Hydroxytyrosol: a hidden gem in olive oil

Everyone knows about the health benefits of olive oil, due to its composition. It contains fatty acids and antioxidants, like polyphenols, including hydroxytyrosol.

Hydroxytyrosol is a highly bioavailable phytochemical with powerful antioxidant properties, which is why most of the health benefits of olive polyphenols are attributed to it.

What benefits does it provide?

Numerous studies have shown that regularly consuming hydroxytyrosol provides numerous health benefits:

• It helps to prevent cardiovascular diseases like hypertension thanks to its cardioprotective properties that inhibit the oxidation of LDL lipoproteins. It also inhibits the platelet aggregation that occurs in thrombosis, and protects cells from cell death induced by reactive oxygen intermediates.
• It has anti-inflammatory properties as it lowers serum levels of inflammatory cytokines and increases the levels of anti-inflammatory ones.
• It helps to prevent ageing thanks to its powerful antioxidant properties, delaying cell ageing processes and helping to delay the appearance of wrinkles, sagging and blemishes.
• It has antimicrobial effects as it helps to combat various types of bacteria, virus and fungus.
• It helps to prevent cancer due to its chemopreventive properties (designed to reduce the risk of/delay cancer or prevent it from returning). This is because it is able to prevent the initiation and promotion phases of carcinogenesis.
• It helps to protect the skin against UV radiation by significantly reducing DNA strand breaks caused by this radiation.
• It prevents neurodegenerative diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s. Hydroxytyrosol provides antioxidant protection against oxidative damage caused by various types of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in nerve tissue.
• It helps to prevent age-related vision loss, since in addition to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, it has protective properties for the pigment epithelium.

How can I consume hydroxytyrosol?

It is therefore important to know that hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives are almost exclusively found in fresh olives and extra virgin olive oil, since when the oil is refined (loses its bitterness) it loses its concentration and composition.

Most of the products that benefit our health are found in foods, herbs and plants. But in many cases the amounts needed to obtain these benefits would have to be so high that it would be impossible to consume them.

Commission Regulation (EU) 432/2012 on “health properties of food” recommends consuming at least 5 milligrams of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives every day.

One way to ensure that you get your recommended daily intake is to boost your diet with 100% natural food supplements. Keriba Duo is a supplement composed of natural extracts obtained from fresh whole olives and pomegranates, which is highly concentrated in their natural polyphenolic antioxidants, hydroxytyrosol and punicalagins, respectively. One capsule a day provides 10 mg of hydroxytyrosol and 110 mg of punicalagins. Natural extracts are obtained using physical extraction methods only, without using organic solvents or any other chemicals, so their properties remain intact.

The amount of hydroxytyrosol and punicalagins in two capsules of Keriba Duo is equivalent to consuming 5 whole fresh pomegranates and half a litre of extra virgin olive oil!