Pitted olives: benefits and harms. Olives and black olives - what's the difference? How olives differ from olives

The genus Olive includes about 25 species. These are trees and shrubs, among which there are ornamental plants, as well as species of economic importance.

In the little-known species of Cape olive (O. capensis) and golden-leaved olive (O. сhrysophylla), wood is used. The most valuable is the European or cultivated olive (Olea Europaea).

Where and how olives grow

These are heat-loving plants. They are suitable for the temperate and tropical climates of South Asia, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and Australia. The European oil tree is cultivated here. Its fruits are known among us as olives.

Other species are not suitable for food: wild olive forms low-growing forests and is a good honey plant and decorative element of the southern landscape.

Olives are a berry, vegetable or fruit

It is not customary to call fruits growing on a tree a vegetable. It is also difficult to classify them as fruits, at least based on the characteristics of culinary use. In everyday life you can hear that the fruit of an olive is a berry. It grows on a tree, is small in size, similar to or.

But botanists do not consider this a good reason; for them, its structure is more important. The fruit of the olive tree is called a drupe.

Olives and black olives - what's the difference?

The name “olives” is used only by residents of Russia and the post-Soviet space. We usually call dark-colored fruits olives, and greenish ones - olives.

In other countries, both are olives. Manufacturers only specify the color of the product. Both species grow on the same tree. But they are collected at different times. This is not the only difference between olives and olives.

How olives are made

The bitterness is removed from green fruits by soaking them in a solution of caustic soda, then salted or pickled. The dark color is often obtained by additional oxygenation with the addition of ferrous gluconate and subsequent fixation of the pigment with ferrous gluconate.

Types of olives

There are two groups of dark fruits. Some ripen on the tree, others are harvested green (obtained black artificially). Naturally ripened fruits rarely have a uniform color. They are purple, reddish or brown. When canning, the seeds are not removed from them, since the pulp is too tender and does not hold its shape.

If you bought black fruits with seeds, then you have oxidized fruits - black oxidized olives, that is, green, but changed their color as a result of chemical reactions. The famous black olives of Halkidiki are also produced in this way. Although, there are varieties that, after ripening, are fermented naturally (for example, Kalamata olives).

Composition and calorie content

There are three groups of fruits: oilseeds, canned (table) and combined (canned-oilseed) olives. The benefits and harms for the body of all groups depend on the method of use and the chemical composition of the pulp.

Chemical composition of table olive varieties

100 g of product contains the following substances:

  • proteins – 1 g;
  • fats – 6.9 g;
  • carbohydrates – 3.1 g;
  • insoluble fiber – 2.5 g;
  • water – 83.34 g.

The vitamins present in olives are mostly fat-soluble. The pulp contains alpha tocopherol (vitamin E) – 1.65 mg, vitamin A – 17 mcg. Almost all B vitamins, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and niacin (vitamin PP) were identified.

Macroelements are represented by sodium (898 mg), calcium (94 mg), potassium (9 mg), magnesium (4 mg), phosphorus (3 mg). There are significant quantities of iron, copper, selenium, zinc, manganese and other trace elements.

Energy value

The calorie content of canned olives depends on the variety, caliber, time and place of harvest. Fruits picked green are lower in calories. 100 g contains about 115…140 kcal. Tree-ripened fruits contain more fat. Their calorie content is higher - from 140 to 180 kcal/100 g.

Olives - benefits and harm to the body

Even after processing, the fruits do not lose their beneficial properties. However, this does not mean that they can be eaten in unlimited quantities. The benefits of canned olives are evident when consumed in moderation.

You can eat 7 medium-sized fruits per day. Preference is given to natural products. The beneficial properties of olives canned without food additives are most expressed.

Useful properties of olives

  • Improves the functioning of the heart muscle– the pulp contains monounsaturated fats, which reduce inflammatory processes in tissues and improve blood pressure.
  • Positively affect the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract– the product contains a lot of fiber, which improves the digestion process.
  • For iron deficiency anemia improve blood count– relieve cells from oxygen starvation.
  • They prevent the formation of malignant cells in the body – antioxidant properties are well expressed.
  • The product has known antihistamine properties.– it helps to remove the manifestations of allergies at the cellular level.
  • Neutralizes toxins and removes heavy metal salts– pectins in the product normalize the intestinal microflora and prevent harmful substances from being absorbed into the blood.

Cautions and Limitations

Having learned the benefits of canned black olives, we must not forget about contraindications. The product produces a mild laxative effect. It is contraindicated for diarrhea.

It should not be included in the menu for cholecystitis, as its choleretic effect is known.

Canned fruits can be harmful to people suffering from increased swelling and kidney disease, as they contain a lot of salt.

There are many speculations about the benefits of olive pits. Nutritionists claim that it is not digested in the body, and its benefits are questionable.

Are artificially blackened olives healthy?

It is important to control the content of the food additive E-579(iron gluconate) in olives, The preservative may be harmful if the norm is exceeded (150 mg/kg).

In moderation, the iron in this drug is not dangerous. However, the jar contains its daily norm, if regularly exceeded, important organs can be affected: liver, heart, kidneys.

The benefits of olives for women

Nutritionists recommend this product for women. The benefit of olives is that they But you can’t get carried away - one or two things will be useful, but an eaten jar.

With regular use, the product improves the condition of hair and skin and prevents premature aging.

Olives during pregnancy

Since fruits dried without preservatives are still rare in our country, it is important for expectant mothers to know whether canned olives are healthy while pregnant. Potential harm depends on these same preservatives. The more there are, the higher the risk of weakening the pregnant woman’s immunity.

Caution should be exercised when consuming fruits with vinegar. You need to carefully look at the salt content in canned food - this mineral retains water in the body, and this is the path to swelling.

Can you eat olives while breastfeeding?

In the absence of a contraindication, olives for breastfeeding begin to be eaten when the child turns 3 months. At this age, the baby's digestive system becomes more stable.

Olives are the fruit of the evergreen olive tree, which grows in subtropical climates. The olive tree is hardy, tolerates drought and bears fruit once every two years.

Composition of olives

Olive fruits contain 56% fats and oils, 23% water, 9% fiber and 6% proteins. Olives are leaders in vitamin content:

  • A – 0.12 mg;
  • B1 – 0.02 mg;
  • B2 – 0.01 mg;
  • B4 – 6.6 mg;
  • E – 2.8 mg;
  • RR – 0.24 mg.

The mineral composition of olive pulp is represented by macro- and microelements:

  • sodium – 750 mg;
  • calcium – 74 mg;
  • potassium – 36 mg;
  • magnesium – 8 mg;
  • phosphorus – 4 mg;
  • copper – 0.23 mg;
  • iron – 3.3 mg;
  • zinc – 0.22 mg;
  • selenium – 0.01 mg.

But vitamins and minerals are not the most valuable thing. The following fats are important in olives for humans:

  • omega 3 – 0.04 g;
  • Omega 6 – 0.55 g;
  • monounsaturated fatty acids – 5.1 g;
  • polyunsaturated fatty acids – 0.59 g;
  • saturated fatty acids – 0.9 g.

The fruits are not consumed fresh as they are bitter. The bitterness of fruits comes from a natural polyphenol, oleoropein. To get rid of the unpleasant bitter taste, olives are soaked in salt water or treated with alkali - caustic soda - and then washed. The second method is faster and simpler, which is why all manufacturers use it.

Depending on the variety, olives can have other colors: pink, yellow, light green and purple. There are always black olives on the counters next to the olives.

Olives differ from olives in color: olives are green, olives are purple. Olives and olives are the fruits of the same tree, but they are collected at different times: green olives are unripe fruits, black olives are ripe.

It takes more time and expense to ripen olives, which is why they cost more. Here chemists managed to outwit nature with the help of oxygen and iron gluconate - E579. Oxygen is passed through the brine with green fruits and the olives become olives. To prevent olives from turning green, iron gluconate is added to them. Such olives look blue-black with an unnatural glossy sheen without scratches or dents.

The benefits of black olives for blood vessels exceed the benefits of green olives, as they contain many healthy fats.

General

The benefit of olives for the body is that they enhance the secretion of digestive juices and enzymes. During a feast, the best snack is not sausages and smoked meats, but olives, which will help in digesting gastronomic delights. Olives have a gentle effect on the gastrointestinal tract, since by stimulating digestion they heal microcracks in the stomach and intestines.

Have a choleretic effect

Due to a sedentary lifestyle, an abundance of fatty and sweet foods, and attacks by toxins, it is more difficult for the liver to produce bile. Stones form in the gallbladder, and little bile enters the stomach. As a result, food is digested worse, diarrhea, bloating, and pain occur. To help the liver, you need to include olives in your diet, as they have a choleretic effect and restore liver cells.

Kill cancer cells

A sensation in 2015 was the study of the substance oleocanthanol, which is found in olives. In the journal Molecular and Cellular Oncology, scientists from Rutgers University in New Jersey (USA) and Hunter College in New York (USA) wrote that oleocanthanol kills cancer cells. Oleocanthanol causes a tumor cell to die from its toxins in 30-60 minutes and does not affect healthy cells, but “puts them to sleep” for 24 hours. The study of oleocanthanol is not completed and has prospects.

Remove inflammation

Inflammation is the body's defense mechanism against damage or irritants. The inflammatory process is triggered by prostaglandin substances, which are found in all organs and tissues. Oleocanthanol blocks prostaglandin synthesis and prevents inflammation. Olives are an essential food against arthritis, arthrosis, and osteochondrosis.

For women

Olives can replace vitamins for hair, nails, and skin, as they contain all the components for youth and beauty. Fruits are record-breaking foods for the content of vitamins A and E, which are dissolved in fats.

Rejuvenate

Vitamin E prolongs cell life and stimulates the production of collagen, without which the skin loses its elasticity. Without tocopherol, vitamin A cannot be absorbed, which is no less important for the epithelium. responsible for elasticity and nutrition of the skin.

Pickled olives will bring benefits to the skin thanks to fatty acids: oleic and linoleic. Linoleic acid protects the skin from dehydration and fills microcracks, which means it prevents bacteria from penetrating under the skin through damage. Oleic acid penetrates deeper than linoleic acid and increases skin permeability to biologically active components. Olive oil can replace or complement creams.

Increases chances of conception

Jeremy Groll, in his book Fertility Foods, names foods that increase your chances of conceiving. Among the products are olives. They normalize a woman’s hormonal levels, restore the acid-base balance of the vagina and create favorable conditions for fertilization. Olives owe these properties to monounsaturated fats and vitamins A and E.

For men

The benefits of olives for men have been noticed. Olives contain vitamin E, which improves sperm quality and blood circulation. Fatty acids cleanse blood vessels and provide better blood flow to the genitals.

Pickled

Although rare, you can find fresh olives on the shelves. Since the fruits are not edible in this form, you can pickle them yourself. Marinated olives can also be prepared from canned ones.

Pickled fruits do not lose their beneficial properties if they are prepared correctly. You can use olive oil, spices, garlic, and herbs as ingredients for the marinade. Fresh olives are marinated for up to 2 weeks, and canned ones are ready in a day.

Canned

Many people are interested in what will happen: the benefits or harm of olives in jars. The benefits of olive fruit listed above apply to both fresh and canned fruits, as long as they are prepared with the least amount of chemicals. Canned olives with different fillings are useful: anchovy, cucumber, pepper and lemon.

Harm and contraindications of olives

Most people only have canned olives available. They are harmful due to additives: the remnants of unwashed caustic soda and iron glutonate make the fruits an allergen.

There is a lot of salt in the brine, so olives should not be eaten by those who suffer from:

How to choose olives

You shouldn't give up canned olives because of possible chemical additives. Knowing a few rules, you can choose good quality fruits that will be useful.

  1. Choose olives in a glass jar so you can see the fruit.
  2. The composition should only contain olives, salt and water. There should be no additives E. If E579 is indicated on the label of black olives, then the fruits are colored.
  3. Olives can differ in size: small ones hold from 280 to 380 fruits per 1 kg, medium ones - from 180 to 280; large - from 60 to 180.

How to store olives

The shelf life of canned fruits is 2-3 years and is indicated on the label. After opening, the product should be stored according to the following principles:

  1. Fruits in glass containers can be stored in brine for up to 3 days.
  2. Once opened, transfer the olives in the tin into a glass or ceramic container. The inner surface of tin cans is oxidized by oxygen and harmful substances are formed, which pass into the contents of the can.
  3. It is better to store the product in brine, since when dry, the fruits will wrinkle and lose their taste.

The fruits of the olive tree are black and green (unripe), the former are also called olives. These fruits are most widespread in the Mediterranean region, but more and more people around the world are interested in the benefits of olives and black olives.

The benefits and harms of olives for the body

Fresh olives are not beneficially consumed even in the area where they grow, because... these fruits are very bitter. Before they get to the table, they go a long way - from assembly, manual calibration and long soaking to canning or salting.

By the way, olives prepared by fermentation are considered the most useful. In addition, olives with pits retain much more useful substances. Those who are not familiar with the criteria for choosing olives should pay attention to the presence of the ingredient ferrous gluconate (E579) - if it is present, it is better not to buy this product, because These olives are artificially colored black.

Canned olives can be consumed as an independent product, added to salads and other dishes to which they add piquancy. The benefit of black olives also lies in the fact that they effectively neutralize the harmful effects of alcohol, which is why they are added to cocktails.

Depending on the variety, olives contain up to 80% oils, which contain unsaturated fatty acids. They reduce the level of bad cholesterol, which causes blockage of blood vessels.

Olives have a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract - they restore its mucous membrane and normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Taking 5 olives with pits per week helps fight the formation of kidney stones and gall bladder. However, this method is contraindicated for people with “lazy” intestines, because A bezoar (a collection of bones and stool that causes intestinal obstruction) may occur.

