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Olive Oil Hunter News #233

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Chicken Skillet Dinner Recipe, Spotlight on Chicken Thighs, Parboiling Potatoes, Fruit and Veggies for Better Sleep and Exercising A Cancer-Fighting Plan

Craving a flavorful meal that’s complex only in its taste? This dish with chicken thighs and potatoes fits the bill. Perfect for cooler weather, it’s hearty and satisfying. And, according to new research on sleep, its veggies may bring you closer to restful shut-eye—read about the correlation below. This issue’s other research recap is on a hopeful benefit of exercise: How it can help stymie the growth of cancer cells as part of an overall cancer-fighting plan.

Chicken Skillet Dinner

  • Olive Oil Hunter News #233 Chicken Skillet Dinner

    This double dose of chicken plus vegetables delights by affording rich flavor and cooks all in one pan.

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound fingerling or red potatoes, halved lengthwise
    • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
    • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 1 pound chicken thighs
    • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use
    • 8 ounces chicken sausage links, cut into 2″ slices
    • 8 ounces button mushrooms, halved
    • 1 yellow onion, halved and sliced into thin sections
    • 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
    • 1/2 teaspoon rosemary needles
    • 1 cup white wine
    • 2 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth

    Directions

    Step 1

    Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill three-quarters with water; add the tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.

    Step 2

    In a large bowl, mix the flour, teaspoon of salt, and pepper. Cut each chicken thigh into thirds and toss in the flour mixture to coat; place next to your stovetop.

    Step 3

    Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat. When hot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and add the sausage slices. Cook for 5 minutes, flip with tongs, and cook for another 5 minutes. Move the sausage to the outside of the pan and add the chicken thighs; brown them on all sides. Add the mushrooms and sauté until browned on the edges. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat and mushrooms to a bowl next to your stovetop.

    Step 4

    Add the rest of the olive oil and the onions to the hot skillet and cook for 5 minutes, until soft. Add the potatoes in one layer, sprinkle with the garlic and rosemary, and let cook undisturbed for 5 minutes to brown the edges; flip and repeat. Transfer the potatoes to the bowl with the meat and deglaze the skillet with the wine, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce by half. 

    Step 5

    Add the meat and vegetables back to the skillet along with the chicken stock. Bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and let the stock cook down until it thickens to a sauce and an instant-read thermometer registers 165°F when you test a few pieces of the thighs.

    Yields 4 servings

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Chicken thighs

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Chicken Thighs

I love the deeper flavor of chicken thighs and the convenience of skinless, boneless ones. However, roasting or baking with the bone in can be even more flavorful and less expensive—just pull off the skin when it’s not called for. 

Chicken thighs are a good source of protein, with about 27 grams per 4-ounce serving and just a moderate amount of fat. They’re also a good source of B vitamins and the minerals iron and zinc. 

Quick Kitchen Nugget: Parboiling Potatoes

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Parboiling Potatoes

Parboiling Potatoes

Skillet potatoes are delicious, but it can take quite a bit of time for the potatoes to cook through. Parboiling to the rescue—this short boil partially cooks the spuds, softening not only the inside but also the outside and releasing a layer of gelatinized starch that helps the potatoes crisp up when they’re transferred to a stovetop skillet to finish cooking. 

To parboil potatoes or any other hard vegetable, cut them as desired and add to a stockpot. Fill it three-quarters of the way with cold water and a tablespoon of coarse sea salt. Bring the water to a boil and set a timer for 7 minutes. You should be able to easily pierce a piece or two of potato with a fork, but they should not fall apart. If necessary, transfer them to layers of paper towels and blot dry.

For Your Best Health: Fruit and Veggies for Better Sleep

For Your Best Health

Fruit and Veggies for Better Sleep

We all know about the benefits of eating vegetables and fruit for overall health, but there’s another reason to add them to the menu today: sleeping more soundly tonight. “Dietary modifications could be a new, natural, and cost-effective approach to achieve better sleep,” said Professor Esra Tasali, MD, director of the UChicago Sleep Center and co-senior author of the study, “Higher daytime intake of fruits and vegetables predicts less disrupted nighttime sleep in younger adults,” published in Sleep Health: The Journal of the National Sleep Foundation.

