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| My Life Story (Healing Broken Hearts) |
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 My father’s father was the first born of 13 children in a farming family in Iowa, America's heartland. His grandfather had come to the US because of a potato famine in Ireland. He ran behind a plow in ¼ mile corn rows and ran 6 miles behind a horse cart in the snow to get to school. He got a track scholarship to go to Drake University in Iowa and later moved to California.
I was born when my father was 18. He got up at 3 in the morning to deliver newspapers and dug ditches during the day. At night he went to vocational college (College of San Mateo). At age 27 he became the youngest licensed plumbing contractor in California. When he was 35, knee surgery forced him to change his work. With entrepreneurial vision he started a company that specialized in repairing and replacing water heaters which he now runs in 10 large metropolitan areas in the US.
My mother was an idealist who loved people. She worked in an accounting office. But in her free time she worked to bring racial understanding between the "Black" and "White" communities in our city, volunteered in a homeless shelter, raised money to get a computer for a quadriplegic man, ran in a marathon in Russia to raise money for world peace, and visited Sri Lanka to help end hunger there. I learned from her that people are always more important than things.
In high school, after turning from atheism to God, I decided to dedicate my life to helping people and not live for material gain. In university I studied to work in the medical field. I worked as an RN for 13 years, including with AIDS patients, in a jail and in the Highland Emergency Department in Oakland, California. I taught doctors and nurses how to restart hearts (ACLS/ALS). However, I was restless and wanted to do something with a greater impact for good.
When I was 9 years old one of my teachers in the public school I attended told us about a place where the people are amazingly warm and hospitable. She said, "You have to be careful when you are visiting in their homes because they are so generous that if you admire something they will want to give it to you as a gift." She told us stories of the wisdom and humor of Nasreddin Hoca. This is my first memory about the nation of Turkey (Türkiye).
During my time in university I fell in love with the people of Turkey because of some good friends who came from there. I knew that Turkey was one of the fastest growing economies in the world. I learned that it was the 17th largest economy and the oldest democracy in the region (since 1923). At age 35 my entrepreneurial and idealist DNA merged and I decided to move to Turkey. Two years later, in 1997, using private capital and supported by previous investments, we moved to Istanbul representing a medical equipment supplier. I had hoped to introduce new life-saving products, but I could not find a way to do this business successfully without hurting my conscience. I tried some export businesses, also unsuccessfully.
In 2001 a friend of a friend in the US asked me if I would move to Izmir and help his company create long term relationships with Turkish food suppliers. We opened the Izmir office of Otis McAllister Inc., a 120 year old food trading company with $100 million turnover operating in some 80 nations. I consulted for Otis’ Hong Kong office who was the largest importer of Turkish hazelnuts into China, bringing in hundreds of containers of hazelnuts. In 2003 we had our best year in the olive oil business. We supplied over 20% of the Turkish bottled extra virgin olive oil to the US, sold in 30 states and 7,000 points of sale. In 2005 one of the top 7 energy companies in the world (a fortune 500 company with over $15 billion turnover) asked us to supply biomass to them for their renewable "green" electricity production in Europe and we negotiated a contact to do this. We have also worked on projects to supply healthy organic products (such as Pomegranate juice) representing Enray Inc. We are currently working with Fair Foods Inc to supply Turkish olive oil.
 My wife, Alexanrdra (Polyzoides) McGee, is of Mediterranean origin. Her father's grandparents were from Istanbul, her mother from Barcelona, Spain. She moved to the US when her father (who later became an architecture professor at University of Southern California) won a scholarship to study at Princeton. Her mother taught Spanish & French in private schools. She has an English degree from UC Berkeley and a teaching certificate from Cambridge. Before moving to Turkey she taught English in Spain and Austria and has studied seven languages. She has taught English for business and in private schools and universities. In 2011 she will complete her Master's degree in philosophy & humanities through Cal State University. Our 5 children have all gained part of their education in Turkish public schools. Our whole famly has loved living in Turkey. Our oldest daughter once described the warmth of relationships in Turkey with these words, “A one year friendship in Turkey is like a 5 year friendship in America.” She is now studying music composition in the US and would like to come back to Turkey and write music for films. Our second daughter is studying art. And our oldest son is studying pre-law and Arabic and our younger son is studying international business. Our youngest daughter lives with us in Istanbul.
My olive oil business has been my way of continuing to save lives by fixing broken hearts. Our motivation has been to help prevent heart disease by providing 100% natural high quality olive oil. We also want to help provide a livelihood for some of the 1/2 million people in Turkey whose living depends on the fruit of the olive tree. Our goal has been to supply great olive oil products to the US and other nations. You can learn more about our single origin and organic extra virgin olive oil from Turkey at NoahsOliveOil.com or learn more about the production of our gourmet Mediterranean extra virgin olive oil from Turkey at TurkishOliveOil.org. Since 2009 we have decreased our role in the business to that of consulting for our partners at Fair Foods Inc.
Kind Regards,
Dennis (Deniz) McGee (İstanbul, Türkiye - Istanbul, Turkey - Sept 2011)
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 PS. Since 2006 I have been gradually reducing my time in the business and have been concentrating on learning about "real love". We have come to see more clearly that the world's biggest heart problem is not in the arteries or cardiac muscle, but in a part of our lives that has not been quantified by natural science. I am doing research for a book on this topic now.
To learn more:
See our thoughts on "real love" and find ideas for building close, intimate relationships.
