Health Benefits of Black Olives

Black olives are often seen as a mere accessory to a salad, a pizza topping or as an interesting and attractive addition to a food item to make it more visually appealing. While there's no denying their obvious good looks, there's more to black olives than their stylish appearance.

They have many health benefits that have been mentioned in this Story. Once you read about them, you'll get a clear picture of how these little pebble-like fruits are so helpful in making your meals that extra bit tastier and also your health that extra bit safer.

First of all, let us understand what exactly black olives are. Black olives are merely a more mature version of the green olives. When green olives are allowed to completely ripen and grow, they turn into a dark midnight shade.

These purplish olives are treated and turned into what are called black olives. The nutritional value of green and black olives may be the same. While buying black olives, be sure that they are canned or packed by trusted brands, so that they do not pose any harm to your health.

Now that we know what black olives are, let us take a look at some of their most favorable health benefits that make them such a popular choice in culinary delights and diets.

Black olives are very rich in iron and dietary fiber. The fiber makes it favorable for people suffering from ailments like constipation. Plus, they also help to speed up the metabolism and are helpful in preventing colon cancer.

Black olives contain fats, but these fats are healthy for the body. They are called monounsaturated fats. One of the main benefits of these monounsaturated fats is that they help to bring down and control the level of cholesterol in the blood stream. This, in turn, helps the body to stay healthy and prevent heart problems.

The nutrients like vitamin E present in black olives are beneficial because they provide better protection to cell walls and prevent inflammation and other such problems. Also, because of vitamin E, the cells are safe from any free radical activity.

A regular and adequate intake of black olives can act as a good antioxidant in the blood stream. This means that low density lipoprotein oxidation is slowed down and hence, the formation of plaque in the coronary arteries is reduced. This further leads to a healthy heart.

Studies and extensive researches have proved that regular consumption of black olives reduces the likelihood of people falling prey to osteoporosis. This is because it was seen that the consumption of black olives make bones stronger and hence, there are lesser chances of bone loss, even if the level of estrogen is low.

Black olives are also rich in phytonutrients like polyphenols and flavonoids. These phytonutrients have anti-inflammatory properties. These properties help the body to fight against conditions like asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. They help in reducing the intensity of these ailments.

These and other health benefits are what makes black olives an almost indispensable ingredient in many strictly 'healthy foods'.

If not the olives, their oil is definitely one of the most favored ingredients in cooking, due to the low level of fat and cholesterol in it. So use these pretty fruits to make your food look good, taste good and also benefit your health.