The benefits of olives for women are primarily due to the large amount of dietary fiber and antioxidants. The fruits of the olive tree are indispensable during diets, as well as for maintaining youth and beauty.

Olives have long taken pride of place in the national cuisines of many peoples around the world. Olives appeared in our country relatively recently, so controversy around them continues. They have an interesting spicy taste that is difficult to describe even for an experienced taster: they simultaneously contain bitterness and sweetness, sour and salty notes. The mystery of this product has long divided all food lovers into great connoisseurs of olives and their ardent haters.

The interest in this product is further fueled by a question that few can answer: “Olive - what is it? Is it a fruit, or a vegetable, or a berry?” The answers to this question are as contradictory as the taste of the product. Some argue that it is a berry or fruit, since it has a seed and grows on bushes or trees. Others claim that it is a fruit or vegetable because it requires additional processing, after which it acquires its unique taste.

To find out what olives are, you need to remember your school botany course. In botany there is no such thing as berries, vegetables or fruits - this is only the consumer name for the fruits of flowering plants that are intended for seed dispersal. There are juicy (berries, drupes) and dry fruits (pods, nuts, pods, achenes, grains). Olives, from a botanical point of view, are drupes and not berries, fruits or vegetables.

Olives or Olives: What's the Difference?

On the domestic market, consumers are not familiar with fresh fruits of olive trees, but with canned products with black or green fruits. This is the reason why there is a common myth among ordinary uninitiated buyers that explains why olives are black and olives are green. In their opinion, the difference between olives and olives is that they are the fruits of different types of trees. But that's not true.

In fact, the words “olives” and “olives” are synonyms in Russian. To make sure that there is no difference between olives and black olives, it is enough to find out which family the trees on which they grow belong to. Olives, also known as olives, grow on trees of the olive genus, the olive family. The word “olives” has Eastern European roots. In the rest of the world, the fruits of these trees are known as “olives.”

It is likely that this confusion with the names of the fruits of olive trees arose due to the current GOST for olives. GOST R 55464-2013 in Russian is called “Olives or black olives in pouring. Technical conditions". At the same time, in the English translation, the GOST names both olives and olives sound the same - olives, however, adjusted for color. Perhaps this is why in Russia green fruits of olive trees are called olives, and black olives are called olives.

What determines the color of olives?

The difference in the color of the fruit appears during their processing before canning. The fruits of the olive tree for preservation are collected while they are still green. To preserve them green, it takes several weeks to keep the olives in brine. To reduce the time of harvesting olives, this process is accelerated: they are saturated with oxygen. This process is called oxidation. After this, the olives acquire a coal-black color, to stabilize which a preservative, iron gluconate, is used. After this treatment, producers receive black oxidized olives, which they preserve.

After you have figured out what colors black olives with, the logical question is: “Are there real black olives?” The color of untreated olives depends on their degree of ripeness:

  • yellow-green, yellowish, white olives are harvested at the very beginning of their ripening. They are inherently immature;
  • pink, red, brown, chestnut color of the fruit indicates their partial ripeness. These olives are harvested later than green ones, but earlier than ripe ones;
  • The dark color of olives is a sign of their ripeness and can have various shades: red-black, purple-black, dark chestnut, violet. But there are no coal-black olives on trees.

The main difference between self-ripened olives is that they are always sold with a pit. This is explained by the fact that it is impossible to remove the pit from their mature pulp without damaging the pulp itself.

How olives grow

Olives grow on evergreen olive bushes or trees. In botany, up to 60 species of olive trees are distinguished, but only half of them are of industrial importance.

The main industrial type of olive trees is the European olive, one plant of which can produce up to 30 kg of fruit per season. Plants of this species are resistant to high temperatures, and mountain varieties are frost-resistant.

Trees of this species are covered with dry, hard gray bark. Narrow gray-green rough leaves grow on their crooked branches. The leaves of the olive tree do not fall off during the cold season: they change on the tree gradually.

Olive trees bloom in April-July. How do olives bloom? The flowers of oil trees are collected in panicles, which consist of 10-40 white fragrant flowers. After flowering, small fruits appear on the branch of the olive tree. An olive is an oval-shaped drupe up to 4 cm long and up to 2 cm in diameter. The color and weight of the fruit depends on its variety and degree of ripeness. The color of the fruit can vary from light green to dark purple. The pulp is elastic, oily, the skin is dense, with a waxy surface. Olive trees first begin to bear fruit after 20 years, bearing fruit once every two years.

The olives are harvested 4-5 months after the trees bloom. Olives ripen between November and January. But the harvest time often depends not on the time when the olives ripen, but on the variety and method of harvesting and processing the olives. If they are used for canning or making green oil, they are harvested 1-2 months earlier than they ripen.

Green fruits are usually picked by hand because they do not fall off the stem themselves. Ripe olives are often shaken onto a pre-spread net under the trees. After harvesting, the olives are sent for processing as quickly as possible. Any delay in this process negatively affects the quality of the final product.

Where do olives grow?

Today olive trees are cultivated:

  • in Mediterranean countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Turkey);
  • in the Maghreb countries (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya);
  • on the Black Sea coast (in Crimea, Bulgaria, Georgia, Abkhazia);
  • in the countries of Asia Minor and the Middle East (Israel, Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan);
  • in northern India;
  • in Australia;
  • in Mexico and Peru.

Olive trees are grown in these countries by both large producers and small farms.

In Russia, olive trees are not grown on an industrial scale, but small olive groves grow on the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory.

Up to 250 varieties of the cultivated species, European olive, have been bred through selective breeding. The fruits of its different varieties differ in color, size, taste and oil content. There are varieties of olives:

  • dining rooms, which contain a lot of pulp, so they are used for pickling, canning and other preparation methods;
  • oilseeds, which contain a lot of oils, so they are used to make olive oil;
  • universal.

On modern shelves you can find many varieties of olives with diverse origins. Olives are grown on an industrial scale in Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Turkey, Cyprus, Tunisia, Morocco, and Israel.

Spanish olives

The leader in the production of olives and olive products in Europe and the world is Spain. About 50% of all olives exported worldwide come from Spanish producers.

The most popular variety cultivated in Spain is Picual, which translates as “nipple”. This is a versatile olive variety, but is more often used for making butter. Olive trees of this variety are grown in the mountains and on the plains, and the fruits grown in different areas differ significantly in taste.

The Ojiblanca and Casareña varieties are famous for their small black fruits with soft, juicy pulp, from which the stone is easily separated. These are the best olives for canning.

In Italy, olives are one of the main ingredients in many dishes. The world's most popular Italian table green olive of gigantic size is the Vittoria variety. Olives of this variety have juicy, fleshy, aromatic pulp. No food additives are used for their preparation.

On the southern Italian island of Sicily, the famous variety of bright green olives, Miccio Le Olive, is grown and is renowned for its fruity flavor with a fresh finish. To preserve their color, these Sicilian olives are stored in a special brine, the recipe of which is kept secret and passed down from generation to generation.

Greek olives

More than a hundred different varieties of olives are cultivated in Greece. Often Greek olives are named after the area where olive trees of that variety grow.

The best Greek olives are considered to be the fruits of the Kalamata variety, which got their name from the town of the same name in southern Greece, near which they are grown. Ripe olives of this variety are medium in size and purple-black in color. They have juicy pulp with a tart taste and pronounced aroma.

Chalkidiki is a variety of large green olives grown in northern Greece. Due to their large size, these fruits are used for stuffing with fillings (paprika, onions, gherkins, almonds, cheese).

The most numerous olive groves in Greece are located on the island of Crete, where the Koroneiki oil variety is grown. The annual harvest of these Cretan olives exceeds the total harvest of olive fruits throughout the rest of Greece. Aromatic olive oil is produced from these olives.

French olives

Nice olives are those collected from olive groves growing near Nice. These are small-sized fruits of purple or black color, have oily pulp with a pleasant delicate taste.

French small black olives from Provence have a slight piquant bitterness. Nyon olives are round in shape, small, red-brown in color and also slightly bitter. The French variety Picolini is represented by green, crispy fruits with a fresh, salty taste.

The vast majority of French olive varieties are universal and are used for making oil and in cooking, in canned or pickled form, in the form of pastes, pates, and dressings. Cosmetics are made from them.

Israeli olives

In Israel, mainly oil-bearing varieties of olives are grown, so olive production in this country is aimed mainly at producing oil.

One of the popular Israeli varieties is Suri. It is believed that the real homeland of this variety is the Lebanese city of Sur (Tire). These aromatic olives produce a piquant green oil with hints of pepper. Israeli Suri oil is well suited for preparing Jewish dishes.

Another popular olive variety grown in Israel and used to make olive oil is Barnea. An oil with a subtle aroma of fresh hay and fruity notes is extracted from them. Israeli green olive oil has a very beneficial property for children - taking it daily on an empty stomach is effective against worms in them.

Chemical composition of olives

The fruits of oil trees contain proteins, fats, carbohydrates (), which are energy and plastic materials for the human body. The B:F:Y ratio per 100 grams of olives differs from their degree of maturity and variety: in unripe small fruits their content is lower than in ripe large ones.

The taste of fresh olives is bitterish-tart or bitter, so they are not eaten raw. For the consumer, what is more important is not the nutrient content of raw olives, but the amount contained in the finished product. Considering that olives often enter the domestic market in canned form, below is data on the nutritional value and chemical composition of the canned product.

The nutritional value
Name Content per 100 g, grams
0,7-0,9
10,7-15,2
4,6-6,8

Olives are a source of vegetable fats. A remarkable fact is that despite the high fat content in olives, they are not harmful: more than 90% of the fats in the fruit pulp contain mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The peculiarity of unsaturated fatty acids is that in the human body they are not independently synthesized and are practically not deposited (accumulated). For the normal functioning of the human body, daily consumption of foods rich in such fatty acids is important.

Olive carbohydrates consist of 50-85% indigestible dietary fiber (), so these carbohydrates do not pose an energy load on the body. In addition, the glycemic index of olives is low and is only 15 units per 100 g, which allows them to be consumed by diabetics.

The pulp of olives contains phenols (oleocanthal), which have powerful antioxidant properties. These substances are quickly destroyed when olives are cooked, but are preserved in the extra cold-pressed oil.

The pulp of the olive tree fruit is rich in vitamins and minerals. These substances, unlike proteins, fats and carbohydrates, do not contain calories, but are biologically active substances that affect many processes in the human body.

Vitamin and mineral composition of olive pulp
Name Content per 100 g, milligrams
0,12
0,02
0,01
6,6
0,24
1,5
2,8
750,0-1550,0
74,0
36,0
8,0
4,0
0,23
3,3
0,22
0,01

The chemical composition of olives differs significantly from their variety, place of growth, time of harvest, and method of processing.

More than 2 million tons of olive oil are produced annually in the world. It is used in many cuisines around the world, but for our country olive oil is still classified as exotic.

The benefits and harms of oil depend on many factors:

  • varieties of olives and places of their cultivation;
  • the method of collecting them (manually or mechanically);
  • what kind of olives the oil is made from (green or black);
  • how the oil is made (first or second pressing, cold or hot);
  • conditions and period of its storage.

How is olive oil made?

Olive oil is made from olives of varying degrees of maturity. Most often these are ripe olives, but some varieties of olives are grown for pressing in their unripe form, for example, the Israeli green oil Barnea.

The process of making olive oil consists of several successive stages:

  • fruit sorting;
  • cleaning them from leaves and stalks;
  • wash in warm;
  • first oil extraction;
  • grinding pulp and seeds;
  • second oil extraction.

Most oil producers try to create a full production cycle: from growing the crop to making the oil. It is worth noting that the production of olive products is practically waste-free: biogas is made from olive pomace, and briquetted environmentally friendly fuel is made from olive pits.

Types of Olive Oil

Depending on the method of collection, extraction and thermal or chemical treatment, olive oils are divided into several types.

Extra-virgin (extra-virgin)

This unfiltered oil is obtained by first cold pressing. No heat treatment or chemicals are used in its manufacturing process. During laboratory testing, the oil should contain less than 1% acids. This product contains all the vitamins and essential fats that are found in the fruits themselves, as well as oleocanthal.

Virgin (virgin)

This oil is produced in the same way as extra-virgin oil, so the content of nutrients in it is preserved. The difference between virgin oil is the higher permissible acid content in it - up to 3.3%. Due to this acidity, virgin oil has a milder taste.

Refined olive

It is obtained by refining from oil that has an acidity of over 3.3%. The taste of refined oil is neutral, it also does not have a special aroma. This is a product that contains almost only fat and none of the beneficial substances that olive oil is so famous for.

Pure olive

This product is obtained by mixing virgin and refined oils to improve the taste and aroma properties of the latter. Accordingly, the beneficial properties of this oil are somewhere between virgin oil and a refined product.

Light and extra light

In the process of producing these oils, various technologies are used (separation, deodorization, bleaching, heat and chemical treatments), resulting in a product with a “lighter” fat composition, and at the same time with a reduced content of all other substances.

Extra virgin and virgin oils contain many beneficial substances and are the most expensive, while refined and light oils are the cheapest.

In addition to cost and usefulness, the choice of olive oil is influenced by its purpose:

  • Unrefined oils are not suitable for frying, because carcinogens are formed in them during heat treatment;
  • Refined brands of oils are not suitable for dressing salads because they lack the expected olive taste and aroma.

How olives are harvested

Olives are eaten in prepared form. They are prepared for consumption in different ways:

  • dried;
  • dried;
  • salted (by dry salting);
  • marinate;
  • canned.

How to remove bitterness from olives

After harvest, olives for preservation are washed and immersed in barrels of brine for several months. Thanks to the fermentation of this brine, the olives lose their bitterness and become soft and sweet. After this, the fruits are sorted, stalks and leaves are removed, and sorted by size.

