4 Reasons Why You Should Eat Olives

A little background
Olives are oval-shaped fruits that are extremely healthy. The olive tree can reach 25 – 50 ft in a large space or 10 ft. in a container. You can choose to keep it smaller with annual pruning or choose the dwarf variety.
Also known as Olea europaea, olive is a fruit native to the African, Asian, Mediterranean. Olive is rich in calcium, fiber, iron, copper, vitamin K, E, and sodium.
We have green and black olives, both of which are good for your health.

1. Weight control
Olives contain monounsaturated fats and fiber – two highly filing elements that leave you feeling full. They are awesome in the sense that they help to burn calories. It takes more calories to digest an olive than the calories gain from the olive itself. Then, you have the fatty acids that produce adiponectin – a chemical that burns fat for 5 hours after ingestion.

2. Protect your heart
Among the fatty acids contained in olives, there is oleic acid that regulates cholesterol levels and protects the LDL-cholesterol from oxidation.
LDL-cholesterol is the bad cholesterol that clogs arteries serving the heart and this raises blood pressure that causes stroke.
Thus, olives are able to reduce blood pressure. But, note you cannot eat too many olives to get all that benefit. Hence, taking a teaspoon should do the trick.

3. Healthy immune system
There is a powerful chemical which you can only get from plants and that’s called polyphenol, also known as oleuropein. This is one of the most powerful antioxidants that protect and rid the body of harmful free radicals known to cause viral infections and diseases. Olives will hence, give your immune system a healthy boost.

4. Protection against cancer
Some researches reported that olive oil decreased risks for breast cancer, cancers of the digestive system, or neoplasms of the respiratory tract. It has been hypothesized that the phenolic content of virgin olive oil and extra virgin oil is able to specifically affect cancer-regulated oncogenes. In an abstract published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, one can read
“Overall cancer incidence has been observed to be lower in Mediterranean countries compared to that in Northern countries, such as the UK, and the USA. There is increasing evidence that adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern correlates with reduced risk of several cancer types and cancer mortality”.
Interestingly, the Mediterranean diet is made up mostly of olive oil.

Thank you for your attention
So, let’s follow the trend and stay safe. Add olive oils to your salad dressings and cooking habit. Eat more olives and share the information with all your surroundings.
Remember to write your comments in the section below. Don’t hesitate to share more information with us. Till then, take care, and eat your olives!