Sleep disruptions can have far-reaching negative consequences, impacting cardiovascular and metabolic health, memory, learning, productivity, mood regulation, interpersonal relationships, and more. “The temporal associations and objectively measured outcomes in this study represent crucial steps toward filling a gap in important public health knowledge,” said Dr. Tasali.

Studies have shown that inadequate sleep can cause people to gravitate toward unhealthier diets that are higher in fat and sugar. However, despite the far-reaching effects of sleep on public health and even economic productivity, not all that much is known about how diet can affect sleep patterns. In previous observational studies, high fruit and vegetable intakes were associated with better self-reported overall sleep quality. However, this new study was the first to draw a temporal connection between a given day’s dietary choices and objectively measured sleep quality that same night.

Fruit and Veggies for Better Sleep

Healthy young adults who participated in the study reported their food consumption each day with an app and wore a wrist monitor that allowed the researchers to empirically measure their sleep patterns. The researchers, including scientists from Columbia University and the University of California San Diego, specifically looked at “sleep fragmentation,” an index that reflects how often someone awakens or shifts from deep to light sleep throughout the night. They found that each day’s diet was correlated with meaningful differences in the subsequent night’s sleep. Participants who ate more fruits and vegetables during the day tended to have deeper, more uninterrupted sleep that same night, as did those who consumed more healthy carbohydrates such as whole grains.

Based on their findings and statistical modeling, the researchers estimate that people who eat the CDC-recommended five cups of fruits and veggies per day could experience a 16% improvement in sleep quality compared to people who consume no fruits or vegetables.

“Sixteen percent is a highly significant difference,” Dr. Tasali said. “It’s remarkable that such a meaningful change could be observed within less than 24 hours.”

Future studies will help establish causation; broaden the findings across diverse populations; and examine the underlying mechanisms of digestion, neurology, and metabolism that could explain the positive impact of fruits and vegetables on sleep quality. But based on current data, the experts confidently advise that regularly eating a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables is best for long-term sleep health.

“People are always asking me if there are things they can eat that will help them sleep better,” says co-senior author Professor Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research at Columbia. “Small changes can impact sleep. That is empowering—better rest is within your control.”

Fitness Flash: Exercising A Cancer-Fighting Plan

Fitness Flash

Exercising A Cancer-Fighting Plan

A vigorous workout can spark anti-cancer proteins, cut cancer cell growth, and help survivors fight recurrence by reducing inflammation and improving body composition, according to new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU). ECU PhD student Francesco Bettariga found that a single bout of either resistance or high-intensity interval training increased levels of myokines, a protein produced by muscles, which have anti-cancer effects and that could reduce the proliferation of cancer growth by 20% to 30%. His research with survivors of breast cancer measured myokine levels before, immediately after, and 30 minutes after working out.

“Exercise has emerged as a therapeutic intervention in the management of cancer, and a large body of evidence exists that shows the safety and effectiveness of exercise as medicine, either during or post cancer treatment,” Bettariga said. “The results from this study are excellent motivators to add exercise as standard care in the treatment of cancer.”

While higher levels of myokines were expected in a healthy population after a vigorous workout, Bettariga investigated whether breast cancer survivors would see the same results, given the impact that cancer treatments and cancer itself often have on the body. He added that the long-term implications of elevated myokine levels should be further investigated, particularly in relation to cancer recurrence.

Further research by Bettariga investigated how changes in body composition, following consistent exercise, could impact inflammation, which plays a key role in breast cancer recurrence and mortality by promoting tumor progression. Persistent inflammation not only promotes tumor progression by influencing cell proliferation, survival, invasiveness, and metastasis but also inhibits immune function. Given that the cancer itself and the side effects of treatments can elevate levels of inflammatory biomarkers, survivors of breast cancer are at increased risk of cancer progression, recurrence, and mortality. 

“Strategies are needed to reduce inflammation, which may provide a less-supportive environment for cancer progression, leading to a lower risk of recurrence and mortality in survivors of breast cancer,” he explained. The new research found that by reducing fat mass, which is responsible for releasing anti- and pro-inflammatory markers, and increasing lean mass, through consistent and persistent exercise, cancer survivors had a better chance at reducing inflammation. Unfortunately, quick fixes to reduce fat mass would not have the same beneficial effects, Bettariga stressed when he said, “You never want to reduce your weight without exercising, because you need to build or preserve muscle mass and produce these chemicals that you can’t do through just diet alone.”