Olive caliber

On a jar of canned olives, their caliber must be indicated. Their cost depends on this. To inform the consumer about the size of the olives in the jar, symbols are used - two numbers separated by a fraction. These numbers indicate the minimum and maximum number of olives of this caliber in 1 kg. Accordingly, the smaller the numbers indicated in the fraction, the larger the caliber of the olives. There are four calibration categories:

  1. Giant or royal olives are especially large in size (70/90, 91/100, 101/110).
  2. Large (111/120, 121/140, 141/160).
  3. Average (161/180, 181/200, 201/230, 231/260).
  4. Small (261/290, 291/320, 321/350, 351/380).

Thus, knowing how many grams are in the jar and the size of the olives, you can figure out how many fruits are in the jar.

How to remove pits from olives

Olives can be preserved pitted or pitted. How do you remove pits from olives? The seeds are removed using a special apparatus with knives. All these processes in large production facilities are carried out on automated lines.

Green olives are often stuffed. Capers, gherkins, peppers, garlic, onions and other various ingredients can be used as filling. This process is carried out manually.

Beneficial features

Olive products, due to the large amount of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals they contain, have many beneficial effects on various organs and systems of the human body when consumed orally. The beneficial properties of olives and olive oil make it possible to include them in therapeutic dietary menus, as well as in the daily diet for various pathologies of internal organs. They can be eaten with or without the pit. It is difficult to answer which olives are healthier: with or without pits, because they act on the body differently.

For the cardiovascular system

Olives are a leader among foods that are good for the cardiovascular system. Polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are contained in large quantities, are absorbed into the human blood from the intestines and exhibit their beneficial properties:

  • anti-atherosclerotic effect (binds in the blood, prevents the formation and reduces existing atherosclerotic plaques);
  • increase the elasticity of blood vessels (by restoring damaged vascular endothelium);
  • reduce vascular permeability (by strengthening the connections between the cells of the vascular walls);
  • reduce blood viscosity, thereby reducing the risk of pathological thrombosis;
  • help reduce blood pressure.

Indications for regular consumption of olive products for heart and vascular diseases are:

  • atherosclerosis;
  • cardiac ischemia;
  • arrhythmias;
  • arterial hypertension;
  • neurocirculatory dystonia;
  • varicose veins;
  • thrombosis and thrombophlebitis;
  • thrombophilia;
  • post-infarction and post-stroke conditions;
  • angiopathy.

The benefits of olive tree fruits and olive oil for the heart are proven by scientific research. After mass clinical examinations of residents of European countries, they found that residents of the Mediterranean suffer less from coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis of blood vessels than residents within the continent.

For the digestive system

What are the benefits of olives for the gastrointestinal tract? Polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamins from olive products have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the digestive system:

  • stimulate the production of digestive juices and;
  • heal defects in mucous membranes;
  • restore liver cells;
  • have a choleretic effect;
  • prevent the formation of stones in the bile ducts;
  • normalize intestinal peristalsis (forward movements);
  • remove toxins from the intestines;
  • restore intestinal microflora;
  • help with hemorrhoids.

Olives affect a person’s stool, but it is difficult to say unambiguously whether olives strengthen or weaken, because the effect of their use depends on the presence of a pit in them.

Olive pulp, containing a lot of fat, promotes accelerated excretion of intestinal contents. Therefore, when eating olives in small quantities daily, they have a laxative effect and prevent constipation.

And the oil seed, containing a lot of tannins, strengthens, and is therefore useful for digestive disorders associated with diarrhea. Indigestible fiber, due to its spongy structure, is able to absorb toxins and toxic substances and remove them from the body, so activated carbon can be replaced with olives.

For the genitourinary system

Olive products can reduce the tendency to form stones due to urolithiasis. Regular consumption of olive oil helps get rid of kidney stones.

The inclusion of olive products in the daily diet is beneficial for the health of the female reproductive system, since fatty acids are included in fat metabolism and help normalize the synthesis of female sex hormones. For men, olives are useful for their ability to increase potency and improve sperm quality.

For metabolic disorders

Olive products can be consumed for diabetes. They normalize blood cholesterol levels in type 2 diabetes, thereby preventing the development of diabetic macro- and microangiopathies.

Olive oil is useful for gout because it helps dissolve uric acid salts that are deposited in the joints and urate stones in the kidneys.

For neurological diseases

Fatty acids and fatty acids contained in olive products normalize the functioning of the central nervous system, increase its performance, and improve memory. Scientists have proven that daily consumption of olive oil improves the condition of patients with multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, and restores cognitive functions of the brain after strokes.

For inflammation

Olive products block the synthesis of prostaglandins - substances that cause inflammatory reactions in the human body. Oleocanthal, present unchanged in extra-virgin olive oil, has anti-inflammatory properties that mimic the effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). This allows you to include olives and products made from them in medical nutrition for arthritis, arthrosis, osteochondrosis and spondylosis.

For the body losing weight

The beneficial properties of olives and products made from them are successfully used in various diets. However, they should be included in the diet menu in doses, since they have a high energy value. For example, it is allowed to alternate black and green olives, but no more than 4 pieces per day. Their benefit for weight loss lies in the complex effect of the substances contained in olives on the human body:

  • binding of “harmful” fats and cholesterol in the intestines and blood;
  • saturating the body with essential fatty acids;
  • antianemic effect;
  • increasing the elasticity of blood vessels and skin;
  • improving the condition of the skin and its appendages (hair, nails);
  • normalization of stool;
  • improving mood.

Why do people who are losing weight crave olives so much? What is missing in their body? Olives are rich in sodium salts, so the desire to eat them arises when there is a deficiency. This desire is especially relevant for people on a diet. To satisfy your desire to eat olives, you should not include them in your diet in canned, pickled or salted form. This cooking process makes the olives very salty, and is known to retain fluid in the body. It is better to give preference to dried, dried olives or olive oil.

Against cancer

According to medical statistics, women in Mediterranean countries suffer from breast cancer several times less often than European women living in other areas. The assumption that the reason for this is a large amount of olives and olive oil in the diet was confirmed in large-scale studies conducted in Spain from 2003 to 2009. The purpose of the research was to prove the anti-cancer effect of olive fats.

Spanish doctors examined about four thousand women who adhered to different diets:

  1. The first group of women followed a Mediterranean diet with olive oil for a long time.
  2. The second is the Mediterranean diet with hazelnuts.
  3. The third is a diet with a reduced amount of fat.
  4. The fourth group was a control group and did not involve changes in diet.

During the medical examinations of women who took part in this experiment, it was found that women in the first group were almost 70% less likely to develop breast cancer than women in the other three groups.

For pregnant women and nursing mothers

The mother's body experiences an increased need for nutrients, vitamins and minerals, especially essential (irreplaceable) ones, in order to provide their baby with them in sufficient quantities. If there is a deficiency of such substances, they begin to be “washed out” from the organs of a pregnant woman or nursing mother, leading to disruption of their functioning. If the deficiency of nutrients persists, the child will also develop a deficiency in the future.

The substances in olives have a beneficial effect on a woman’s body during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Their benefits are undeniable both for the female body and for the harmonious development of the child. Olives, especially those that have ripened on their own, are a source of iron, and therefore prevent the development of anemia in pregnant women. The healthy fats in olive oil improve the condition of the placenta and cervix before childbirth.

Regular consumption of olives (except canned) and olive oil helps pregnant women and nursing mothers, without compromising their own health, provide their baby’s body with the substances it needs for growth and harmonious development.

For children

Olives are good for children, but they need to be introduced into children’s diets very carefully. At what age it is best to do this depends on the state of the child’s digestive system. Considering that in our country olives are sold in the form of canned food, children over 3 years old can start introducing these products into the menu.

It’s better to start with ripe olives, which are sold in glass jars, but no more than 1 piece per day. At the same time, the product should not contain preservatives, especially iron gluconate. This preservative may cause allergies.

For animals

Olive fats are also beneficial for pets (dogs and cats): they improve digestion and make the coat smooth and shiny. Therefore, it is not at all surprising why dogs and cats love food flavored with olive oil.

But sometimes it also happens that animals are “drawn” to eat olives from the owner’s table or drink the brine in which they were kept. Owners have quite natural questions: “Are they harmful to animals? Is it possible to give them to a dog or cat?

It is not known for certain why cats love olives. They probably instinctively feel the usefulness of this fruit. Fresh, dried or dried olives can be given to animals, but in a limited form. As for canned olives, it is not recommended to give them to pets, as they contain a lot of salt and preservatives.

Benefits of seeds

Many olive lovers are interested in whether it is possible to eat olive pits? What are olive pits good for?

Olive pits dissolve in the stomach, enveloping its walls, which is useful for erosions and ulcers of the gastric mucosa. In order for their antiulcer effect to manifest itself, it is enough to swallow 4-5 seeds on an empty stomach.

Swallowing whole olive pits can often be difficult and sometimes dangerous (some varieties of olives have large, sharp pits). To avoid harm to health, to treat stomach ulcers it is better to grind the seeds and eat them in powder form.

Olive pits are useful as absorbents after alcohol abuse. The bone is partially digested in the stomach, enveloping its mucous membrane, and the rest of it dissolves in the intestines, absorbing toxic substances.

For face and body

The rich chemical composition of olive oil has a good cosmetic effect, improving the condition of the skin and its appendages (hair, nails). Based on it, a variety of homemade cosmetics for women are made (creams, ointments and balms for the body, masks for the face and hair, baths for nails). It is also included in industrial cosmetics.

Cosmetics based on it are recommended for use every day, because they have practically no contraindications. But before using them, especially for problem skin, it is necessary to conduct skin allergy tests. To do this, apply a little product to the bend of the elbow joint and after 30 minutes look at the reaction of the skin in this place. An allergy test can be considered negative if there is no feeling of burning, itching, redness or irritation at the site of application.

Restrictions and contraindications for use

Canned olives, like any other canned food, are saturated with salty marinade, so eating them daily is not recommended. This is especially true for oxidized black olives, which contain the preservative ferric gluconate. One can of oxidized black olives contains more than 20 mg of ferrous gluconate, with the maximum daily dose for an adult being 10 mg, so it can cause food poisoning. This preservative makes olives an allergenic product.

  • children;
  • pregnant women, especially in the early stages;
  • women with breastfeeding (breastfeeding);
  • with gastritis with high acidity;
  • for pancreatitis and cholecystitis in the acute phase;
  • with cholelithiasis;
  • for kidney stones;
  • with cystitis.

Contraindications to the use of canned olives are also individual intolerance and allergies.

How to use

Canned oxidized olives are tasty, but they cannot be used as a remedy: they should be considered solely as a delicacy that should be included in the diet only occasionally.

How many olives can you eat and what kind? In order for olives to fully exhibit their healing properties, they must be consumed daily in dried, dried, pickled form in the amount of 5-7 pieces per day.

Fruits can be replaced with olive oil. It is preferable for adults to consume high-quality unrefined vegetable oil daily for medicinal purposes, preferably extra-virgin or virgin, 1-3 tablespoons. It should be remembered that 1 tablespoon of olive oil contains 200-220 kcal.

How to choose olive oil

Recently, Chinese entrepreneurs have begun to produce olive oil from fruits purchased in bulk from olive farmers. Transporting fresh olives adversely affects the quality of their oil, so it is better to avoid such a purchase.

In today's market, according to the University of California, about 80% of olive oil sold is counterfeit. Counterfeits often have bottles and labels similar to the original ones, so it is very easy to make a mistake. How to distinguish fake olive oil from real one?

To protect yourself when purchasing this valuable product, you must follow simple rules:

  1. It is advisable to buy the product in specialized or brand stores, which is better than purchasing it on the Internet or on the market.
  2. It is better to prefer oil from well-known brands.
  3. Before purchasing, you need to study on the Internet (preferably on the manufacturer’s website) how the original packaging and label differ, and what its approximate market value is.
  4. Carefully inspect the packaging and label on the selected product container to ensure they match the original ones.
  5. The label must contain information in Russian about the manufacturer, type and method of oil extraction, storage conditions, container volume, expiration date.
  6. The price of the original product should not differ significantly from the average market price.
  7. You should not purchase expired olive oil. Not only will it be bitter, but it can also cause food poisoning.

When you get home, you should put the container with oil in the refrigerator. At low temperatures, natural olive oil becomes cloudy and flakes appear. At room temperature, the oil becomes clear again and the flakes dissolve.

How to choose olives

It is best to buy olives in the regions where they are grown. It is there that you can buy the most delicious and healthy fruits that are difficult to find here.

The cost of harvested olives depends on many factors:

  • where and how trees grow;
  • how the harvest is harvested;
  • caliber;
  • preparation method (salted, pickled, canned);
  • the presence of a seed (with or without seeds);
  • integrity of fruits (whole or cut);
  • type of filling.

In order for the purchased olives to be tasty and healthy, you need to know how to choose them. Today you can purchase these fruits by weight (in barrels or polymer containers) and in individual packaging (in jars or vacuum packaging). Which ones are healthier?

Buying in bulk

When buying olives by weight, you need to pay attention to:

  1. Container with olives. The container must be plastic and have a lid. If olives are sold from an open tin container, such a purchase should be abandoned. When opened, tin containers quickly oxidize and release toxic substances into the product.
  2. Label. The label must be available to the buyer so that he can familiarize himself with the manufacturer’s information and clarify the date of manufacture and expiration date of the product.
  3. Temperature and storage conditions. Storing pickled olives without brine is unacceptable. The fruits must be completely covered with it. The storage temperature of an open container with pickled olives in brine should not exceed +6°C.
  4. Brine color. The brine should not be cloudy or dark. It is advisable that the brine be covered with a layer of olive oil on top, which prevents it from spoiling.
  5. Type of olives. Crumpled, weathered and wrinkled fruits should not be found among fresh ones. If there are any, this indicates that the seller mixed unsold remaining product with fresh product.
  6. Taste of fruits. Try one drupe. Its pulp should be soft and easily separated from the stone. No foreign smell or taste should be felt.
  7. Pay attention to how and how the fruits are removed from the brine and what equipment is used for this. The safety of the released product depends on the cleanliness of these devices.

