Post: Olive Waste Product Could Have Major Health Benefits

Liquid that is produced when olives are turned into olive oil could offer major health benefits, but it is currently being thrown away and damaging the environment.

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) is produced when olives are washed, crushed, mixed with water, and the oils extracted, leaving an array of byproducts, including OMW: a dark bitter, acidic liquid with an intense odor.

OMW contains a very high level of nutritional compounds that pose a risk to the environment—killing plants and microorganisms, and upsetting the balance of ecosystems in rivers, lakes and soils—but could offer major benefits to human health.

"The exciting thing about olive mill wastewater is it takes something that was a waste, costing money to treat, to dispose of, and turns it into something useful, and even something profitable," nutrition scientist Dr. Emma Beckett, of the University of New South Wales, told Newsweek . Main image, a machine washes olives. Inset, fresh virgin olive oil flows into a tank at a cold press factory. During olive oil production, byproducts such as olive mill wastewater is produced, which could have… "The power of the OMW is in the bioactives; they are the chemicals in foods that have health benefits but aren’t essential nutrients.

"Olives have lots of these, and these are part of why olive oil is good for us, but lots are water soluble, and are left in this waste."

Olive oil has been linked with a variety of health benefits because of these bioactive compounds, particularly as a significant part of the Mediterranean diet , associated with longevity and a reduced risk of diseases linked to inflammation, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, various cancers, and heart disease.

"We get bioactives from all our fruits, vegetables and wholegrains, so whether or not we need OMW is debatable," said Beckett. "But humans generally aren’t eating enough plant foods for health, so my mind is open to options that motivate people to access bioactives."

OMW contains many of the same compounds as olive oil, sometimes in much higher amounts.

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Olive Waste Product Could Have Major Health Benefits