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The Mediterranean Diet shows significant benefit in chronic skin diseases

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Psoriasis, acne, and hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) are chronic inflammatory skin conditions characterized by systemic inflammation and periodic flare-ups. The Mediterranean Diet (MeDi), which emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, fish, and EVOO, has proven anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Here, we present recent evidence1 supporting that the MeDi, as part of a comprehensive treatment plan, may reduce the severity and flare-ups of these chronic skin conditions.

Psoriasis typically presents as itchy, red skin plaques, sometimes painful, with silvery borders. About 40% of people with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis, which can lead to irreversible joint damage.

Several studies show that closely following the MeDi is linked to lower psoriasis severity. (MeDi adherence was measured by scores on the 14-item PREDIMED food questionnaire.) People with the least adherence to the MeDi had the most severe psoriasis.

Notably, higher intake of EVOO and more consumption of fish (a main source of omega-3 fatty acids) were independently linked to less severe psoriasis and lower levels of CRP (C-reactive protein), a measure of inflammation. These findings suggest that both the MeDi as a whole, and the individual components of EVOO and fish, exert anti-inflammatory and protective effects in psoriasis via bioactive compounds, in particular MUFAs and vitamin D.

Acne has multiple contributing factors (genetic, environmental, bacterial) and, although it often emerges during adolescence, persists into the 20s and 30s in many people.

In a case-controlled study, participants with acne had significantly lower PREDIMED scores than did controls. Those with less severe acne were significantly more likely to consume EVOO, fish, and fruit; more severe acne was linked to lower adherence to the MeDi. (Another case-controlled study showed no significant association between the MeDi and acne severity.)

A separate study found that participants with higher MeDi adherence had lower systemic levels of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1), a protein that plays a key role in the development of acne.

HS is marked by painful lesions (boils) that often form in body areas with skin folds, such as the armpits, chest, and groin; these lesions can lead to scarring. Of all chronic skin conditions, HS has the most debilitating impact on quality of life.2

Three studies have confirmed a link between close adherence to the MeDi and lower HS disease severity. A large cross-sectional study found that consuming EVOO and choosing poultry over red meat were the main factors linking the MeDi to less severe HS in participants. Evidence indicates that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components of the MeDi—in particular, MUFAs, omega-3s, and polyphenols—can help reduce the severity of HS.

Key takeaway: The anti-inflammatory, antioxidant benefits of the MeDi distinguish it as a valid medical nutrition therapy (MNT) for the management of chronic inflammatory skin conditions, as
a holistic complement to pharmacological treatments.

References: 1. Annunziata G et al. Curr Nutr Reports. 2025;14(1):42. 2. Balieva F et al. Br J Dermatol. 2017;176(5):1170-1178.

Olive Oil Hunter News #200

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Ricotta Breakfast Cups Recipe, Spotlight on Local honey, Whole-Milk vs. Part-Skim Ricotta, Managing Pain with Diet and Benefits of A Gradual Exercise Increase

Welcome to our 200th Olive Oil Hunter Newsletter, and thank you for being part of our family. This issue’s recipe is a sweet break from breakfast yogurt-and-berry parfaits, as delish as they are. The creaminess of the ricotta, the sweetness of the pears, and the crunch of the nuts add up to a cup of bliss—so tempting you can serve it as dessert! To stay on track with your New Year’s wellness goals, you’ll want to read advice from the University of South Australia about diet quality and pain management and from Hackensack University Medical Center on increasing exercise without injury risk.

Ricotta Breakfast Cups

  • Ricotta Breakfast Cups Ricotta Breakfast Cups

    Giving ricotta a quick whirl in a food processor takes its creaminess to the next level. 

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup whole-milk or part-skim ricotta
    • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
    • 2 tablespoons sugar or sweetener equivalent
    • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 2 ripe pears
    • Lemon wedge
    • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
    • Honey to taste

    Directions

    Step 1

    Place the ricotta, olive oil, sugar, and cinnamon in the bowl of your food processor and process until completely smooth and creamy—between 2 and 5 minutes, depending on your machine. 

    Step 2

    Halve the pears, scoop out the seeds, and slice them into half-moons; squeeze some lemon juice over the pears to preserve their color. 

    Step 3

    Place a large spoonful of the ricotta cream at the bottom of each of the two glasses or individual bowls. Add a layer of pears and a sprinkling of nuts. Continue layering—you should have enough for three layers each of ricotta, pears, and nuts. Drizzle the tops with honey and olive oil. 

