Day 2410 - Eat more olives

It's possible I'm an olive addict.

I eat olives with everything.  I put them on pizza, I have them in salads, I will include them in my toasted wraps and I'll even have a pile of them on the side of my plate at lunch time.

I figured that since I'm always eating them, it might be time to research the health benefits of the little blighters.



First things first, after yesterday's post about how to live longer (based on the habits of those nations that have longer life spans), I figure olives must be pretty good given they are common in the Mediterranean.

Greece is a heavy consumer of olives and they were on the Blue Zones list as having longevity.  So olives have got to be good, right?

It turns out that olives are linked to lower rates of heart disease.  Apparently they contain loads of phenolic antioxidants as well as a few anti-cancer compounds like squalene and terpenoid.

There are actually heaps of benefits and heaps of science behind those benefits which has a lot to do with the type of monounsaturated fats found in olives as well as the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

I am not a scientist, nor a dietitian, but I do read a lot and my reading has found that olives are good for:

1. Weight loss
2. Cancer prevention
3. Cardiovascular health
4. Less pain
5. Hair and skin health
6. Iron
7. Digestion health
8. Eye health
9. Allergy reduction
10. Blood health
11.  Enhance fertility
12. Rich in mineral content 

So if you don't have olives in your diet, then it might be time to add them.  If you do have olives in your diet then GO YOU!

They may not be suitable for everybody but I'm loving them so I'll continue being an olive addict.

I'll put my addiction down to ageing positively! 




Information sources: www.preventdisease.com, www.healthimpactnews.com, and www.health24.com