But, no matter how attentive and careful the buyer is, he is not immune from unscrupulous sellers. To avoid deception and counterfeiting, you can purchase olives in individual packaging.

Purchasing individual packaging

What types of individual packaging are there? How to choose canned olives? On store shelves, consumers are offered olives in different types of packaging: glass, tin and vacuum packaging. Which ones are better? When choosing from the proposed options, it is better to give preference to olives in a vacuum or a glass jar. This way you can see what the drupes look like, what color and size the fruits are.

The label must indicate how much the product weighs without containers (net weight). Be sure to pay attention to the expiration date of olives. Expired fruits can cause food poisoning or intoxication with heavy metal salts.

How to store the product

Canned olives can be stored in an airtight container for 3 years. After opening the original packaging, the shelf life is reduced many times over. How long open cans of olives are stored depends on the material from which the container is made.

Storing olives in an open tin is strictly prohibited. The inner surface of this container is not designed for contact with air, so it quickly oxidizes. Toxic oxidation products pass into the brine, and from it into the olives. Consumption of such olives is fraught with severe food poisoning and intoxication. How to store opened olives from a tin so that they do not cause poisoning? Immediately after opening a tin of olives, the product must be transferred to a glass or ceramic container.

How to store opened olives? In glass or polymer containers, opened canned olives in brine can be stored for up to 3 days.

It happens that after opening a can of olives, the brine was drained and the entire product was not used. How to preserve leftover olives without brine? Is it possible to freeze them? You cannot store olives without brine: the product quickly weathers, loses moisture, and wrinkles. You should also not freeze olives without brine or with it. Frozen olives become very soft and tasteless after defrosting.

Use in cooking

Whole olives with pits or stuffed olives are used as a separate snack. Cut olives and pitted olives are used to decorate dishes and added to salads, soups, casseroles, and stews. They are ground into puree and olive paste is prepared from them. Thanks to their piquant taste, olives add spicy notes to drinks.

Olive oil is used in cooking for dressing salads, preparing sauces and marinades, and baking. Can you fry in olive oil? Only refined olive oil is suitable for frying. Extra virgin oils are eaten raw.

Are olives eaten raw?

Raw olives have a bitter taste, so they are not usually eaten raw. Everywhere except their homeland - Greece. For example, in one of the central Greek regions of Magnesia, ripe olives are eaten without any pre-processing. This is a special local variety of large dark cherry-colored olives with easily peelable skin and juicy, oily soft pulp. These olives have a tart, bittersweet taste with a spicy aftertaste.

But eating olives in this way is an exception to the rule. More often, olives are used in cooking in processed form. For culinary purposes, they are dried, dried, salted, pickled, and canned.

What do olives go with?

The specific taste of the fruits of the olive tree goes well with:

  • spicy herbs;
  • lemon;
  • pickled garlic and onions;
  • vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers);
  • greens;
  • nuts;
  • pickled cheeses;
  • fish;
  • seafood;
  • lean meats;
  • alcoholic beverages (wines, liqueurs).

Black olives are more suitable for meat dishes, and green olives are more suitable for fish and seafood.

What do you eat olives with?

Different people have different taste preferences. Very often they depend on the characteristics of the national cuisine. In Greece, they prefer to eat olives with feta, cheese, tomatoes,... In Spain, olives are usually served with sweet peppers, meat dishes, and seafood. In Italy, olives are added to pizza, lasagna, eaten with mozzarella, and tomatoes.

But, as they say: “There is no friend according to taste!” Where to add, with what and how to eat olives, everyone is free to choose at their own discretion. The main thing is that it tastes good!

In Mediterranean countries, flavored olive oil is used as a salad dressing. How to make homemade flavored olive oil? To do this, light or refined olive oil is infused for 15-20 days:

  • spices (, coriander, cloves,);
  • herbs (thyme, basil, marjoram, rosemary, oregano);
  • zest and fruits of citrus fruits;
  • vegetables (garlic, horseradish, paprika);
  • dried berries.

In recent years, in Mediterranean European countries it has become fashionable to decorate the table with olives, which are colored with natural food dyes in red, orange, and emerald colors.

Sometimes it happens that you need pitted olives to prepare a dish, but there are only fruits with pits in the refrigerator. To remove pits from olives at home, you can use a cherry pitting machine.

There is another secret to pitting olives: use a wide knife blade to lightly press the olive onto the work surface. If the olive is ripe, the pit in it will begin to move. After this, it can be easily removed using tweezers.

To extend the shelf life of opened canned olives, you need to drain the brine and add olive oil to the rest of the product. These canned foods can be stored for up to 2 months.

In the history of mankind, the branch of an olive tree has always been considered a symbol of peace among many peoples.

Greece is considered the birthplace of the olive tree. In ancient Greek mythology, there is a myth about the appearance of the olive tree. According to this myth, once a dispute arose between the goddess of wisdom, crafts and knowledge, Pallas Athena, and the ruler of the seas and oceans, Poseidon, over the ownership of Attica. Competing with each other, Poseidon presented the people of this region as a gift with a source of sea water, and Athena, thrusting a spear into the ground, presented an olive tree. The judges recognized Athena as the winner in the dispute, since they considered her gift more useful, and gave her this land under her protection. The people of Attica, in gratitude for such a generous gift, named the city of Athens in her honor.

The Olympians of Ancient Greece were awarded a wreath woven from olive branches if they won the Games. Its image can be found on ancient Greek vases and amphorae, from where the culture of worship of this plant passed on to Ancient Rome. The first descriptions and characteristics of olive trees and their fruits in the literature also appeared there.

But it was not only the Greeks and Romans who revered olive trees. The Bible also contains references to this tree: during the Flood, Noah was notified that dry land was nearby by a dove that brought him an olive branch. And the Virgin Mary was notified that she would give birth to the Savior of the human race by an angel who brought her a sprig of olive.

In the Middle East, the olive tree was considered a symbol of love and passion, where there is its own legend about the appearance of the olive tree. One day Princess Maslina fell in love with a shepherd named Olivo, but her love was not reciprocated. Then Olive got angry and killed the shepherd on a dark night. At the site of his death, a tree with narrow leaves and small tart fruits grew. This tree was named olive tree in honor of the shepherd, and the fruits ripening on it were called olives.

The olive tree in Muslim countries is considered the Tree of Life and a symbol of the Prophet.

The olive branch today is a symbol of peace and is present on the coats of arms of many countries: Italy, Cyprus, Serbia, Portugal, France, Zaire. The white olive branch is featured on the emblem of the United Nations (UN).

These interesting facts indicate the importance and reverence of this plant in many countries around the world.

Conclusion

For many centuries, olives and olive oil have been the basis of the economy of many states. Today they have not lost their popularity. They are valued not only for their taste, but also for their healthfulness, low calorie content and high levels of healthy fats, fiber and iron. Knowing the benefits of olives, it becomes clear why you want to eat them.

Fresh olives are not edible until they undergo certain culinary processing. They are consumed salted, pickled or canned. Green olives are stuffed with a variety of fillings, from onions and garlic to gourmet blue cheese. Olive oil is no less popular in cooking.

The beneficial properties of olives and their oils are successfully used in therapeutic nutrition for diabetes, gout, cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, urolithiasis, and sexual disorders. Even the seeds of the olive tree are useful.

Despite all the beneficial properties, olives have a number of restrictions when consumed. To ensure that these fruits do not cause harm to health, you need to know in what quantity and how to properly eat olives for a particular ailment. Before taking them as a preventative or therapeutic agent, you should consult your doctor.

Where do olives grow?

Green olives Black olives (olives)
Calorie content 145 kcal 115 kcal
Squirrels 1 g 0.84 g
Fats 15.3 g 10.68 g
Carbohydrates 3.8 g 6.26 g
Cellulose 3.3 g 3.2 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A 0.019 mg 0.02 mg
Beta carotene 0.231 mg 0.237 mg
Beta-cryptoxanthin 0.009 mg 0.009 mg
Lutein + Zeaxanthin 0.51 mg 0.51 mg
Vitamin B1 0.021 mg 0.003 mg
Vitamin B2 0.007 mg -
Vitamin B4 14.2 mg 10.3 mg
Vitamin B5 0.023 mg 0.015 mg
Vitamin B6 0.031 mg 0.012 mg
Vitamin B9 0.003 mg -
Vitamin C - 1.5 mg
Vitamin E 3.81 mg 1.65 mg
Vitamin K 0.001 mg 0.001 mg
Vitamin PP 0.237 mg 0.037 mg
Minerals
Potassium 42 mg 9 mg
Calcium 52 mg 94 mg
Magnesium 11 mg 4 mg
Sodium 1566 mg 735 mg
Phosphorus 4 mg 3 mg
Iron 0.49 mg 3.32 mg
Manganese - 0.02 mg
Copper 0.12 mg 0.25 mg
Selenium 0.001 mg 0.001 mg
Zinc 0.04 mg 0.22 mg
Fatty acid
Omega-3 fatty acids 0.092 g 0.065 g
Omega-6 fatty acids 1.215 g 0.847 g
Palmitic 1.691 g 1.179 g
Stearic 0.338 0.236 g
Palmitoleic 0.123 g 0.086 g
Oleic 11.144 g 7.77 g
Gadoleic 0.146 g 0.032 g
Linoleic 1.215 g 0.847 g
Linolenic 0.092 g 0.064 g

For men

For women

The benefits of different forms

Methods of application

Harm of olives

Contraindications

  • with pancreatitis;
  • with cholecystitis;

Why do you want olives?

A little more about the benefits of olives

Olives and weight loss

And again about diets

And a little more about olives

Canned olives: benefits and harm to the body, calorie content

Olives from a jar are an excellent snack and addition to salads, meat dishes and cocktails. However, not many people know that canned olives can bring not only benefits to the body, but also harm.

When including them in your diet, it is important to choose a high-quality product and observe certain restrictions on consumption.

Olives and olives are the fruits of the same tree - the evergreen olive. At the initial stage of ripening, they acquire a rich green hue.

At this time, they are picked and sent to manufacturing plants. There the olives are marinated for a long time and then preserved.

The olives remaining on the tree continue the ripening process, and gradually change their color to red, purple, brown and light black. At the same time, almost black olives have a wrinkled and slightly unsightly appearance.

How do olives grow?

To get very black canned olives, manufacturers use a trick and use picked green olives.

To give them a characteristic color, they are poured into special containers and oxygen is supplied inside, which causes oxidation of the fruit. This is a long process that lasts about ten days.

After this, the olives are treated with iron gluconate and preserved.

The benefits of “chemical” olives are quite questionable, so when choosing fruits in a store, you should carefully consider them. A high-quality product has an uneven black tint, with an admixture of red, brown or purple, which is caused by uneven ripening.

Interesting: The benefits and harms of macadamia nuts for men and women

Chemical composition

The benefits and harms to the body of high-quality canned olives are influenced by the chemicals that make up the product:

Olives contain a large amount of vitamins

  • vitamins B, A, E, K accelerate regeneration processes in cells, fight free radicals, normalize hormonal levels, the state of the nervous and reproductive systems. They have a beneficial effect on metabolic processes, improve vision, restore microflora, protect against the harmful effects of carcinogens and increase local immunity of the mucous membranes;
  • Potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus ensure strong bones, normal functioning of the kidneys, cardiovascular, nervous and digestive systems, as well as endocrine glands. Macroelements regulate blood clotting, are responsible for the membrane potential of cells, the synthesis of proteins and carbohydrates, osmotic pressure and energy metabolism;
  • iron, copper, selenium, zinc ensure normal hematopoiesis, prevent anemia, restore the health of the skin and mucous membranes, and support the ability to bear children. Microelements reduce the risk of developing cancer, restore damaged cells, normalize the functions of the pancreas, stop inflammatory processes, increase the body's resistance to pathogenic microorganisms, infections and viruses;
  • fiber is necessary for healthy intestinal microflora, maintaining normal cholesterol and sugar levels, rapid elimination of toxic substances, as well as regular bowel movements;
  • Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids strengthen the heart, blood vessels and bones, have a beneficial effect on the nervous and immune systems, accelerate cellular metabolism, and improve cognitive functions of the brain. Acids alleviate the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, restore reproductive functions, regulate the production of hormones, enzymes and proteins, and also prevent the appearance of malignant neoplasms;
  • pectin improves intestinal motility, increases blood circulation, cleanses the body of radioactive elements, pesticides and heavy metal ions. It is able to stop inflammation, reduce pain and restore the structure of the mucous membranes of the digestive system;
  • catechins belong to the group of powerful natural antioxidants, strengthen the walls of capillaries and blood vessels, remove cholesterol, accelerate metabolic processes, and destroy harmful bacteria. The substances are able to neutralize toxic compounds and heavy metals, stop the overall aging of the body, in particular brain cells, and also protect against depression and neuropsychiatric diseases;
  • phytosterols help reduce the level of bad cholesterol, reduce the likelihood of cancer, increase the rate of formation of collagen fibers, normalize the balance of hormones, and relieve depression.

