How To Be WellnStrong

99: The Olive Oil Molecule That Targets Cancer Cells | Dr. Limor Goren, PhD

• Jacqueline Genova • Episode 99

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Join me as I sit down with Dr. Limor Goren — cancer researcher, molecular biologist, and founder of Kyoord — to explore olive oil’s powerful health benefits. Dr. Goren, renowned for her work on oleocanthal, a potent polyphenol in high-phenolic olive oil, has shown how it selectively punctures cancer cell lysosomes, triggering cell death while sparing healthy cells. In this episode, we discuss what polyphenols are, their healing properties, and how high-oleocanthal olive oils are made — plus tips for choosing the best one for your kitchen. From groundbreaking research to sourcing award-winning oils in Corfu, Greece, Dr. Goren’s journey offers a science-backed look at how one simple ingredient can transform your health.

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This episode is proudly sponsored by: Kyoord

Kyoord makes small-batch Greek olive oils that are exceptionally rich in polyphenols—powerful compounds shown to fight inflammation, support brain health, and protect against chronic disease. It’s the brand I personally use and trust daily, and you can try it yourself at kyoord.com with code WELLNSTRONG for 10% off your first order.


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Kyoord makes small-batch Greek olive oils that are exceptionally rich in polyphenols—powerful compounds shown to fight inflammation, support brain health, and protect against chronic disease. It’s the brand I personally use and trust daily, and you can try it yourself at kyoord.com with code WELLNSTRONG for 10% off your first order.

This episode is proudly sponsored by: Sizzlefish

Let’s talk about fueling your body with the best nature has to offer. If you’re looking for premium, sustainable seafood delivered straight to your door, you need to check out Sizzlefish! Head to sizzlefish.com and use my code “wellnstrong” at checkout for an exclusive discount on your first order. Trust me, you’re going to taste the difference with Sizzlefish!



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[00:00:00]
 Jac: Welcome to the podcast, How to Be Well and Strong. I'm your host, Jacqueline Genova, and I'm excited to have you join me as I speak with some of the leading figures in the fields of wellness, integrative medicine, and mental health as we discover what it truly means to be well and strong in both body and mind. Get ready to be empowered, inspired, and motivated to be an advocate for your own health.

Join me as I sit down with Dr. Limor Goren, cancer researcher, molecular biologist, and founder of Kyoord, to explore one of nature's most powerful foods for health: olive oil. Dr. Goren holds a PhD in molecular biology and is recognized for her groundbreaking work on oleocanthal, a potent polyphenol found in high-phenolic olive oil with remarkable anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties.

She's dedicated her career to uncovering how this compound selectively targets and destroys cancer cells. Her research has shown [00:01:00] that oleocanthal punctures cancer cell lysosomes—the cell’s waste-disposal organelles—causing them to rupture and triggering rapid cell death, a process that spares healthy cells.

In this episode, Dr. Limor and I discuss what polyphenols really are, their healing properties, and how high-oleocanthal olive oils are made—plus tips to help you choose the right one for your own kitchen. From groundbreaking research to sourcing award-winning high-phenolic olive oil from a small farm in Corfu, Greece, Dr. Goren's journey is both inspiring and eye-opening. This conversation will give you a science-backed look at how one simple ingredient can profoundly impact your health. Let's get into it.

Jac: Well, Dr. Limor, just to kick things off, there is so much I want to cover with you—and I’m hoping this is one of many episodes that you and I will have together. But I wanted to start off by first asking you: can you share a little bit about your background and what inspired you to pursue a PhD in molecular biology? And I remember hearing somewhere that before that [00:02:00] your background was in interior design and advertising. Is that true?

Dr. Limor: Yes, it’s true.

Jac: I love that.

Dr. Limor: So, um, you know, I'm in my fifties now, so I’ve had a long career with many different “reincarnations” and many different tours around the block. I have to say, when I was in high school, I was always the nerdy science kid. I loved science—I loved biology and chemistry and physics and geology and all of that. But one thing led to another, and life took me in a totally different path, and I never thought about pursuing science initially. In fact, I never went to college at first.

What happened was, I somehow got into advertising through copywriting. I really liked writing, and I wrote scripts for advertising, and I was pretty successful at that when I was around 20. [00:03:00] So I never got a chance to go to college. I started my professional life and one thing led to another. Then I started a small business in the interior design field, where I imported and sold beautiful sculptural lighting and furniture and handmade rugs. I worked in that industry for about 15 years until after I had my kids.

But as I was approaching 40, I started feeling feelings of inadequacy—what you might call a midlife crisis. I felt like it was not enough—that I wasn’t living my life to the fullest, that I wasn’t utilizing my potential.

