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It could be said that olive oil is having a moment. Jennifer Lopez has been publicly crediting the stuff for her preternaturally radiant 51-year-old skin (though the social media jury isn’t entirely convinced); cool, niche olive oil companies like Brightland are making a bottle of it more giftable than ever; and, amidst a growing wave of fad eating strategies, the Mediterranean diet, which has always cast olive oil in a starring role, was voted the best overall diet by US News & World Report for the third year in a row.
So while many new wellness brands tend to clamor for the latest buzzy ingredient, upstart Saint Supply is hedging its bets on this tried-and-true superfood instead. Its first product, dubbed Living Elixir, is an olive oil meant to be consumed, by itself, on a daily basis.
Founder Vicky Vlachonis, an L.A.-based osteopath, credits her own olive oil devotion both to her Greek roots (she’s from Athens originally) and her 20-plus years working in integrative medicine. The benefits of creating daily rituals is something Vlachonis extols in her 2014 book The Body Doesn’t Lie, and Saint Supply (which benefits from the additional expertise of Nancee Jaffe as its lead dietitian and Dr. Fola May, a gastroenterologist and clinical researcher, as its scientific advisor) is rooted in that same idea. But Living Elixir is no ordinary store-bought oil: it comes from olives that are judiciously hand-picked from rare, centuries-old trees in the Olympia region of southern Greece. It also, in its chic matte black bottle, happens to be very easy on the eyes. “It’s the champagne of olive oil,” quips Vlachonis. “Our Living Elixir has ten times more polyphenols than other olive oils.” The oil’s levels of polyphenols (a group of antioxidants that offer protection from free radical damage), plus its squalane, plant sterols, and Vitamin E, are all analyzed and validated within three hours of bottling by the most up-to-date laboratory testing, adds Vlachonis. “These rare organic olives are basically giving us the powerhouse of these supportive vital nutrients and antioxidants,” she says. So what exactly do they support? A lot, it turns out. Saint Supply’s supercharged olive oil, which has a velvety mouthfeel and a pleasing peppery bite, maintains a healthy heart, supports the immune system (more important than ever nowadays), aids in relaxation (also more important than ever nowadays), improves mental clarity, promotes healthy digestive function, and soothes inflammation. “And the squalane works to stimulate healthy collagen connectivity, and that’s the skin elasticity that delays the signs of aging on the skin,” Vlachonis adds.