Regular consumption of olives will cleanse the body of radioactive elements

Beneficial features

When purchasing canned olives, you should take into account their benefits and harm to the body. If you take into account contraindications and include only high-quality products in your diet, olive fruits will have the following beneficial effects:

  • cleanse the body of toxic compounds, toxins and heavy metal salts;
  • normalize the functioning of the digestive tract, eliminate constipation;
  • restore the activity of the nervous system;
  • will reduce the concentration of bad cholesterol and the risk of plaque deposition on the walls of blood vessels;
  • will maintain an optimal balance of vital elements;
  • will prevent the appearance of sand and stones in the gall and bladder, as well as the kidneys;
  • will serve as a prophylactic against prostatitis and impotence, will have a beneficial effect on the number of sperm and the quality of seminal fluid;
  • will increase energy levels and vitality;
  • will stop the natural aging process;
  • improve the condition of skin, hair and nails;
  • prevent the appearance of malignant neoplasms;
  • strengthen the heart muscle and blood vessels, reduce the risk of angina and other diseases of the cardiovascular system;
  • will restore normal blood composition, relieve iron deficiency anemia, thereby increasing the supply of oxygen to cellular structures;
  • normalize the functioning of the liver and gall bladder;
  • antihistamine effect on the body will help eliminate the manifestations of allergic reactions at the cellular level.

Canned olives are widely used in cooking

Olives can be consumed on their own or added to various salads. In addition, the ability of olive fruits to neutralize the harmful effects of alcohol makes them an indispensable product when drinking alcoholic beverages.

Harm

In addition to their benefits, canned olives can be harmful to the body, so including them in the diet should be subject to certain restrictions. People suffering from cholecystitis should not eat olive fruits due to the choleretic effect that the fruits have.

They should be used with caution by those who have kidney disease and arterial hypertension.

When choosing olives, you should not buy deep black fruits that have a uniform and bright shade. The high content of harmful chemical compounds can harm the immune system of a pregnant woman.

Women during pregnancy are allowed to eat olives in limited quantities.

During lactation, you should avoid eating olives and black olives.

To protect yourself from purchasing low-quality olive fruits, you must carefully read the composition indicated on the container.

If there is ferrous gluconate, monosodium glutamate, flavorings or preservatives, it is better to refrain from purchasing.

Long-term consumption of “chemical” olives can cause the development of allergic reactions, attacks of dizziness, pain in the stomach, and in rare cases provoke the appearance of erosions and ulcers in the gastrointestinal tract.

It is also worth checking the expiration date and integrity of the container. Olives that are expired or stored improperly can cause serious poisoning.

Olives help improve blood composition and remove toxins

Olives are rich in biologically active substances that can regulate the functioning of the body, remove toxins, improve blood composition and prevent the onset of cancer.

However, you should not abuse the fruits. To achieve a positive effect, it is enough to eat seven pieces a day. For girls who want to get rid of extra pounds, the daily norm is two olives. They will satisfy your hunger and prevent you from overeating.

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What are the benefits of olives?

Most Mediterranean dishes use olives in their composition - the benefits and excellent taste of these fruits allow them to be added to many recipes. European olive is recommended for use by both men and women due to its medicinal effects.

Where do olives grow?

Olive europaea, whose fruits are olives, is a heat-loving plant growing in southern countries. Most often it is found in Mediterranean countries: Greece and Turkey, Israel, Italy and Spain. Spain is the main supplier of olives on the world market, and has been the leader for many years.

In addition to the main habitat, olive trees are grown in Iraq and Iran, Turkmenistan, India, Peru and Mexico. In Soviet times, European olive was grown on the Black Sea coast and in Crimea, as well as in Abkhazia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Are olives a fruit, vegetable or berry?

Olives are often classified as berries and fruits: they are small seed fruits that resemble cherries or plums. From a botanical point of view, they belong to the group of drupes: these are fruits that have only one seed and are not considered berries.

Olives belong to the group of drupes

Olives are similar to berries in size, fruits in structure, and vegetables in taste. But at the same time, they do not belong to any of these groups: olive fruits are allocated to a separate family “Oliaceae”. The genus of this plant is “Olive”, and the species is “European olive”.

Why are olives black and olives green?

Olives and olives are the fruits of the same tree, which is called the “European Olive”. The difference between them lies in the degree of ripeness: green color indicates immaturity, and dark color indicates complete ripeness of the fruit.

Olives, known in European countries as “black olives,” are not actually black in color: their rich dark hue is closer to purple or brown tones. One side of olives is often darker than the other, and the pit is not removed.

Olives and olives grow on the same tree

Chemical composition of olives and BJU

The beneficial effects of olive fruits on the body are due to the components in their composition.

A table with the composition of black and green fruits, which takes into account calorie content, dietary fat, the amount of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids.

Green olives Black olives (olives)
Calorie content 145 kcal 115 kcal
Squirrels 1 g 0.84 g
Fats 15.3 g 10.68 g
Carbohydrates 3.8 g 6.26 g
Cellulose 3.3 g 3.2 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A 0.019 mg 0.02 mg
Beta carotene 0.231 mg 0.237 mg
Beta-cryptoxanthin 0.009 mg 0.009 mg
Lutein + Zeaxanthin 0.51 mg 0.51 mg
Vitamin B1 0.021 mg 0.003 mg
Vitamin B2 0.007 mg -
Vitamin B4 14.2 mg 10.3 mg
Vitamin B5 0.023 mg 0.015 mg
Vitamin B6 0.031 mg 0.012 mg
Vitamin B9 0.003 mg -
Vitamin C - 1.5 mg
Vitamin E 3.81 mg 1.65 mg
Vitamin K 0.001 mg 0.001 mg
Vitamin PP 0.237 mg 0.037 mg
Minerals
Potassium 42 mg 9 mg
Calcium 52 mg 94 mg
Magnesium 11 mg 4 mg
Sodium 1566 mg 735 mg
Phosphorus 4 mg 3 mg
Iron 0.49 mg 3.32 mg
Manganese - 0.02 mg
Copper 0.12 mg 0.25 mg
Selenium 0.001 mg 0.001 mg
Zinc 0.04 mg 0.22 mg
Fatty acid
Omega-3 fatty acids 0.092 g 0.065 g
Omega-6 fatty acids 1.215 g 0.847 g
Palmitic 1.691 g 1.179 g
Stearic 0.338 0.236 g
Palmitoleic 0.123 g 0.086 g
Oleic 11.144 g 7.77 g
Gadoleic 0.146 g 0.032 g
Linoleic 1.215 g 0.847 g
Linolenic 0.092 g 0.064 g

The chemical composition depends on the specific variety of fruit and the method of processing. Canned, pickled and salted olives contain fewer nutrients than fresh ones.

Useful properties of olives

The benefits of olive fruits for the human body are invaluable.

Due to their composition, rich in fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, they are indispensable for many diseases:

  1. For atherosclerosis: vitamin PP and fiber regulate the amount of cholesterol in the blood, helping to cope with its excess.
  2. For cardiovascular diseases: the high content of potassium, vitamins B6 and PP lowers blood pressure and strengthens vascular walls.
  3. For metabolic disorders: the composition is low in sugar, high in fatty acids, as well as vitamins B6, C and E, which lower blood sugar levels and speed up metabolism.
  4. For disorders of the nervous system: normalize cerebral circulation and have a mild sedative effect, improve the functioning of the central nervous system and PNS.
  5. For anemia: black fruits contain a lot of iron and vitamin C, which improves its absorption and increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood.
  6. For arthritis, arthrosis, osteochondrosis and gout: phosphorus and calcium in the composition strengthen bones and joints.
  7. For digestive problems: fiber improves the digestion and absorption of food, helps with constipation and other gastrointestinal disorders.
  8. When losing weight: the low calorie content of the product, as well as vitamins B6 and C in its composition, which regulate metabolism, allow you to quickly lose weight.
  9. For infectious diseases: vitamins C and E increase the activity of the immune system, providing a preventive and therapeutic effect for colds.

Olives are also very useful for children and adolescents: fatty acids have a beneficial effect on the growing body.

For men

The benefits of olives for men include the following effects:

  1. Vitamin E improves blood circulation and sperm quality, and also prevents the destruction of testosterone by insulin.
  2. Fatty acids cleanse blood vessels and improve blood flow to all parts of the body, including the genitals.
  3. Vitamin B9 prevents early baldness and stimulates new hair growth.
  4. Vitamin B6 strengthens the walls of blood vessels, eliminating circulatory insufficiency.
  5. Zinc increases testosterone levels in the blood.

To achieve the best effect in the fight against erectile dysfunction, men should consume 10-15 fruits per day.

Olives cleanse blood vessels

For women

The benefits of olive fruits for women's health are due to the following:

  1. Vitamins C, E and selenium prevent the spread of free radicals, slowing down aging and reducing the risk of developing cancer.
  2. Vitamins A and B improve the condition of hair and skin: hide wrinkles and inflammation, strengthen hair, accelerate its growth and give it shine.
  3. Calcium and phosphorus strengthen nail plates and teeth.
  4. Monounsaturated fats, vitamins A and E promote fertility and increase the chances of conceiving a child.
  5. Vitamin B6 thins the blood and strengthens blood vessels, prevents varicose veins and thrombosis during pregnancy.
  6. Low calorie content allows you to eat the fruit on a diet.

Olives prevent thrombosis

The benefits of different forms

Regardless of the form in which olives are sold, they have a beneficial effect on the body.

Each storage method has its advantages:

  1. Fresh olives: contain the maximum amount of useful substances, but are unsuitable for food. Fresh fruits are very bitter and have an astringent property.
  2. Dried: prepared by drying in the sun. Unlike pickled and salted fruits, they do not contain salt or potentially harmful preservatives, and retain the largest amount of vitamins and minerals.
  3. Pickled: less healthy than fresh or dried fruits, but with the correct cooking technique they retain most of their beneficial properties. Canned and salted fruits last longer, taste better and often contain healthy spices.
  4. Olive oil: used internally both independently and as part of various dishes. It is also used in face and hair masks, creams and scrubs, for wiping and cleansing the skin, and as part of cleansing enemas.
  5. Olive leaves: Used in cooking as a seasoning and also brewed as a tea. Relieves tension and anxiety, prevents cardiovascular diseases, tones and strengthens the immune system.

Olive leaf tea is good for the cardiovascular system

Methods of application

Olive fruit is the most common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, found in almost every recipe. Their use is unlimited: olives are used in recipes for pizza, pasta and focaccio, in many salads and soups, as part of pesto and a variety of meat and fish dishes, fried or baked in the oven.

Olive fruits are often used as a decorative element for hot dishes - they look aesthetically pleasing and do not interfere with the taste of the dish. They also decorate alcoholic cocktails: if you snack on alcohol with olives, they will begin to resist toxins and reduce hangover symptoms.

Olives counteract alcohol toxins

Another use for olives is as a snack. They can be present in canapés or consumed on their own: canned, dried or salted. It is acceptable to eat 7-10 fruits per day.

Harm of olives

Black olives in a jar can harm the body. If these are not real olives, but artificially colored fruits, they contain harmful additives. These are caustic soda, in a solution of which olives last for a week, and iron glutonate, which gives blackened pseudo-olives a stable color.

Both of these additives can cause allergies in the consumer; in addition, after prolonged treatment with them, the beneficial properties of olives disappear. If the canned product contains the color stabilizing additive E579, you should not purchase it.

Also, excessively salty brine in which it is stored can cause harm to the body.

Contraindications

Due to their choleretic properties, olives should not be consumed:

  • with pancreatitis;
  • with cholecystitis;
  • with exacerbation of cholelithiasis.

You should not eat olives if you have stones in your bile ducts.

Question answer

Which olives are healthier - green or black?

Black olives, or olives, contain vitamin C and manganese, which are absent in green fruits. Olives are also lower in calories, and they contain more copper, zinc, calcium and vitamin A. Otherwise, green olives are superior to black fruits: they contain more vitamins, macro- and microelements, and various fatty acids.

It is preferable to eat both types of olive fruits: this way the body will receive the greatest amount of useful elements.

Why do you want olives?

Cravings for certain foods can occur due to illness and lack of nutrients. The desire to eat olives appears as a result of a lack of sodium salts in the body.

This may also indicate a dysfunction of the thyroid gland.

A strong desire to eat olives may indicate a thyroid disorder.

Can you eat olives with pits?

Olive pits are considered a very useful product: they contain no less useful substances than the fruit itself. Due to their large size, they are difficult to swallow and difficult to digest, so most often the seeds are consumed orally after grinding with a blender or coffee grinder.

Olive pits are rich in beneficial elements

Black and green olives are healthy fruits that have a beneficial effect on the body. They have a positive effect on his work, have an excellent taste and fit perfectly into many dishes.

beauty and health

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Canned olives: benefits and harm for the body of a man, woman, child, during pregnancy | Healthy lifestyle and medicine

This typical Mediterranean gift of nature occupies a relatively strong place in domestic kitchens. But many do not know that it also has significant medicinal properties. First of all, the beneficial properties of canned olives include excellent detoxification abilities and ridding the body of unnecessary and harmful substances.

Besides the benefits, do canned olives have any negative effects or harm? What should you keep in mind when eating them?

Healthy fats

The most important factor that determines the health benefits of canned olives is the nature of the fat they contain. Fat is perceived by many as a substance that is absolutely useless, too rich in energy and, therefore, harmful.

But fat and fat are different. Its main building blocks are fatty acids. There are many different types of fatty acids, chemically they can be divided into:

  1. Polyunsaturated.
  2. Monounsaturated.
  3. Saturated.

Saturated fatty acids are predominantly found in animal products, and their excessive consumption leads to increased blood cholesterol levels and the development of cardiovascular diseases.

On the contrary, unsaturated fatty acids are mainly found in plant foods (oils), and have a positive effect on the degradation of cholesterol in the blood vessels and the overall decrease in its level in the blood.

Monounsaturated fatty acids have the greatest ability to reduce the level of bad cholesterol in the blood. The most important source of these substances is oleic acid, which is naturally present in olives in the highest quantities.

For this reason, despite their higher fat content, they meet the nutritional requirements of a modern person trying to follow the rules of a healthy lifestyle.

