Soccer players are lining up for a fiery kick — not on the pitch, but in the form of a searing shot of olive oil from Cyprus.
The peppery, throat-burning liquid is part of a performance revolution driven by a small plant in Cyprus that produces early harvest olive oil packed with inflammation-busting polyphenols.
Soccer players taking the shot are convinced it helps them recover faster and play harder, said olive oil producer Nick Schizas, who used to be a FIFA-licensed agent representing players from across the world.
Photo: Reuters
“They were coming back with much more energy. They were recovering quicker between their games, between their training, and without me pushing them they were coming back asking for more,” Schizas said of his old life in soccer.
He has teamed up with soil engineer Nicolas Netien to start a small business marketing oil pods under the Oleaphen brand. They supply sportspeople including soccer players in the prestigious English Premier League and a cycling team participating in the Tour de France.
The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits come from picking the olives before they are ripe, when they still contain high levels of polyphenols.
Photo: Reuters
Netien and Schizas are producing such oils at an interesting time. Researchers from two Cypriot universities would this year launch clinical studies on the performance of Cypriot soccer players taking doses of high phenolic olive oil, hoping to add to a growing body of evidence on its health potential.
They would also measure the benefits to gut microbiome.
At an olive mill in Larnaca, Cyprus; Netien, who says that he has produced oil with the highest recorded polyphenol content, closely follows the extraction process.
Churning produces a polyphenol called oleocanthal, which he calls “the most natural, powerful anti-inflammatory in the world.”
This early harvest oil contains 30 times more polyphenols than extra virgin olive oil, and 100 times more oleocanthal. To keep those compounds intact, Oleaphen uses single-dose seaweed-based pods instead of bottles, preventing oxidation and waste.
Netien said what they are doing is a modern revival of an old practice.
“There’s a tradition in the Mediterranean, especially in Greece and Cyprus, of doing some olive oil really early in the season ... and this oil was kept at home to be used as a medicine,” he said. “It’s not new. It’s thousands of years old.”
Jesper Boqvist on Tuesday scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period as the Florida Panthers, after raising their second straight NHL Stanley Cup banner, opened the defense of the title by beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. Mackie Samoskevich — getting his second assist, the fifth two-point game of his career — chipped the puck toward the goal and Boqvist knocked it out of the air for the lead with 10 minutes, 20 seconds left. A.J. Greer and Carter Verhaeghe also had goals for Florida, who got 17 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. Frank Nazar had a goal and an assist and Teuvo
Mexico’s teenage playmaker Gilberto Mora has lit up the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile as he basks in the limelight afforded by the absences of Barcelona and Real Madrid stars Lamine Yamal and Franco Mastantuono. “I don’t know if I’m the biggest star, and I’m not really interested in that. I think you can always give more,” 16-year-old Mora said before Mexico’s 4-1 win against host nation Chile in the round-of-16 on Tuesday, in which he provided the assist for the opening goal. Next on Mora’s schedule is a quarter-final clash against Argentina this morning Taiwan time, but after
World No. 3 Alexander Zverev on Monday said that he was playing “terrible tennis” after he was knocked out of the Shanghai Masters by France’s Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. His exit leaves Novak Djokovic as the tournament’s top-ranked player, increasing the 38-year-old Serb’s chances of winning a record-extending fifth title in the Chinese financial hub. In stifling conditions, world No. 54 Rinderknech came back from a set down to stun an increasingly rattled Zverev into submission. It is the second time the Frenchman has beaten him, after bundling him out of Wimbledon earlier this year. A despondent Zverev told reporters the match had
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Nathan Lukes hit a two-run single and Addison Barger had three of Toronto’s 12 hits as the Blue Jays bounced back After taking down the storied New York Yankees in their own ballpark in their American League Division Series on Wednesday, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider was ready to revel in the triumph. “Start spreading the news,” Schneider said while popping a bottle of bubbly to set off the Blue Jays’ jubilant celebration inside their Yankee Stadium clubhouse. With the party under way, the familiar lyrics from Frank Sinatra’s version of New York, New York — the Yankees’ long-time victory anthem — sounded in the background as roaring Toronto players sprayed each other with booze in the Bronx. This time, it was their
RSS