Jac: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Limor: I was just not happy being in an industry where all I did was sell objects of beauty that cost a lot of money. I wanted to do something more, to be more, to use my inherent talents. Through a process of exploration, I rediscovered science. I was reading books about biology and genetics all the time because that interested me—it was my passion. I thought, What if I dive deeper?

I had this fantasy of getting a PhD in biology. But I’d never gone to college, so I needed a college degree first. I started taking online classes and in-person classes in New York City, and I somehow managed to get a bachelor’s degree in two years—[00:04:00] I doubled down on everything. And I started grad school right away. Before I even finished my undergrad, I applied to grad school and started a program in molecular biology.

I found a very specific passion in cancer research and started working in a cancer lab [00:05:00] focused on cellular metabolism—the signaling pathways that tell a cell whether it should divide or not. Very often, cancer hijacks those signals because cancer tries to multiply. That was the beginning.

Jac: Wow. That's incredible, Dr. Limor. Those are my favorite types of stories because, first of all, you truly are an entrepreneur. If you know a little bit about my background, I went to a college called Babson, right outside Boston—they’re known for entrepreneurship (hence what I'm doing now!). My background was in finance and economics, and as I shared with you prior to recording, I started Well and Strong because of my mom. As an undergrad I wrote a thesis on integrative medicine within the context of cancer, and that was the foundation of all the research I did going forward with Well and Strong. I love your story. I have a heart for stories like yours where you [00:06:00] start in a completely different area and then stumble across something.

Dr. Limor: Not linear, yes.

Jac: Exactly. How did you come across olive oil in your research? And I'd love if you could talk about this phenolic compound called oleocanthal, which most of your research has been based around, particularly regarding its toxicity to cancer cells.

Dr. Limor: Yeah. I first encountered oleocanthal, that phenolic compound from olive oil, before I even started research with whole olive oil. It was presented to me in a little test tube we call an Eppendorf tube—purified compound that came from processing olive oil in Greece. Our lab had done some previous work on that compound and showed it has the ability to kill cancer cells really fast, but we weren’t sure how. My job during my PhD was to decipher the mechanism by which oleocanthal is toxic to cancer cells—and less so, or pretty much not at all, to normal cells.

Initially, for the first few months—almost a year—I didn’t even think about olive oil. I was focused on the compound. I pipetted it on my cells; we did some mouse work with mice that were prone to cancer, and we gave them the compound. In the back of my mind, I wondered, Is that why olive oil is good for you? I’ve always used a lot of olive oil in my cooking—I’m an avid cook of Mediterranean food. But I didn’t stop to appreciate that not all olive oils are the same. I thought, It exists in olive oil—every olive oil has it; that’s why olive oil is healthy.

Midway through my work, everything changed when two brothers from Greece, from the island of Corfu, contacted me and told me they are olive oil producers and their olive oil has the most oleocanthal of any olive oil that existed back then. That made me think: I didn’t know there are differences in amount between olive oils. They offered to send me a bottle, and I accepted. They sent it to the lab. I remember my PhD advisor, Dr. David Foster, and I did a shot of it. [00:09:00] Right away it was like—Oof—very different. I thought I knew olive oil, but this was on a whole other level.

Jac: How would you describe that, Dr. Limor? Peppery? I’ve sensed that too—especially Kyoord. I reached—

Dr. Limor: It shocked my system the first time. I think now I'm more used to it, so the symptoms aren’t as extreme. But the first time I did a shot, I probably coughed for a good minute. It was so robust—a shock to the system.

They sent the oil; we did a shot, and then I was thinking: how do I use this in research? I can’t pipette olive oil directly onto cancer cells, and I didn’t know if we could give it to mice. So I wanted to develop an assay that would incorporate olive oil so I could test it on the various cancer cells I was working on. Because of my cooking knowledge, I figured it out.

When you grow cancer cells in the lab, you grow them in a CO₂ incubator in Petri dishes, filled with an aqueous medium that provides salts, minerals, amino acids—what the cells need. Water and oil don’t mix—unless you make a vinaigrette. I used mechanical force and a specific emulsifying approach to spin the olive oil together with the liquid and a custom salt solution to create an olive-oil-rich medium [00:11:00] that we could grow the cancer cells in.

I tried it one afternoon and came back the next morning—and all the cells were dead. I wondered if I’d done something wrong: contaminated the plate, suffocated the cells. In a lab setting, it’s actually easy to kill cells if you’re not careful. However, not every compound kills cancer cells.

I went downstairs to the grocery store on First Avenue, bought a bottle of olive oil off the shelf, made the same type of medium, treated a plate of cancer cells, went home, and came back in the morning—and all the cells were alive. The supermarket olive oil did nothing. On the third day, I set up proper controls: the Corfu olive oil versus supermarket olive oil, and I also treated non-cancer cells. Next day it was very clear: the olive oil with a lot of oleocanthal wiped out the cancer cells and was not toxic to non-cancer cells; the supermarket oil did pretty much nothing.