The average amount of fat in olives ranges from 10% (green) to 30% (black). An important fact that should not be forgotten is the high sodium content (salt brine for preservation).

It is because of this that, in addition to the benefits, canned olives can also be harmful to the body, so their consumption in unlimited quantities is not recommended.

However, due to their extremely high content of healthy oleic acid, they are ideal for enhancing the flavor of various dishes as a substitute for spices or salt.

Vitamin A, E and other important substances

The main vitamin that determines the benefits of canned black olives (as well as green ones) is vitamin A, which helps improve the condition of the eyes, skin and strengthen the immune system.

You should pay attention to consuming enough vitamin A throughout the year, but in autumn and spring, when the body is easily vulnerable, increased intake is especially important.

Vitamin E plays an important role in the prevention of heart disease. At the cellular level, it can slow down the aging process. It provides benefits for women in particular by preventing premature skin aging.

Of the alkali metals that are also important for the body, the healing properties of olives are potassium, which reduces muscle tension, blood pressure and fatigue, and sodium, which maintains ionic balance and protects the body from excessive fluid loss.

The next factor that determines the health benefits of black and green olives is the iron content, an integral component of proteins that plays a role in the transport of oxygen.

Another element that provides the benefits of fruits is iodine, a trace element contained in 2/3 of thyroid hormones. In nature, it is a very rare element, found only in compounds.

Its deficiency in the body manifests itself in various signs. The most common are, for example, unreasonable weight gain, constipation, brittle hair and nails, and depression.

Olives are also valued in folk medicine for their content of some important minerals. For example, calcium is the main building block of bones and teeth and is essential for the prevention of osteoporosis.

Another valuable mineral is phosphorus, which is also necessary for the proper growth of bones and teeth, but at the same time promotes tissue growth. It is important for the brain, nerve tissue and heart, where it provides support for stable contractions.

For people who have been eating processed foods and dairy products for years, this is very important. Olives are 3 times more effective at dissolving mucus than the recommended oranges.

Common Questions

There are many questions regarding the benefits and harms of olives for the body. Let's look at the most popular ones.

  1. The first question relates to storage - is it possible to freeze fruits? Freezing, although not prohibited, is also not a recommended storage method. Once defrosted, they will become soft, shapeless and tasteless.
  2. The following questions relate to the consumption of olives. Can pregnant women eat olives? Pregnancy is not a contraindication to the consumption of the healthy fruit, however, due to its salt content and, therefore, the ability to increase the risk of edema, it is not recommended in the last trimester. In addition, you should pay attention to the quantity - for pregnant women it is no more than 5-10 pieces per day, 2-3 times a week.
  3. Is it possible to eat healthy fruits while breastfeeding? Can. Moreover, it is allowed to include them in the diet already after 1 month after birth! However, due to the high fat content (albeit healthy), you should not exceed a serving of 10 pieces per day.
  4. Is it possible to give olives to children? Here the opinions of doctors and nutritionists differ radically. While some allow children to consume olives from an early age (about 3 years), others are categorically against their inclusion in children's menus until the age of 10. Therefore, most likely, in this regard it is better to be guided by the “golden mean” rule, i.e. include olives in baby food at the age of about 6-7 years. However, most children are, to put it mildly, underwhelmed by their taste.

Article for you: Traditional recipes from cabbage and honey for the health of the whole family

Health Benefits

The beneficial qualities of olives are varied. They cover a number of organs and systems and have a positive effect on various diseases and disorders.

  1. Increasing the body's defenses.
  2. Protecting cells from cancerous growth.
  3. Protection against free radicals.
  4. Cell restoration.
  5. Antiseptic effects – protection against infections and inflammations.
  6. Treatment of skin lesions and diseases.
  7. Digestive support.
  8. Acceleration of metabolism.
  9. Ensuring healthy and dense bone tissue.
  10. Preventing osteoporosis.
  11. Improved bowel movements
  12. Reducing cholesterol levels.
  13. Cleansing blood vessels of bad fats.
  14. Cancer prevention.
  15. Prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
  16. Prevention of kidney and urinary tract diseases.
  17. Cleansing the kidneys and urinary tract.
  18. Body hydration.
  19. Detoxification of the body.
  20. Supports healthy skin.
  21. Slowing down the signs of aging.

Energy value (100 g):

Nutritional value (g/100g):

  • protein – 1.25;
  • carbohydrates – 4.3;
  • fat – 11;
  • fiber – 3.8;
  • water – 78.

Minerals (mg/100 g):

  • iron – 0.75;
  • selenium – 0.001;
  • calcium – 54;
  • copper – 0.22;
  • magnesium – 10.7;
  • omega-3 – 98;
  • omega-6 – 1245;
  • phosphorus – 3.8;
  • potassium – 41.5;
  • lutein – 0.5;
  • sodium – 1450;
  • beta-carotene – 0.224.

Vitamins (mg/100 g):

  • A – 390 IU;
  • folic acid – 0.04;
  • B3 – 0.4;
  • K – 0.018;
  • E – 4.2.

By consuming them in addition to a proper balanced diet 4-5 times a week, 5 pieces each, in addition to improving your health, you will gain a slimmer waist (don’t forget about plenty of movement).

Stones in the kidneys
To get rid of kidney stones, it is recommended to eat 20-30 olives per month. But, pay attention: along with the bones!

Heartburn
Bones will also help with heartburn - you should eat 3-4 of them with food.

Constipation
5-10 fruits (or 1 tablespoon of oil) per day will help relieve constipation.

Pressure
About 7 fruits per day can reduce blood pressure and stabilize it. However, to date it is not known which substances contained in them have such abilities.

Prostatitis
Olives can provide significant benefits for men as well. Regular inclusion of them in the diet will prevent and contribute to the treatment of prostatitis. For this, only 3-4 pieces are enough, but daily.

Vitamin of beauty and strength
We are talking about the above-mentioned vitamin E, which slows down the aging process of cells and tissues. It is considered an effective antioxidant, affects the production of red blood cells, restoration and growth of muscle mass, and increases female fertility. It is also useful for men, because... is able to increase potency and activity of the sex glands.

Anti-cancer effect
A survey conducted several years ago showed that people from Northern Europe (particularly Italians and Spaniards) had increased concentrations of oxidation products in their urine, which are considered to be an indicator of processes that contribute to the development of cancer.

However, after 3 weeks of daily consumption of 25 g of olives (about 7 pieces), this amount decreased significantly. The strong anti-cancer effect, according to experts, is due to the content of phenols.

Differences between olives

If you think that olives come from a different type of tree than olives, you are wrong. In our area, green fruits are called olives, and black olives are called olives. However, the difference between olives and black olives lies only in the ripeness of the fruit.

Green ones are softer because they are not ripe at the time of picking. Black ones are characterized by softness and a sweeter taste.

Despite the fact that we are talking about a product practically devoid of contraindications, in order to get maximum benefit from it and not harm, it is recommended not to exceed the daily consumed amount (5-10 pieces) and eat with caution in the last trimester of pregnancy.

Source:

Olives: benefits and harm for the human body

People often think that olives and olives are completely different fruits of different trees. Nothing like this. Olives and olives are fruits from the same tree - olives.

The difference lies in the stages of maturity - green, not yet ripened olives are called olives, but black fruits that have reached their full ripening are called olives.

Olives. Benefits and harm to the body

First, we will carefully consider the positive aspects of olives, that is, their benefits for the body. The first thing any specialist will say is that olives have an ideal balance of nutrients.

Eating olives has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the musculoskeletal system - the calcium contained in them helps strengthen bones, making them stronger and protecting them from all kinds of diseases of the body's support system.

In addition, the substances contained in the fruits help prevent the formation of stone deposits in the gallbladder. Olive fruits help the digestion process by helping to remove harmful and unnecessary substances from the body. Olives also contain linoleic acid, which is known to help heal various wounds.

So, what else are distinctive about olives? Health benefits and harms, if we consider them on the same line, stand in completely different proportions. The benefits of eating olive fruits are still much greater.

Which woman is not familiar with face and hand creams made from olive fruits? The fact is that the peel of olives contains many essential oils, which not only moisturize the skin, but also significantly nourish it.

Other cosmetics made from olive fruits are also very useful - shampoos, balms, lotions, and so on.

In addition, constant consumption of olives is recommended for people prone to strokes, heart attacks and angina pectoris.

But returning to ancient origins, you can find out that the Greeks sincerely believed in the mythical origin of these fruits, which, according to legend, were given to people by the goddess of wisdom Athena.

A few words about the dangers of olives

So, after listing the positive aspects of olives, it’s time to find out how they can be harmful to humans. So, the olive fruits loved by many are black, oily olives. Benefits and harms to human health are an eternal controversial issue. Today we will look at those aspects that can really negatively affect human health.

Olives have a very strong choleretic property - which is why they contribute not only to the prevention, but also to the partial removal of stones from the gallbladder.

That is why eating olives is strictly prohibited for people suffering from cholecystitis. Another disadvantage of olives is that they contain too much vitamin A.

Few people know, but in large proportions it can be toxic - cause poisoning of the body.

Olives and weight loss

So, we learned how olives are useful and how harmful they are. The benefits and harm to the body will be individual for each person, depending on the qualities and characteristics of the body. However, olives are often recommended for those who have decided to seriously lose weight. The main advantage of these wonderful fruits is that they perfectly satisfy the feeling of hunger.

Again, it is not possible to eat olive fruits freshly picked from the tree - they taste very bitter. Therefore, before olives reach our table, they need to undergo serious processing. Usually this is soaking in a saline solution, oxidation in air, and then canning.

In this form, ready-to-eat olives reach our tables.

Benefits and harms - both sides are relevant for weight loss. The benefit is that olives cannot be called a high-calorie product, the harm is that if you eat a lot of olives, you will still gain weight, and overeating can also affect your well-being.

And again about diets

Green and black olives - benefits and harms when losing weight. Olives are an extremely rich source of monounsaturated fats, which are the healthiest ones. Why does a person gain weight? Because over time, the body accumulates harmful fats, which begin to be deposited in solid reserves.

Monounsaturated fats reduce the accumulation of “bad” cholesterol, which is the most effective way to combat fat deposits. One more quality of the olive cannot be ignored. Benefits and harms - calorie content of the fruit: green olives have twice as many calories as black olives.

Thus, going on a diet and eating green fruits can cause little harm with unlimited consumption. By eating black olives, we get more benefits because we consume half as many calories.

But you still need to remember one thing - the smaller the portion, the lower the calorie content.

What else do you need to know when losing weight?

And it’s important to know one more thing. Olives have a fairly low glycemic index. If explained in understandable language, this will mean that when eating olives, we do not receive energy abruptly - in one jerk, but gradually.

Why is this good? Yes, because with a sharp rise in energy, there is an increase in blood glucose - and this is not a very good indicator. This does not happen with a gradual supply of energy.

Increased glycemia, in turn, causes a person to constantly feel hungry, and the hungrier we are, the more we eat.

When we eat olives, we quickly dull the feeling of hunger, which then does not arise for quite a long time. These are the olives. Benefits and harms... The properties of the fruit ultimately outweigh them in a positive direction.

How to include olives in your diet?

We took a close look at what olives are. The benefits and harms to the body are also familiar to us now. It remains to figure out how and how many olives you should consume per day.

Since salt, which is present in fairly large quantities in fruits, inhibits weight gain, you need to eat them daily, but without excessive fanaticism. The ideal option would be not just to eat olive fruits, but to add them to various salads.

For example, a salad of chicken breast, lettuce, cucumber, feta cheese and olives will perfectly satisfy your hunger, while its calorie content will be very low.

It is also useful to use olives as a snack. You can make the calculation as follows: one large fruit contains about twelve calories - which means that five or six olives will be enough to get rid of the feeling of hunger until the next meal. Olives can be added to soup and main courses, which will also reduce the portion eaten without sacrificing complete saturation.

And a little more about olives

We learned what olives are, their benefits and harm to the body - we also looked at them. Now let's look at the general factors. In general, there are about a hundred different types of olives.

They look basically like this - small and green, large black, or medium black with a slightly brownish tint. Depending on the variety, the fruit can contain up to 80 percent oils.

Well, almost everyone knows how healthy olive oil is.

You need to select fruits according to the following criteria - the surface of the skin should be smooth, without damage. It is clear that it is better to buy fruits in transparent containers. The pulp should not spread in your fingers, but be dense, and the bone should be easily separated from the pulp.

It is worth remembering that store-bought stuffed olives contain a lot of preservatives; it is better to stuff the fruits yourself.

And finally, carefully study the composition of the product: if the packaging says that it contains iron gluconate, this means that the appetizing black color of the olives is of artificial origin.

You cannot store olives in tins for a long time - tin and zinc can penetrate into the fruit, making them dangerous for consumption. The composition of the fruit in the jar should be as follows - citric acid, salt and water. Everything else is additives that are harmful and dangerous to the body.

Source:

People often think that olives and olives are completely different fruits of different trees. Nothing like this. Olives and olives are fruits from the same tree - olives. The difference lies in the stages of maturity - green, not yet ripened olives are called olives, but black fruits that have reached their full ripening are called olives. Many experts recommend eating olives regularly, citing their benefits for the body. But how useful they are, or maybe, on the contrary, harmful, we will find out further.

Olives. Benefits and harm to the body

First, we will carefully consider the positive aspects of olives, that is, their benefits for the body. The first thing any specialist will say is that olives have an ideal balance of nutrients. Olives contain a lot of manganese, as well as calcium - vital for humans. Eating olives has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the musculoskeletal system - the calcium contained in them helps strengthen bones, making them stronger and protecting them from all kinds of diseases of the body's support system. In addition, the substances contained in the fruits help prevent the formation of stone deposits in the gallbladder. Olive fruits help the digestion process by helping to remove harmful and unnecessary substances from the body. Olives also contain linoleic acid, which is known to help heal various wounds.

