A fiery olive oil shot from Cyprus is fast becoming the recovery booster of choice for elite athletes, from Premier League footballers to Tour de France cyclists.

The pungent, throat-stinging oil is not a new superfood discovery but a revival of an ancient Mediterranean practice. Early-harvest olives, pressed before ripening, yield an oil loaded with polyphenols – compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

Former FIFA-licensed player agent Nick Schizas, now co-founder of Oleaphen, says the results among professional footballers were striking. “They were coming back with more energy, recovering faster between games and training sessions – and asking for more without me even suggesting it,” he told Reuters.

Together with soil engineer Nicolas Netien, Schizas launched a small business producing single-dose pods of the potent oil. Packaged in biodegradable seaweed capsules to preserve the compounds, the product delivers up to 30 times more polyphenols than typical extra virgin olive oil, and as much as 100 times more Oleocanthal – a natural anti-inflammatory found in olives.

Cypriot researchers are now preparing clinical trials to test the oil’s impact on local football players, including its effects on recovery and gut health. Netien, who has produced oils with record-high polyphenol content, says the project connects science with tradition.

“In Greece and Cyprus, people used to make an early oil every season and keep it at home as medicine,” he said. “What we’re doing is simply bringing back that wisdom in a modern way.”

If proven effective in studies, Cyprus’s ancient elixir could soon find a permanent place in modern sports nutrition.