Jac: Fascinating. The men who approached you from that farm in Corfu, did they have an inkling that oleocanthal would kill cancer cells? They clearly wanted it included in your research.

Dr. Limor: At that point, there was already published data that oleocanthal kills cancer cells from other labs. But there were no experiments done directly with whole olive oil.

Jac: Gotcha. That is fascinating.

Now I’d love to get more into the scientific mechanisms by which oleocanthal can kill cancer cells. I’ve heard you mention that cancer cells are very dependent on lysosomes. Could you break that down for listeners? I think that’s one of the primary forces by which oleocanthal is so effective.

Dr. Limor: Exactly. It’s one of the primary ways it affects cancer cells—definitely not the only one. Oleocanthal is a pretty small molecule; it penetrates the cell membrane easily. Most drug compounds are larger and need transport into cells, but a lot of natural molecules like oleocanthal are small enough to enter. Its chemical structure is very active—it can adhere to different proteins—so there’s more than one mechanism; other groups have highlighted others.

What we found is its effect on lysosomes, and that’s fascinating. It probably explains why it’s more toxic to cancer cells than to normal cells. Every cell in our body has many organelles: nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes, etc. Cells also have a lot of lysosomes. If you remember high-school biology, lysosomes are often called the cell’s recycling centers. They’re small, membrane-bound sacs where degradation reactions happen—proteins, fatty acids, and even nucleic acids like RNA or DNA can be degraded inside lysosomes. It’s a very acidic environment; lysosomal enzymes work best in acid, and the membrane contains that acidity so it doesn't harm the rest of the cell.

We saw that oleocanthal not only penetrates the cell; it penetrates the lysosomes and pokes holes in them—makes them permeable and leaky. Two things happen: (1) they can’t function normally, and (2) they leak acidic contents, acidifying the cell, which is toxic. The cells die—via necrosis or apoptosis.

Cancer cells, by and large, have more lysosomes and are more reliant on them for survival. Early tumors aren’t yet vascularized; they don’t have nutrient supply, so they recycle whatever they get from the environment to create the building blocks for growth—hence more lysosomes.

We also found cancer cells that become therapy-resistant—chemotherapy-resistant—often use lysosomes to pump drugs out. Lysosomes can merge with the cell membrane and exocytose toxins. If you affect cancer-cell lysosomes, there’s a theory they become more sensitive to traditional chemotherapy. So the combination of harming lysosomes and delivering chemo can be very strong.

Jac: So interesting. I’ve also researched integrative approaches—pairing conventional and complementary therapies. One fascinating area is fasting for patients undergoing chemotherapy. It appears to protect healthy cells while making cancer cells more stressed and vulnerable, which can make chemo more effective. Are the mechanisms of fasting somewhat similar to what you’re describing with oleocanthal and lysosomes?

Dr. Limor: Absolutely. The reason ties to an enzyme complex we all have: mTOR. Fasting mimics mTOR inhibition, and mTOR lives on lysosomes. Under normal conditions, mTOR is a command center that senses nutrient sufficiency—amino acids, glucose, fatty acids—and translates that into a “hold or grow” signal. Since mTOR resides on lysosomes, when lysosomes are dysfunctional, mTOR signaling is inhibited.

Cancer often hijacks mTOR pathways via mutations that remove checks and balances. Our lab specializes in this, which is why we started working with oleocanthal—there were indications it might inhibit mTOR, likely because it damages lysosomes. I’m a big believer in fasting as an adjuvant to traditional therapy; it can make chemotherapy more effective.

Jac: I had my mom do a 36-hour fast prior to her first session on Monday and then a 24-hour fast afterward. Some of the nurses had never heard of fasting with chemo. It’s encouraging to see complementary therapies getting attention—like the mistletoe trials at Johns Hopkins. Going back to olive oil: all of your work was lab-based. Translating to real life—what might serving size look like for someone with cancer, or someone taking an integrative approach? And would you “stack” therapies—like pairing olive oil with fasting?

Dr. Limor: In principle, it can be used alone or in combination—there are no clear contraindications that I know of. In the lab, I compared different olive oils with different oleocanthal concentrations and their ability to kill cancer cells. It’s a pretty linear relationship: the more oleocanthal the oil has, the more toxic it is to cancer cells. If one oil has half the oleocanthal of another, using double the amount produced a similar result in vitro.

Of course, cell culture and mice aren’t humans. To estimate dose, at Kyoord we looked at population studies. Most showing beneficial effects from olive oil consumption used around 15–40 grams per day—about 1 to 3 tablespoons. Many of these studies used “regular” olive oils with average polyphenols. If you use an oil higher in polyphenols, you may need less—perhaps 1 tablespoon could be enough where 3 might otherwise be used. Keep in mind olive oil is fat—~120 calories per tablespoon—so consider overall intake.