A little more about the benefits of olives

So, what else are distinctive about olives? Health benefits and harms, if we consider them on the same line, stand in completely different proportions. The benefits of eating olive fruits are still much greater. Which woman is not familiar with face and hand creams made from olive fruits? The fact is that the peel of olives contains many essential oils, which not only moisturize the skin, but also significantly nourish it.

Other cosmetics made from olive fruits are also very useful - shampoos, balms, lotions, and so on. In addition, constant consumption of olives is recommended for people prone to strokes, heart attacks and angina pectoris. But returning to ancient origins, you can find out that the Greeks sincerely believed in the mythical origin of these fruits, which, according to legend, were given to people by the goddess of wisdom Athena.

A few words about the dangers of olives

So, after listing the positive aspects of olives, it’s time to find out how they can be harmful to humans. So, the olive fruits loved by many are black, oily olives. Benefits and harms to human health are an eternal controversial issue. Today we will look at those aspects that can really negatively affect human health.

Olives have a very strong choleretic property - which is why they contribute not only to the prevention, but also to the partial removal of stones from the gallbladder. That is why eating olives is strictly prohibited for people suffering from cholecystitis. Another disadvantage of olives is that they contain too much vitamin A. Few people know, but in large proportions it can be toxic and cause poisoning of the body.

Olives and weight loss

So, we learned how olives are useful and how harmful they are. The benefits and harm to the body will be individual for each person, depending on the qualities and characteristics of the body. However, olives are often recommended for those who have decided to seriously lose weight. The main advantage of these wonderful fruits is that they perfectly satisfy the feeling of hunger. Again, it is not possible to eat olive fruits freshly picked from the tree - they taste very bitter. Therefore, before olives reach our table, they need to undergo serious processing. Usually this is soaking in a saline solution, oxidation in air, and then canning. In this form, ready-to-eat olives reach our tables.

Benefits and harms - both sides are relevant for weight loss. The benefit is that olives cannot be called a high-calorie product, the harm is that if you eat a lot of olives, you will still gain weight, and overeating can also affect your well-being.

And again about diets

Green and black olives - benefits and harms when losing weight. Olives are an extremely rich source of monounsaturated fats, which are the healthiest ones. Why does a person gain weight? Because over time, the body accumulates harmful fats, which begin to be deposited in solid reserves.

Monounsaturated fats reduce the accumulation of “bad” cholesterol, which is the most effective way to combat fat deposits. One more quality of the olive cannot be ignored. Benefits and harms - calorie content of the fruit: green olives have twice as many calories as black olives. Thus, going on a diet and eating green fruits can cause little harm with unlimited consumption. By eating black olives, we get more benefits because we consume half as many calories. But you still need to remember one thing - the smaller the portion, the lower the calorie content.

What else do you need to know when losing weight?

And it’s important to know one more thing. Olives have a fairly low glycemic index. If explained in understandable language, this will mean that when eating olives, we do not receive energy abruptly - in one jerk, but gradually. Why is this good? Yes, because with a sharp rise in energy, there is an increase in blood glucose - and this is not a very good indicator. This does not happen with a gradual supply of energy. Increased glycemia, in turn, causes a person to constantly feel hungry, and the hungrier we are, the more we eat. When we eat olives, we quickly dull the feeling of hunger, which then does not arise for quite a long time. These are the olives. Benefits and harms... The properties of the fruit ultimately outweigh them in a positive direction.

How to include olives in your diet?

We took a close look at what olives are. The benefits and harms to the body are also familiar to us now. It remains to figure out how and how many olives you should consume per day. Since salt, which is present in fairly large quantities in fruits, inhibits weight gain, you need to eat them daily, but without excessive fanaticism. The ideal option would be not just to eat olive fruits, but to add them to various salads. For example, a salad of chicken breast, lettuce, cucumber, feta cheese and olives will perfectly satisfy your hunger, while its calorie content will be very low.

It is also useful to use olives as a snack. You can make the calculation as follows: one large fruit contains about twelve calories - which means that five or six olives will be enough to get rid of the feeling of hunger until the next meal. Olives can be added to soup and main courses, which will also reduce the portion eaten without sacrificing complete saturation.

And a little more about olives

We learned what olives are, their benefits and harm to the body - we also looked at them. Now let's look at the general factors. In general, there are about a hundred different types of olives. They look basically like this - small and green, large black, or medium black with a slightly brownish tint. Depending on the variety, the fruit can contain up to 80 percent oils. Well, almost everyone knows how healthy olive oil is.

You need to select fruits according to the following criteria - the surface of the skin should be smooth, without damage. It is clear that it is better to buy fruits in transparent containers. The pulp should not spread in your fingers, but be dense, and the bone should be easily separated from the pulp. It is worth remembering that store-bought stuffed olives contain a lot of preservatives; it is better to stuff the fruits yourself. And finally, carefully study the composition of the product: if the packaging says that it contains iron gluconate, this means that the appetizing black color of the olives is of artificial origin.

You cannot store olives in tins for a long time - tin and zinc can penetrate into the fruit, making them dangerous for consumption. The composition of the fruit in the jar should be as follows - citric acid, salt and water. Everything else is additives that are harmful and dangerous to the body.

Most Mediterranean dishes use olives in their composition - the benefits and excellent taste of these fruits allow them to be added to many recipes. European olive is recommended for use by both men and women due to its medicinal effects.

Where do olives grow?

Olive europaea, whose fruits are olives, is a heat-loving plant growing in southern countries. Most often it is found in Mediterranean countries: Greece and Turkey, Israel, Italy and Spain. Spain is the main supplier of olives on the world market, and has been the leader for many years.

In addition to the main habitat, olive trees are grown in Iraq and Iran, Turkmenistan, India, Peru and Mexico. In Soviet times, European olive was grown on the Black Sea coast and in Crimea, as well as in Abkhazia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Are olives a fruit, vegetable or berry?

Olives are often classified as berries and fruits: they are small seed fruits that resemble cherries or plums. From a botanical point of view, they belong to the group of drupes: these are fruits that have only one seed and are not considered berries.

Olives belong to the group of drupes

Olives are similar to berries in size, fruits in structure, and vegetables in taste. But at the same time, they do not belong to any of these groups: olive fruits are allocated to a separate family “Oliaceae”. The genus of this plant is “Olive”, and the species is “European olive”.

Why are olives black and olives green?

Olives and olives are the fruits of the same tree, which is called the “European Olive”. The difference between them lies in the degree of ripeness: green color indicates immaturity, and dark color indicates complete ripeness of the fruit.

Olives, known in European countries as “black olives,” are not actually black in color: their rich dark hue is closer to purple or brown tones. One side of olives is often darker than the other, and the pit is not removed.

Olives and olives grow on the same tree

On sale you can more often find pitted olives of a uniform blue-black color. This shade is obtained artificially by adding chemical preservatives to unripe green olives. After such processing, there are no beneficial properties left in pseudo-olives.

Chemical composition of olives and BJU

The beneficial effects of olive fruits on the body are due to the components in their composition.

A table with the composition of black and green fruits, which takes into account calorie content, dietary fat, the amount of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids.

Green olives Black olives (olives)
Calorie content 145 kcal 115 kcal
Squirrels 1 g 0.84 g
Fats 15.3 g 10.68 g
Carbohydrates 3.8 g 6.26 g
Cellulose 3.3 g 3.2 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A 0.019 mg 0.02 mg
Beta carotene 0.231 mg 0.237 mg
Beta-cryptoxanthin 0.009 mg 0.009 mg
Lutein + Zeaxanthin 0.51 mg 0.51 mg
Vitamin B1 0.021 mg 0.003 mg
Vitamin B2 0.007 mg -
Vitamin B4 14.2 mg 10.3 mg
Vitamin B5 0.023 mg 0.015 mg
Vitamin B6 0.031 mg 0.012 mg
Vitamin B9 0.003 mg -
Vitamin C - 1.5 mg
Vitamin E 3.81 mg 1.65 mg
Vitamin K 0.001 mg 0.001 mg
Vitamin PP 0.237 mg 0.037 mg
Minerals
Potassium 42 mg 9 mg
Calcium 52 mg 94 mg
Magnesium 11 mg 4 mg
Sodium 1566 mg 735 mg
Phosphorus 4 mg 3 mg
Iron 0.49 mg 3.32 mg
Manganese - 0.02 mg
Copper 0.12 mg 0.25 mg
Selenium 0.001 mg 0.001 mg
Zinc 0.04 mg 0.22 mg
Fatty acid
Omega-3 fatty acids 0.092 g 0.065 g
Omega-6 fatty acids 1.215 g 0.847 g
Palmitic 1.691 g 1.179 g
Stearic 0.338 0.236 g
Palmitoleic 0.123 g 0.086 g
Oleic 11.144 g 7.77 g
Gadoleic 0.146 g 0.032 g
Linoleic 1.215 g 0.847 g
Linolenic 0.092 g 0.064 g

The chemical composition depends on the specific variety of fruit and the method of processing. Canned, pickled and salted olives contain fewer nutrients than fresh ones. Useful properties of olives

The benefits of olive fruits for the human body are invaluable.

Due to their composition, rich in fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, they are indispensable for many diseases:

  1. For atherosclerosis: vitamin PP and fiber regulate the amount of cholesterol in the blood, helping to cope with its excess.
  2. For cardiovascular diseases: the high content of potassium, vitamins B6 and PP lowers blood pressure and strengthens vascular walls.
  3. For metabolic disorders: the composition is low in sugar, high in fatty acids, as well as vitamins B6, C and E, which lower blood sugar levels and speed up metabolism.
  4. For disorders of the nervous system: normalize cerebral circulation and have a mild sedative effect, improve the functioning of the central nervous system and PNS.
  5. For anemia: black fruits contain a lot of iron and vitamin C, which improves its absorption and increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood.
  6. For arthritis, arthrosis, osteochondrosis and gout: phosphorus and calcium in the composition strengthen bones and joints.
  7. For digestive problems: fiber improves the digestion and absorption of food, helps with constipation and other gastrointestinal disorders.
  8. When losing weight: the low calorie content of the product, as well as vitamins B6 and C in its composition, which regulate metabolism, allow you to quickly lose weight.
  9. For infectious diseases: vitamins C and E increase the activity of the immune system, providing a preventive and therapeutic effect for colds.

Olives are also very useful for children and adolescents: fatty acids have a beneficial effect on the growing body.

For men

The benefits of olives for men include the following effects:

  1. Vitamin E improves blood circulation and sperm quality, and also prevents the destruction of testosterone by insulin.
  2. Fatty acids cleanse blood vessels and improve blood flow to all parts of the body, including the genitals.
  3. Vitamin B9 prevents early baldness and stimulates new hair growth.
  4. Vitamin B6 strengthens the walls of blood vessels, eliminating circulatory insufficiency.
  5. Zinc increases testosterone levels in the blood.

To achieve the best effect in the fight against erectile dysfunction, men should consume 10-15 fruits per day.

Olives cleanse blood vessels

For women

The benefits of olive fruits for women's health are due to the following:

  1. Vitamins C, E and selenium prevent the spread of free radicals, slowing down aging and reducing the risk of developing cancer.
  2. Vitamins A and B improve the condition of hair and skin: hide wrinkles and inflammation, strengthen hair, accelerate its growth and give it shine.
  3. Calcium and phosphorus strengthen nail plates and teeth.
  4. Monounsaturated fats, vitamins A and E promote fertility and increase the chances of conceiving a child.
  5. Vitamin B6 thins the blood and strengthens blood vessels, prevents varicose veins and thrombosis during pregnancy.
  6. Low calorie content allows you to eat the fruit on a diet.

Olives for women are useful not only when taken orally: the fruits and oil from them can be used externally as part of homemade masks for the face, hair and body.

Olives prevent thrombosis

The benefits of different forms

Regardless of the form in which olives are sold, they have a beneficial effect on the body.

Each storage method has its advantages:

  1. Fresh olives: contain the maximum amount of useful substances, but are unsuitable for food. Fresh fruits are very bitter and have an astringent property.
  2. Dried: prepared by drying in the sun. Unlike pickled and salted fruits, they do not contain salt or potentially harmful preservatives, and retain the largest amount of vitamins and minerals.
  3. Pickled: less healthy than fresh or dried fruits, but with the correct cooking technique they retain most of their beneficial properties. Canned and salted fruits last longer, taste better and often contain healthy spices.
  4. Olive oil: used internally both independently and as part of various dishes. It is also used in face and hair masks, creams and scrubs, for wiping and cleansing the skin, and as part of cleansing enemas.
  5. Olive leaves: Used in cooking as a seasoning and also brewed as a tea. Relieves tension and anxiety, prevents cardiovascular diseases, tones and strengthens the immune system.

Olive leaf tea is good for the cardiovascular system

Methods of application

Olive fruit is the most common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, found in almost every recipe. Their use is unlimited: olives are used in recipes for pizza, pasta and focaccio, in many salads and soups, as part of pesto and a variety of meat and fish dishes, fried or baked in the oven.

Olive fruits are often used as a decorative element for hot dishes - they look aesthetically pleasing and do not interfere with the taste of the dish. They also decorate alcoholic cocktails: if you snack on alcohol with olives, they will begin to resist toxins and reduce hangover symptoms.

Olives counteract alcohol toxins

Another use for olives is as a snack. They can be present in canapés or consumed on their own: canned, dried or salted. It is acceptable to eat 7-10 fruits per day.

Harm of olives

Black olives in a jar can harm the body. If these are not real olives, but artificially colored fruits, they contain harmful additives. These are caustic soda, in a solution of which olives last for a week, and iron glutonate, which gives blackened pseudo-olives a stable color.