See our blog on "Real Love For Real Life" Dennis (Deniz) McGee's "Real Love Rocks" blog
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"Real Love Rocks" on facebook.
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"Real Love Rocks" on twitter
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Dr. Dean Ornish's book "Love and Survival" reviews significant scientific research that supports what we learned through the mentoring of others, personal experience and reading the "world's best selling book on love"
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OLIVE OIL NEWS
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The effect of olive oil polyphenols on antibodies against oxidized LDL. A randomized clinical trial
August, 2011
reported in Clinical Nutrition
Volume 30, Issue 4, August 2011, Pages 490-493
Reseachers: Olga Castañera, b, Montserrat Fitóa, M. Carmen López-Sabaterc, Henrik E. Poulsend, Kristiina Nyyssönene, Helmut Schrödera, Jukka T. Salonenf, Karina De la Torre-Carbotc, Hans-Franz Zunftg, Rafael De la Torrea, Hans Bäumlerh, Antonio V. Gaddii, Guillermo T. Saezj, Marta Tomása, Maria-Isabel Covasa and for the EUROLIVE Study Group
In this study demonstrated that daily consumption of 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil reduces LDL (bad cholesterol). Extra virgin olive oil, with higher polyphenol levels, is more effective at reducing LDL that other olive oils with lower polyphenol levels.
The research showed increased the levels of an antibody that reduces levels of oxidized LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol). High LDL is considered a risk factor of heart disease and stroke.
Olive oil polyphenols promote OLAB generation. This effect is stronger at higher concentrations of lipid oxidative damage.
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Olive oil consumption, plasma oleic acid, and stroke incidence. The Three-City Study
January 19, 2011
reported in Neurology researchers: C. Samieri, PhD,
C. Féart, PhD, C. Proust-Lima, PhD, E. Peuchant, MD, PhD,
C. Tzourio, MD, PhD, C. Stapf, MD, C. Berr, MD, PhD and P. Barberger-Gateau, MD, PhD
This research suggest a protective role in reducing the risk of strokes for older people whose diet includes a high quantity of olive oil.
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Fruit, vegetables, and olive oil and risk of coronary heart disease in Italian women: the EPICOR Study
November 29, 2010
reported in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: researchers: Benedetta Bendinelli, Giovanna Masala,
Calogero Saieva, Simonetta Salvini, Carmela Calonico,
Carlotta Sacerdote, Claudia Agnoli, Sara Grioni, Graziella Frasca, Amalia Mattiello, Paolo Chiodini, Rosario Tumino, Paolo Vineis, Domenico Palli, and
Salvatore Panico
This research shows
an inverse association between increasing consumption of leafy vegetables and olive oil and CHD (coronary heart disease) risk. The woman with higher consumption of green leafy vegetables and olive oil had significantly lower incidents of CHD.
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Heart-Protecting Component of Olive Oil Discovered
April 2, 2009
reported in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, lead researcher: Fatima Paiva-Martins, at the University of Porto, Portugal.
Scientists have discovered the polyphenol in extra virgin olive oil that gives greatest protection from heart attack and stroke. DHPEA-EDA is the main antioxidant in olive oil that protects red blood cells from damage.
more...
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Phytochemicals Make Olive Oil Even More Awesome Than Previously Believed
December 18, 2008
Extra-virgin olive oil contains 'phytochemicals', that can trigger the death of cancer cells according to research published in the BMC Cancer journal, suppressing the cancer gene HER2 and therefore reducing the risk of breast cancer. (more...)
Read about the heart-health benefits of phytochemicals (plant sterols, flavonoids and sulfur-containing compounds) according to the American Heart Association here.
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Heart Disease Prevention
November 9, 2008
32 simple steps we should all take to battle heart disease
Pour on the Olive Oil
Men whose diet include as much as 2 ounces of Olive oil a day have an 82% lower risk of having a fatal heart attack than men who consume little or none. Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats-known to hinder the oxidation of bad LDL cholesterol into its artery – clogging form.... more... |
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Antioxidants and the Mediterranean Diet
November 9, 2008
Reference: (1) Visioli, Francesco and Galli, Claudio. “The Role of Antioxidants in the Mediterranean Diet.” Lipids, Vol.36, Supplement (2001).
...the importance of antioxidants and the role it plays in the Mediterranean Diet.... Phytochemicals (nonvitamin antioxidants) Polyphenols fall into the category of phytochemicals and are very abundant in the Mediterranean diet especially when it comes to “its high proportion of fruits and vegetables and to the consumption of red wine and olive oil.” ... more... |
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Calorie density: A tool to stop weight gain
November 8, 2008
By Karen Collins, M.S., R.D., C.D.N.
The average American adult gains one to two pounds a year. Now, two new studies add to the mounting evidence that adults can fight this tendency by limiting the calorie density of our diets, particularly by including plenty of vegetables and fruits.... But nutritious foods high in healthful fat, like nuts and olive oil, were not associated with weight gain... more... |
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For good health, put heart in your cooking
November 6, 2008
By CHRISTINE A. VERSTRAETE
Too often, people think that developing heart disease dooms them to a life of boring, tasteless food. North Shore cardiologists Dr. Micah Eimer and Dr. Irwin Silverman challenge that notion by teaming up again with Chef Dawn Dlugosz of "A New Dawn Cooking School" which meets in Whole Foods Market, Northbrook, for a heart healthy cooking class in the grocery store's classroom. ... more... |
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