    Yields 2 servings

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Whole-Milk or Part-Skim Ricotta?

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Whole-Milk or Part-Skim Ricotta?

Taken as a whole, the body of research done on the merits and risks of whole-fat dairy foods—primarily milk, yogurt, and cheese—is still inconclusive. It’s confusing because these foods contain saturated fat, which—unlike the healthy unsaturated fat in extra virgin olive oil—should be limited to 10% of daily calories, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. (If you’re watching your cholesterol, the American Heart Association recommends getting just 5% to 6% of calories from saturated fat.) 

Some studies have found that dairy fat may not hurt heart health in the same ways the saturated fat in butter and red meat does. But deciding whether to choose whole-milk or part-skim ricotta depends on your unique circumstances, including your cholesterol level, how your body responds to saturated fat, and the guidelines you get from your healthcare provider, according to experts at the Mayo Clinic. What else you eat also matters—if your diet includes the recommended amounts of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and fish, some full-fat dairy may be just fine, at least on occasion.

Quick Kitchen Nugget: Local honey

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Local Honey

Local honey for health

With more than 300 types of honey available in the US, the art and science of beekeeping have never been more popular, and that means you may see local honey at your farmers’ markets and even in grocery stores. Local honey is strained to remove any impurities from the hive, but it’s not pasteurized and processed the way commercial honey is. Some people think that because it retains more nutrients, like antioxidants, it has health benefits—from easing a cough or sore throat to helping with allergies to healing burns. While the verdict isn’t yet in on all of honey’s powers, you might consider buying local honey just for its taste. 

For Your Best Health: Keeping Diabetes in Check

For Your Best Health

Managing Pain with Diet

Researchers at the University of South Australia (UniSA) explored the links between body fat, diet, and pain and found that eating more healthy foods—as outlined in the Australian Dietary Guidelines—was directly associated with lower levels of body pain, particularly among women. (According to the experts at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, these guidelines are similar to those in the US but recommend higher fruit and vegetable intake: 2 to 9 servings of vegetables and 1 to 5 of fruits, compared to the US guideline of 5 to 9 daily servings of vegetables and fruits in total.) 

Globally, about 30% of the population suffers from chronic pain, with women and people who are overweight or obese experiencing pain at higher rates. UniSA PhD researcher Sue Ward said the study shows how modifiable factors, such as diet, can help. “It’s common knowledge that eating well is good for your health and well-being. But knowing that simple changes to your diet could offset chronic pain could be life-changing,” she said. “In our study, higher consumption of core foods—which are your vegetables, fruits, grains, lean meats, dairy and alternatives—was related to less pain, and this was regardless of body weight. This is important because being overweight or obese is a known risk factor for chronic pain. Knowing that food choices and the overall quality of a person’s diet will not only make a person healthier but also help reduce their pain levels is extremely valuable.”

The UniSA findings also suggest that diet quality affects pain differently in men and women. 

“Women with better diets had lower pain levels and better physical function. But this effect was much weaker for men,” Ward said. 

“It’s possible that the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of the healthier core food groups are what reduces pain, but we can’t yet determine whether poorer diet quality leads to more pain or whether pain leads to eating a poorer quality diet,” added Ward. “A healthy, nutritious diet brings multiple benefits for health, well-being, and pain management. And while personalized pain management strategies should be adopted, a healthy diet is an accessible, affordable, and effective way to manage and even reduce pain.”

Fitness Flash: Exercise to Curb Appetite

Fitness Flash

A Gradual Increase

Nearly 4 in 5 people make New Year’s resolutions for better health, according to experts at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. For 32% of Americans, the focus is on improving diet; for 36%, it’s on boosting mental health; and for 48%, it’s on exercise for enhanced fitness. 

Research shows that only 9% of Americans who make resolutions complete them—23% quit by the end of the first week and 43% quit by the end of January, and the numbers continue to drop from there. One common reason people stop exercising is sustaining an injury. In early January, many people who have not regularly exercised pack gyms or begin new running or weight training routines. Without proper preparation and form, injuries can stop exercise-focused resolutions before they have the needed time to become habits. 