Both of these additives can cause allergies in the consumer; in addition, after prolonged treatment with them, the beneficial properties of olives disappear. If the canned product contains the color stabilizing additive E579, you should not purchase it.

Also, excessively salty brine in which it is stored can cause harm to the body.

Contraindications

Due to their choleretic properties, olives should not be consumed:

  • with pancreatitis;
  • with cholecystitis;
  • with exacerbation of cholelithiasis.

Also, canned olives, which contain a large amount of salt, should not be eaten in case of hyperacid gastritis, in children under 3 years of age and in women who are breastfeeding.

You should not eat olives if you have stones in your bile ducts.

Question and answer: Which olives are healthier - green or black?

Black olives, or olives, contain vitamin C and manganese, which are absent in green fruits. Olives are also lower in calories, and they contain more copper, zinc, calcium and vitamin A. Otherwise, green olives are superior to black fruits: they contain more vitamins, macro- and microelements, and various fatty acids.

It is preferable to eat both types of olive fruits: this way the body will receive the greatest amount of useful elements.

Why do you want olives?

Cravings for certain foods can occur due to illness and lack of nutrients. The desire to eat olives appears as a result of a lack of sodium salts in the body.

This may also indicate a dysfunction of the thyroid gland.

A strong desire to eat olives may indicate a thyroid disorder.

Can you eat olives with pits?

Olive pits are considered a very useful product: they contain no less useful substances than the fruit itself. Due to their large size, they are difficult to swallow and difficult to digest, so most often the seeds are consumed orally after grinding with a blender or coffee grinder.

Olive pits are rich in beneficial elements

Black and green olives are healthy fruits that have a beneficial effect on the body. They have a positive effect on his work, have an excellent taste and fit perfectly into many dishes.

The olive tree grows mainly in Africa, Australia, tropical regions of Europe, and South Asia. For the whole world, the division is into green and black olives, and only in Russia is the division into olives and black olives accepted. Green fruits are harvested earlier than black ones.

Benefit

Olives, whose beneficial properties have long been known in the Mediterranean region, are not yet so popular in Russia, and some people do not even realize the richness of their composition and effect on the body. They are rich in manganese and calcium, which has a positive effect on the musculoskeletal system. Olives are even used to treat joint pain. The benefits of black olives have been confirmed in preventing the formation of gallstones. You can consume the fruits of the olive tree daily to prevent stroke, angina and heart attack. They are also very useful for the gastrointestinal tract due to the fact that they help improve digestion and remove waste products from the body. Olives contain linoleic acid. One of its properties is its healing effect, helping the speedy healing of wounds and cuts. Interestingly, black olives, which have so many beneficial properties, can also relieve headaches.

They contain a lot of proteins, fats, sugar, ester and pectin, alcohol, and contain sufficient amounts of vitamins C, B, F, E and P, iron, phosphorus, fiber and potassium. If you eat olives at least once a week, your heart function will improve and your blood vessels will dilate. Some elements of these Mediterranean fruits have a beneficial effect on cell restoration and renewal. In addition to these advantages, olives have other advantages. The beneficial properties are due to the antioxidants they contain. Regular consumption of olives helps prevent both the early signs of aging and the progression of cancer.

Healthy olives

The beneficial properties of olives are due to many factors, including the presence of vitamin E and phytosterols, which have a positive effect on the reproductive function of women, so these products are recommended for pregnant women and those planning to conceive. People suffering from colds or flu will benefit from olives due to the anthocyanins they contain - coloring substances that strengthen the immune system and are generally a good anti-cold remedy. Extra virgin olive oil, consumed as food, will reduce the number of wrinkles due to the oleic acid it contains.

Olives and healing the body

You need to know how to eat olives correctly. Their beneficial properties depend on what kind of processing the black olives have undergone. If it is impossible to find fresh fruits, it is better to give preference to salted ones, which do not contain preservatives or vinegar. In this form, their benefits are preserved better. Due to the high content of vitamin A, consumption of olives helps prevent vision diseases. Vitamin E, also present in black olives, has a beneficial effect on hair condition. Olives will only benefit your hair and skin if they are consumed internally. That is, with food.

Olives are good for your heart due to their high content of monounsaturated fats and antioxidants. Polyphenols have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system. They are able to strengthen the walls of blood vessels and prevent the formation of blood clots. Due to this, in turn, the wear and tear of the heart is reduced and its functions are improved. Thanks to the antioxidant activity of the substances contained in olives, the effects of free radicals are neutralized. This prevents the appearance of cancerous tumors and premature aging.

Bones are also useful

The beneficial properties of olives and their harm are determined by their chemical composition. The same goes for bones. Olive kernels are commonly used for back pain caused by pinched nerves and muscle inflammation. You need to crush half a glass of seeds and add 200 ml of melted paraffin or wax. Cool the resulting mass slightly and fill a rubber heating pad with it. Then the heating pad is applied to the painful area of ​​the body for 20-30 minutes until the wax cools. Warm up should be done daily, after the procedure you need to rest lying down, do not make sudden movements. Can olives with pits be eaten? We discussed the beneficial properties of the latter in the treatment of neurological diseases above. As for eating the whole fruit (along with the pit) - this is what some residents of Mediterranean countries do - expert opinions differ on the benefits (or harm) of this method.

Recipes that include olives

Remedy to alleviate the condition of a patient with atherosclerosis: crushed 200 g. Place the olives in a thermos and pour in vegetable oil heated to 60°C. Leave for 48 hours. Drink 1 tablespoon 3 times a day before meals.

You can get rid of swelling with the help of a tincture based on the fruits and leaves of the olive tree. In order to prepare the medicine, you need to pour a tablespoon of finely chopped olives and a tablespoon of leaves with a glass of boiling water, leave for 5-10 minutes in a water bath, then filter the raw material and add another glass of warm water. You need to drink the infusion 1 tablespoon 3 times a day half an hour before meals.

To prepare an infusion that relieves high blood pressure, pour 1 tablespoon of leaves with a glass of boiling water, hold in a water bath for about 5 minutes, then strain and dilute with warm water. Take 1 or 2 tablespoons half an hour before meals 3 times a day.

How to properly include olives in your diet

The benefits and harms of olives depend both on human health and on the amount of consumption of these products. It is advisable to eat olives daily, but in small quantities. For example, add them to salads. Olives go well with fresh cucumbers, cheese, and boiled chicken breast. In addition to salads, black olives can be added to soups, stir-fries, pilaf and other hot dishes or used as a snack between meals.

For whom can olives be harmful?

It is advisable for a person to limit himself by buying canned olives. The beneficial properties of them and olives can be harmful to health if they are consumed excessively. For example, they will negatively affect the health of people suffering from cholecystitis. This is explained by the fact that they have a fairly strong choleretic effect. In addition, olives are rich in vitamin A, which in significant quantities is toxic and has a negative effect on the human body. You need to be especially careful when handling canned olives. When preserving, auxiliary substances are used, the excessive use of which may cause an allergic reaction. Iron gluconate, which is often used in the production of canned olives, can be especially dangerous. Up to the appearance of a stomach ulcer in a person who abuses canned foods.

Olives are the fruits of a long-lived tree belonging to the olive class. Many people confuse them with olives, but this is incorrect. Olives have a dark hue and a different taste. In addition to the obvious qualities, the chemical list of elements that make up the basis of the fruit also varies. The value of olives has been proven since ancient times. They are widely used in cooking, cosmetology, and medicine.

Composition of olives

Calorie content 100 gr. product is 114 Kcal. This value is relatively low, but when creating diets, do not include olives in the menu in large quantities.

Due to the balanced chemical list of elements, olives are beneficial even if eaten in small portions.

The product includes thiamine, pyridoxine, pantothenic and folic acids, riboflavin, and other B vitamins. The composition contains ascorbic acid, niacin (vitamin PP), choline, tocopherol, retinol.

The most significant mineral compounds are: zinc, sodium, iron, phosphorus, copper, manganese.

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Benefits of olives

  1. The pectin contained in the composition cleanses the body of harmful decay products. It removes even the most old toxins, heavy metal salts, and toxic substances. For this reason, olives should be eaten by smokers, people living in smoky cities and working in polluted industrial enterprises.
  2. Coarse dietary fiber, including fiber, is responsible for normal intestinal microflora. The substances stabilize the functioning of the entire digestive system, accelerating metabolic processes and weight loss.
  3. B vitamins are necessary for humans to control the functioning of the central nervous system. Even a small portion of olives will put your psyche in order and relieve feelings of anxiety and fear.
  4. Tocopherol is a natural antioxidant. Vitamin E is responsible for the beauty of the skin, hair, and nails. The substance prevents premature aging of tissues and activates cell regeneration.
  5. Olives are recommended for consumption by women to reduce the likelihood of breast cancer and gynecological diseases. In addition, the olive family improves reproductive activity.
  6. Olives contain a lot of iron, which is responsible for hematopoietic function. Frequent consumption of olives will relieve a person from anemia. For the same reason, pregnant girls should eat the product. The fruits will eliminate the possibility of congenital anemia in the child.
  7. Representatives of the stronger half of the population are recommended to consume 12-15 olives daily. In this simple way you will improve potency, as well as the burning power and number of sperm. The ability to conceive will increase.
  8. The accumulation of potassium has a beneficial effect on the activity of the heart and blood channels. Taking olives tightens the walls of blood vessels and dilates them, increasing blood circulation. Thanks to this, thrombosis and varicose veins are prevented.
  9. Unsaturated fatty acids remove bad cholesterol from the blood and prevent it from being deposited in the form of plaques. This reduces the likelihood of atherosclerosis and thrombosis.
  10. Olives strengthen the immune system. It is useful to eat them with or without seeds during the spread of viral infections. Thanks to this, resistance to ARVI and influenza increases.
  11. Numerous studies have shown that the included mineral-vitamin complex prevents cancer and blocks blood access to the cells of tumors that have already appeared.
  12. Olives contain a lot of calcium, which adults and children need to build bones, teeth and nails. The element is also involved in the formation of muscle tissue, which is valuable for athletes.

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Benefits of olives with pits

  1. The value comes not only from the pulp, but also from the seed. Usually the product is taken orally, after crushing it. However, it can be taken whole.
  2. The seeds are indicated for consumption by patients who have stones or sand in the urinary system (kidneys, bladder). To break down the formations, you need to take 12 olives with pits 2 times a day on an empty stomach.
  3. You can get rid of tartar if you eat crushed bones separately. It is useful for men to take the core of the fruit to prevent the prostate and cure ailments associated with the reproductive system.
  4. The benefits of olive seeds on intestinal activity are undeniable. If you first crush the coarse core and take it orally, you will quickly and efficiently cleanse your body of toxins.
  5. Not many people know that bones are easily digested. Moreover, the process occurs faster than in the case of pulp. Therefore, take the rough middle for constipation and atony of the intestinal tract.
  6. Olive pits are recommended for use by people with osteochondrosis, pinched nerves, and damaged ligaments and muscles. You can grind the middle and prepare a facial scrub based on it.

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The benefits of olives in cosmetology

For facial skin

  1. Take a container of a suitable size and add 10 ml. olive oil and fresh lemon. Mix the ingredients until smooth. Apply the product onto your face using gentle movements.
  2. Leave the mixture on for at least a third of an hour and wash. The procedure must be carried out at least 3 times a week. The composition is suitable for any skin type, as a result you get velvety skin, devoid of almost all flaws.

For body

  1. Take medium-ground sea salt. Select the amount of ingredients at your discretion so that you get a paste without the crystals dissolving.
  2. Combine olive oil and salt in a cup. Mix the ingredients, pour in 60 ml. fresh lemon juice. The result is a body scrub.
  3. Proceed with water procedures, thoroughly steam the skin. Next, apply the product with massaging movements. The composition penetrates into the deep layers and qualitatively normalizes blood circulation.

For hair

  1. Use a mask based on a herbal product once every 6 days. As a result, you will gain healthy, strong and silky strands.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a steam bath to 35 degrees. Distribute the composition of plant origin with massaging movements, stretch the remains to the ends with a comb.
  3. Wrap your hair in film and a towel. After half an hour, wash your hair thoroughly. You can use conditioner instead of shampoo.

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The benefits of olives in medicine

  1. When coughing. Combine 35 ml in a container. butter, 1 chicken yolk and 8 gr. flower honey. Mix the ingredients until smooth. Use the product twice a day - in the morning after waking up on an empty stomach, half an hour before bedtime. Drinking water is prohibited.
  2. For constipation. If you suffer from regular or chronic constipation, it is recommended to consume 40 ml daily in the morning on an empty stomach. olive oils The product perfectly envelops the mucous membranes of internal organs, cleansing them of toxins, feces and toxic compounds.
  3. For headaches. Studies have shown that the oil copes with severe pain. If the disease manifests itself, drop 1 drop into each ear. Massage the shells for a while. Apply a small amount of oil to your temples and rub in for 3-4 minutes. After a quarter of an hour, the headache will disappear.
  4. For hypertension. To lower blood pressure, take 45 grams. dried olive leaves, pour into a glass container, pour a liter of boiling water over the raw materials. Seal the container and wrap it with a terry towel. Keep the decoction for at least a day. Strain the drink, drink three times a day 20 minutes before meals. The course must last at least 12 days.

Harm of olives

  1. If you are prone to rapid weight gain, it is recommended to refrain from taking it. The product has a high calorie content and can cause unpleasant consequences.
  2. Remember that olives have a good choleretic effect, so it is forbidden to introduce the product into the diet of people suffering from cholecystitis.

It is not recommended to purchase the composition in canned packaging. This product contains a high concentration of salt, which does not have the best effect on the body. Consider possible contraindications and harm. Use olives wisely and consult a nutritionist if necessary.

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Video: the benefits of olives and black olives

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