Jac: Is that best raw? I’ve heard conflicting things about cooking with olive oil—smoke point, toxicity when heated—and also that high-phenolic olive oil may be more resilient to heat. What’s the best way to use it?

Dr. Limor: It’s probably most effective raw, and it’s also effective cooked. Many Mediterranean studies showing strong correlations between olive oil intake and positive health outcomes didn’t distinguish raw vs. cooked; in Mediterranean countries, olive oil is the primary cooking fat. The myth that frying with olive oil is toxic or causes cancer isn’t supported; in fact, studies show cooking with olive oil, even at higher temperatures, can be healthier than many other oils.

Heating fats can create oxidation products, but olive oil naturally carries antioxidants—polyphenols—which protect it. Oleic acid (omega-9) is also a stable, beneficial fatty acid, but the real powerhouse is the polyphenols (oleocanthal, oleacein, hydroxytyrosol derivatives). These are produced during milling. In the olive fruit you have different precursors; once you make olive oil, you get the mature polyphenols like oleocanthal and oleacein.

Jac: That leads to my next question: how do you ensure an olive oil is high in oleocanthal? Is it specific to a region?

Dr. Limor: The shorter answer is yes, some regions tend to have higher levels—but the primary driver is the genetics (variety) of the olive tree. Some varieties produce more polyphenols due to their enzymes and precursors. Other factors contribute—soil, water, age of tree, location—but the second most important aspect is when and how you mill. Harvesting early—before full ripeness—and careful milling increase polyphenols. Most commodity oils use riper olives for higher yield, but that sacrifices polyphenols.

Jac: I’m assuming you’ve visited many farms and seen the process.

Dr. Limor: Yes—my favorite part of the job!

Jac: For someone shopping in a general grocery store, what should they look for?

Dr. Limor: Today’s shelves are better than 5–10 years ago. Ideally, look for polyphenol level listed on the label (self-reported, but often third-party tested). “High polyphenols” can be a decent cue. Packaging matters: dark glass or metal, not plastic. Single-origin or single-mill oils are preferable; blended oils from multiple countries are harder to control for quality. “Early harvest” is a good sign—though not regulated.

Jac: Is there a country you prefer?

Dr. Limor: I’m biased toward Greece, where many varieties are known for higher phenolics (not all, but many). Spain has excellent producers, but much of its production is highly industrial. Southern Italy has great oils, too. I love French food, but I haven’t found many French oils with high polyphenols.

If I’m shopping without my own oil, I look for dark glass or metal, single origin, and if possible, a Greek variety.

Jac: Why avoid plastic?

Dr. Limor: Not my main area, but studies comparing long-term storage show olive oil in plastic degrades faster than in glass or metal. Also, microplastics dissolve better in oil than water, so if plastic sheds, oil may carry more of it.

Jac: Beyond olive oil, what overlooked foods or compounds excite you for nutrition and disease prevention?

Dr. Limor: Honestly, we overlook most fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The “superfood” buzzword aside, nearly every fruit or vegetable is a superfood. I’m a big fan of acidic fruits (citrus, pomegranate, passion fruit) and bitter foods (leafy greens, eggplant)—bitterness often signals active compounds. Fresh herbs are powerful; concentrated essential oils (like rosemary) can be potent when used appropriately.

Jac: Simple, foundational—and powerful.

Dr. Limor: Exactly.

Jac: This has been wonderful. Where can listeners find you and pick up a bottle of Kyoord?

Dr. Limor: We’re not in stores yet—we’re a small operation, and true quality has limits on scale. For now, you can find us on our website (kyoord.com) and on Amazon.

Jac: Any new things on the horizon?

Dr. Limor: People always ask about using it on skin. You can, and many do, but I don’t love straight olive-oil scent on my face. I’m working on olive-oil-based self-care formulations—very high olive-oil content but with a pleasant scent profile.

Jac: So exciting! Last question—what does being well and strong mean to you?

Dr. Limor: Living life to the fullest—waking up early, going to bed fulfilled, contributing to the world through my work or volunteering, being active, enjoying food and cooking, connecting with others—being fully alive.

Jac: Amen, I love that. When’s your cookbook coming out?

Dr. Limor: We publish a lot of recipes online, but I need help writing them down—I cook by feel!

Jac: Same. I throw things together and my mom asks for the recipe and I’m like… “uh, I just threw it together.” This was such a pleasure, Dr. Limor. I’ll let you know when it goes live.

Dr. Limor: Thank you—this was great. And good luck to your mom.

Jac: I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you’d like to support the show, please subscribe, leave a rating and review, and share it with others. Be sure to visit wellandstrong.com to access show notes and stay current with new content. I’m so grateful you joined me. Be well and be strong.

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