FROM PHARMA
to Following the Crush
WRITTEN BY MEGIN POTTER PHOTOS BY SUSAN BLACKBURN PHOTOGRAPHY
The jump from clinical pharmaceutical research careers to selling olive oil seems like a big one. Both are part of the science of being healthier and happier – and one local family’s proof that with life, like with food, when you need to make a choice, it’s best to just trust your gut. A ROBUST TASTE FOR ADVENTURE Barbara, and her husband Clint Braidwood (as well as his brother, Chad) were all working in medicine when they decided it was time for a change. Their research brought them face-to-face with patients across the country who were in the later stages of devastating illnesses. It was depressing and they wanted to switch their focus, instead taking on a more proactive role, focusing more on prevention than treatment. That’s when they stepped into a shop in Maine that exclusively sold olive oils and vinegars. “We’d always loved traveling and would follow the crush overseas, but you couldn’t get good olive oil in the states. Once we saw that though, we knew we could do it here, too,” said Barbara. 36 | SIMPLY SARATOGA | SPRING 2020
GO WITH YOUR GUT Research has shown that a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil can be beneficial. It can reduce the incidences of health disease and cancer, and its anti-inflammatory properties can help with conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and asthma. Extra-virgin olive oil is like wine; what’s good one year may not be the next. They’re both fruit juices, but unlike wine, with olive oil, freshness is critical. The older olive oil is, the more nutrients are lost. The majority of extra-virgin olive oil imported into the U.S. is old by the time it gets to you and is of such a low-grade that you’re not getting these health benefits. The Braidwoods decided in October 2010 to change all that and open a small olive oil business in Saratoga. That year, they told their family over Thanksgiving dinner. “To me, it seemed like a no-brainer but we had a baby on the way and we were leaving our six-figure jobs to do this. The jaws just dropped around the room,” said Barbara. “They said, ‘Don’t quit your day-job’ but later they told us, ‘we all thought you were crazy,” added Clint. saratogaTODAYnewspaper.com
