The 10th Olympia Health & Nutrition Awards ceremony for very healthy extra virgin olive oil took place in Athens on June 26. With this event, the non-profit World Olive Center for Health continued its efforts to promote high phenolic olive oil and its health benefits in 2025. Scientific advances were discussed, and award winners and donors were honored.

In this 10th anniversary year of the Olympia Awards, more than 900 olive oil samples were tested at the University of Athens for their levels of naturally-occurring health-protecting phenolic compounds. Over 500 producers from 12 countries received awards for producing olive oils eligible for the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) health claim.

In 2012, EFSA approved a health claim about olive oil that states, “olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress.” As University of Athens Associate Professor Prokopios Magiatis explains, this implies “protection of LDL cholesterol from oxidation, and consequently protection from heart attack and stroke.” EFSA specified that this claim may be used only for olive oils containing “at least 5mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives (e.g. oleuropein complex and tyrosol) per 20mg of olive oil.” This includes oleacein and oleocanthal.

20 Years of Clinical Studies on High Phenolic Olive Oil

Magiatis provided an overview of clinical studies conducted over the past 20 years that provide compelling evidence that high phenolic extra virgin olive oil (HPEVOO) can help fight cancer, degenerative diseases of the central nervous system, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems, and the effects of obesity and prediabetes.

According to Magiatis, “after twenty years of systematic research by dozens of scientists around the world, the road to the pharmacy for olive oil phenols has been definitively opened.” In fact, several types of products based on high phenolic olive oil have been sold in pharmacies for a number of years. More recently, the world’s first dietary supplement with isolated phenols extracted from olive oil and put into capsule form—a product developed by Greek scientists—has become available in pharmacies under the brand name Thousand Olives.

High Phenolic Olive Oil Research Results in 2025

Results from the world’s first clinical trial of this formulation of olive oil phenols in capsule form showed that it can help combat metabolic syndrome. Professor Georgios Samoutis from the University of Nicosia presented the results of a trial with 100 patients. The impressive findings showed statistically significant improvements in cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, uric acid, body mass index, and liver and kidney function, as well as a reduction in physical and mental fatigue and a significant improvement in patients’ sense of well-being. The results of this study provide the first evidence that the beneficial effects of olive oil are mainly related to the phenols it contains. This paves the way for olive oil phenols’ use in medicine.

Additional encouraging news came from Dr. Nicoleta Madelou of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She described animal studies conducted at the Greek National Research Foundation and the Pasteur Institute that revealed that olive oil phenols can slow or stop the division and growth of several types of cancer cells. Furthermore, the animal studies suggest that olive oil phenols can greatly reduce the side effects of chemotherapy when co-administered with anti-cancer drugs. Additional studies are planned.

Considering the effect of olive oil on cognitive abilities, Professor Amal Kaddoumi presented the results of experimental and clinical studies she is conducting at Augusta University in Georgia, USA. She reported that olive oil, and in particular the phenolic compounds it contains, have beneficial effects on Alzheimer’s disease and on improving memory. Studies have yielded promising results in relation to biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease, the function of the blood brain barrier, memory, and sleep quality.

Other Olive Research and News

At the Olympia Awards ceremony at the Eleon Loft, where the ancient olive grove of Athens once stood, Greek agronomist George Kostelenos presented groundbreaking findings that highlight the Aegean region as the cradle of systematic olive cultivation worldwide, starting more than 5,000 years ago. Kostelenos presented data showing that the shape and size of an olive seed can indicate whether an olive tree is cultivated or wild. To date, the oldest samples coming from cultivated trees have been found in the Aegean region.

In addition, Dan Flynn, founder and executive director emeritus of the University of California Davis Olive Center, provided an overview of new olive oil production methods. These methods are presented in a manual that covers all aspects of olive production for oil. The book was published last year by the University of California, with Flynn acting as one of the contributing editors.

High Phenolic Olive Oil Awards for 2025

Moving on to the awards ceremony, Dr. Eleni Melliou, president of the World Olive Center for Health, introduced this year’s awards for high phenolic olive oil producers and donors, as well as scholarships for doctoral candidates (which are provided with the support of the Leventis Foundation). Two companies received Olympia Awards to recognize their financial support for research on the anticancer effect of olive oil phenols: Laconiko (the Pierrakos family, based in Virginia, USA) and Pamako (Eftychios Androulakis, based in Crete, Greece).

Extra virgin olive oils with enough of the specified phenols to use EFSA’s health claim received bronze Olympia Health & Nutrition awards, while HPEVOOs that exceeded the health claim requirements earned silver or gold awards. HPEVOO is produced from olives that are harvested while still unripe—thus yielding less oil—and processed very soon after the harvest, with careful attention to “best practices” at all stages of cultivation and production. This involves a decision to aim for quality and health benefits rather than quantity.

The EVOOs that were richest in health-protecting phenols captured special Top Gold awards. These went to Atsas Organic Products (Cyprus), Laconiko (USA-Greece), and the three best in Greece, Olive Poem, The Greek Olive Estate, and–with the highest phenol content worldwide this year–Sparta Original Greek EVOO from D. Sakkas.

About the World Olive Center for Health

The World Olive Center for Health (WOCH) was founded in 2018 by an international group of university professors, with the aim of certifying olive oils that meet the criteria for the European Union health claim, educating producers on how to create healthier olive oil, and supporting scientific research on the health benefits of olive products, with the aim of increasing their economic value. WOCH continues this work in Athens, with participation from producers and scientists from numerous countries on five continents.

Thanks to the World Olive Center for Health for the photos used with this article.

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