PhD, lead author and lecturer from the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism at the University of Bath explained, this is the first study to show that exercise alone can protect against the winter dip in vitamin D. It’s a powerful reminder that we still have lots to learn about how exercise benefits our health.

  Get More Recipes In Your Inbox!
• Caprese Bites

  Baked summer squash strips are perfect for making finger food roll-ups. For this recipe, I’m filling them with the ingredients of a classic Caprese salad, one of my favorite seasonal dishes. Try to choose squash that are the same thickness from tip to base.

  Ingredients

  • Two 6- or 7-inch yellow summer squash or zucchinis
  • Extra virgin olive oil 
  • Coarse sea salt
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, more as needed, halved
  • Basil leaves, to taste
  • Garlic chives (optional)
  • Balsamic vinegar of Modena
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  Directions

  Step 1

  Preheat your oven to 375°F. Use the straight blade of a box grater or a mandoline to slice the squash into lengths about 1/8-inch thick. Each squash should yield about 8 slices.

  Step 2

  Arrange the squash slices on a rimmed sheet pan lined with parchment paper and lightly brush with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 15 minutes until soft but not browned. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool.

  Step 3

  Cut the mozzarella into thin lengths; they should be about the width of each squash slice and a third as long. Center a piece of mozzarella on a squash length, top with a cherry tomato half, pressing it in to anchor it, and then with a basil leaf. Roll up the squash and tie it with a chive or secure it with a toothpick. Arrange the bites on a serving dish and drizzle with balsamic and more olive oil. Sprinkle on salt and black pepper to taste.

  Yields 4 to 8 servings

For Your Best Health

The MIND Diet for Brain Health: More Benefits of Olive Oil

According to a new study from researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and The Robert Butler Columbia Aging Center, a very specific brain-boosting diet has been linked to reduced dementia risk and a slower pace of aging. The study, “Diet, Pace of Biological Aging, and Risk of Dementia in the Framingham Heart Study,” published in the Annals of Neurology, also explains how the diet helps slow down the processes of biological aging.

“Much attention to nutrition in dementia research focuses on the way specific nutrients affect the brain,” said Daniel Belsky, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology and a senior author of the study. “We tested the hypothesis that healthy diet protects against dementia by slowing down the body’s overall pace of biological aging.”

The researchers used data from the second generation of the Framingham Heart Study, the Offspring Cohort. Participants were 60 years of age or older and free of dementia and had available dietary, epigenetic, and follow-up data. Follow-up was done at nine examinations, approximately every 4 to 7 years, which included a physical exam, lifestyle-related questionnaires, blood sampling, and, starting in 1991, neurocognitive testing. Of 1,644 participants included in the analyses, 140 developed dementia. 

To measure the pace of aging, the researchers used an epigenetic clock called DunedinPACE developed by Dr. Belsky and colleagues at Duke University and the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The clock measures how fast a person’s body is deteriorating as they grow older, “like a speedometer for the biological processes of aging,” explained Dr. Belsky.

“We have some strong evidence that a healthy diet can protect against dementia,” said Yian Gu, PhD, associate professor of neurological sciences at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the other senior author of the study, “but the mechanism of this protection is not well understood.” Past research linked both diet and dementia risk to an accelerated pace of biological aging. “Testing the hypothesis that multi-system biological aging is a mechanism of underlying diet-dementia associations was the logical next step,” explained Dr. Belsky.

The research determined that higher adherence to the MIND diet slowed the pace of aging as measured by DunedinPACE and reduced risks for dementia and mortality. Furthermore, slower DunedinPACE accounted for 27% of the diet-dementia association and 57% of the diet-mortality association.

“Our findings suggest that slower pace of aging mediates part of the relationship of healthy diet with reduced dementia risk, and therefore, monitoring pace of aging may inform dementia prevention,” said first author Aline Thomas, PhD, of the Columbia Department of Neurology and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain. “However, a portion of the diet-dementia association remains unexplained, therefore we believe that continued investigation of brain-specific mechanisms in well-designed mediation studies is warranted.”

“We suggest that additional observational studies be conducted to investigate direct associations of nutrients with brain aging, and if our observations are also confirmed in more diverse populations, monitoring biological aging may indeed inform dementia prevention,” noted Dr. Belsky.

Exactly What Is the MIND Diet?

MIND is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH diets, tailored to reflect key findings from nutrition and dementia research. It details serving sizes of specific foods to focus on and which to limit, primarily those high in saturated fat, which is known to negatively affect brain health. 

Foods and portions to eat every day: 1/2 to 1 cup green leafy vegetables, 1/2 cup other vegetables, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, and three 1-ounce servings of whole grains. 

Foods and portions to eat over the course of each week: 5 ounces nuts, 2-1/2 cups berries, 1-1/2 cups legumes, two 3-to-5-ounce servings of skinless poultry, and 3-to-5 ounces fish.

Foods to limit to these weekly totals: three or fewer 3-to-5-ounce servings of red and processed meats, 1 ounce whole-fat cheese, 1 fried or fast food, and 4 sweet servings. If desired, no more than 1 teaspoon of butter or stick of margarine a day.