Former Sports Agent Uses High-Phenolic Olive Oil to Support Athlete Recovery

In Cyprus, former sports agent Nick Schizas believes that concentrated doses of extra virgin olive oil can help support recovery and performance in professional athletes.

In the ancient Greek world, early-harvested olive oil was often used like a medicine because people recognized its effects on the body.– Nick Schizas, founder, Oleaphen

Schizas, a British-born Cypriot who later turned to olive oil production, said the idea originated after watching his father use high-phenolic olive oil to address mobility issues.

“This goes back to 2014 when I was working as an agent for professional footballers,” Schizas told Olive Oil Times.

He recalled that his father, then in his seventies, began taking high-phenolic olive oil daily.

“Within a couple of weeks his movement improved, his energy came back, and he stopped relying on a walking stick around the farm,” Schizas said. “I started to wonder: if olive oil with high phenols has that kind of impact on someone older, what can it do for athletes who are pushing their bodies every day?”

That same year, Schizas produced a small batch of extra virgin olive oil from his family grove in Cyprus’s Solea region and began distributing it to footballers he represented.

“They came back asking for more,” he said. “The consistent feedback was around recovery, reduced soreness and feeling ready again sooner after games and training.”

A few years later, Schizas partnered with Nicolas Netien, a French soil biologist specializing in regenerative agriculture and polyphenols.

Together, they developed Oleaphen, a single-dose high-phenolic olive oil supplement packaged in edible seaweed pods. The products are now used by athletes in Cyprus and England’s Premier League.

“At the time, Nicolas was already pushing olive polyphenol levels that nobody else was achieving,” Schizas said. “He developed his own methods through years of work in regenerative and permaculture farming, combined with a very precise approach to olive oil extraction.”

According to Schizas, customers now include athletes in football, swimming, cycling, basketball, volleyball, boxing and bodybuilding. Team doctors and nutrition professionals have also incorporated the supplements into training and recovery programs.

“We produce a single-dose, ultra high-phenolic olive oil,” Schizas said. “It is positioned as a health supplement rather than a culinary olive oil.”

The product carries a health claim under EU Regulation 432/2012, which states that olive oil polyphenols, including hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives, contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress.

To qualify for the claim, olive oils must contain at least 250 milligrams of polyphenols per kilogram. Schizas said the company’s oil exceeds that threshold by approximately nine times.

“This is one of the reasons it has attracted so much interest from athletes, longevity specialists and health professionals,” he said.

The olives are sourced from the family grove and from other growers across Cyprus who follow cultivation protocols based on regenerative farming practices.

Schizas said those methods stem from Netien’s research into the microorganisms that support higher polyphenol production through their relationship with olive trees.

“The microorganisms feed the trees and help build their polyphenols, which are essentially the immune system of the trees,” he said.

The olives are harvested early while still green, refrigerated immediately and transported to the mill within hours.

According to Schizas, controlling temperature throughout harvesting and milling is essential because olive polyphenols are sensitive to oxygen, heat and light.

“From there, the extraction process itself becomes just as important as the farming,” he said.

“We use proprietary extraction methods developed by Nicolas over many years, where temperature control, oxygen exposure, timing and handling of the olive paste are all managed extremely precisely to maximize and protect olive polyphenols during extraction.”

The partners have also moved away from bottles in favor of edible seaweed capsules, arguing that repeated exposure to air can gradually degrade polyphenol content after a bottle is opened.

“A single-dose system protects each serving until the moment it is used,” Schizas said.

He added that athletes using the supplements have reported improvements in their Hooper Index scores, a measure that includes fatigue, stress, sleep quality, muscle soreness and overall wellness.

“The feedback is very consistent,” Schizas said. “Reduced reliance on anti-inflammatories, better recovery, improved day-to-day energy levels and fewer aches and pains are probably the most common themes we hear.”

He noted that some athletes have replaced routine use of ibuprofen with olive oil supplements.

Research highlighted by Olive Oil Times has suggested that concentrated extracts of extra virgin olive oil may exhibit anti-inflammatory properties comparable to or greater than ibuprofen in certain laboratory settings.

The company is also collaborating with the University of Cyprus and the CYENS Centre of Excellence in Nicosia on a clinical study involving a first-division football team.

“The upcoming study will measure how our ultra high-phenolic olive oil affects inflammation, oxidative stress, hormonal response, including testosterone and cortisol, muscle recovery, physical performance and cognitive function in football players during the competitive season,” Schizas said.

He believes the project builds on knowledge that has existed throughout the Mediterranean for generations.

“Olive oil has always been part of Mediterranean life,” Schizas said. “In the ancient Greek world, as well as among past generations, early-harvested olive oil was often used like a medicine because people recognized its effects on the body.”

“What has changed today is the level of understanding and precision we have when it comes to realizing the benefits of olive oil,” he concluded.