“When you go from 0 to 100 with your exercise routine, oftentimes, your body can’t handle it, your form is off, and you become prone to injuries,” said Matthew Counihan, MD, orthopedic sports medicine physician at Hackensack. “Muscle strains, shin splints, and joint and tendon injuries are common when going too hard with a new exercise routine. Injuries mean a person has to stop exercising to heal, and oftentimes, the routine isn’t resumed.”

To avoid injury, sports medicine experts say start slow and build gradually. “You don’t have to run a 5-minute mile on day one. Start with a walk around the block. Then, gradually increase your distance and speed. It’s the same with any exercise routine. Start with lighter weights and build up, for example,” Dr. Counihan said.

Exercise tips: gradually increase

Here are more tips from the physicians at Hackensack Meridian Health:

  • Get your doctor’s go-ahead first. It’s important to discuss a significant change in your exercise routine with your physician and address your readiness for physical activity and how to best prepare your body for it.
  • Find activities you love, whether running, cycling, swimming, yoga, weight training, or something else. An exercise routine is only as good as your commitment to it.
  • Stretch before and after working out, and set aside time to increase flexibility. This will prevent common sports injuries and keep you going well into the year. 
  • Focus on your form. Learn to do your chosen exercise properly—doing it wrong will cause injuries. Once you’ve mastered form, start adding distance, speed, or weight gradually. 
  • Mix up your exercise regimen. This promotes a healthy musculoskeletal system, which decreases the risk of an overuse injury. And don’t forget to rest on one day every week or so.
  • Massage sore muscles. When you start a new exercise routine, you’re bound to experience muscle soreness, tightness, or strain. Massaging sore joints and muscles can reduce tension, impact flexibility, increase blood flow, and decrease muscle stiffness.

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How EVOO Combats Heart Disease

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Part II: The Power of Polyphenols

A large body of evidence shows that daily consumption of EVOO can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Part I of this two-part series highlighted the contributions of oleic acid (OA). The other bioactive components of EVOO that protect against CVD are its more than 30 polyphenols.

Factors that contribute to CVD include oxidative stress, inflammation, cholesterol, blood-vessel function, and high blood pressure (hypertension). Below, we’ll look closely at the mechanisms by which polyphenols work in the body to modify and improve these factors.

What are polyphenols? Polyphenols are naturally occurring substances in many plants and fungi. Most polyphenols are antioxidants, which means they help neutralize chemical compounds formed in the body that can damage cells. Hydroxytyrosol (HT) has been identified as the polyphenol in EVOO that is essential in the prevention of CVD.

HT combats oxidative stress

Oxidative stress can cause cell mutations and has been identified as an underlying cause of multiple aspects of CVD. Injured tissues release ions—charged particles—that bind to oxygen, creating an excess of unstable molecules. As an antioxidant, HT directly neutralizes these unstable molecules, or reactive oxygen species (ROS). HT has also been shown to inhibit the cell damage produced by ROS and to enhance the antioxidant abilities of cells in the blood vessel walls.

Lowers inflammation

HT can block some of the processes that signal for cells to mount an inflammatory response. In this way, HT reduces the impact of inflammatory substances that are linked to oxidative stress as well as to impaired blood vessel function, a key risk factor for CVD.

Reduces “bad” cholesterol and improves “good”

Polyphenols reduce the amount of small molecules of LDL (“bad” cholesterol), which do the most damage. Polyphenols also help prevent LDL from forming plaques that build up in the arteries,
or atherosclerosis. In a 3-week clinical trial, HDL (“good” cholesterol) functioning improved significantly in healthy patients who consumed high-polyphenol EVOO, compared with low-polyphenol EVOO.

Protects the blood vessel lining and lowers blood pressure

Polyphenols help prevent damage to the endothelium, the inner lining of the blood vessel walls, by increasing the production of nitric oxide (NO), a vasodilator—a substance that relaxes the blood vessels. By enhancing the production of NO, polyphenols can improve endothelial function, protect against arterial stiffness, and lower blood pressure.

References: 1. Lu Y, Zhao J, Xin Q, et al. Food Science and Human Wellness. 2024;13:529-540. 2. Pandey KB, Rizvi SI. Plant polyphenols as dietary antioxidants in human health and disease. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2009;2(5):270-278. doi:10.4161/oxim.2.5.9498 3. Lobo V, Patil A, Phatak A, Chandra N. Pharmacogn Rev. 2010;4(8):118-126. 4. Hernáez Á, Fernández-Castillejo S, Farràs M, et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2014;34(9):2115-2119.