10 Benefits of Eating Healthy Olives

Sure, olives are delicious, salty, and fun to eat, but are olives good for you?

Yes, there are numerous benefits to eating olives!

We love OLIVES here at Olive My Pickle.  Our Co Founder, Charlotte walks your though the tastes and flavors available here at OMP.  Watch this video for a deep dive into the different options we carry. Ready to try them for yourself? Shop Olives Now.

Here's 10 health benefits of eating olives and why you should feel great about eating more olives every day:

1. Olives are a Powerfully Antioxidant Food

Free radicals cause the plastic to deteriorate, paint to fade, and works of art to degrade. In humans, they contribute to aging and diseases like stroke, cancer, and heart attacks.

Free radicals are molecules within your body with unpaired electrons; they’re on a quest to find another electron and are very reactive and damaging to surrounding molecules.

The neutralizer of the free radical? Antioxidants.

Antioxidants are molecules that can safely interact with free radicals, giving up some of their electrons and neutralizing the free radical. (We like to think that the antioxidant gives the free radical a hug and helps it feel better.)

Olives are an antioxidant-rich food. That means every time you eat them you send an army of good-guy neutralizers into your system to help those bad-guy free radicals chill out. Managing free radicals via intentional intake of antioxidants is a key part of healthy living and olives are a delicious way to do that.

2. Olives are Low in Calories

One olive only has about 7 calories. They have a ‘negative calorie load’, which means you burn more calories digesting an olive that you gain eating one. This makes eating olives a very healthy snack.

3. Olives are a Heart Healthy Fat

The predominant fatty acid in olive oil is a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid, making up 73% of the total oil content. The remaining fat content 15% of the fat in olives is saturated fat and 11% is polyunsaturated--omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.

The monounsaturated fat found in olives is the same good fat you find in nuts and avocados. Mono-unsaturated fat in the diet increases good cholesterol.

In research studies, diets with increased monounsaturated fats (those that did not become too high in total fat), had participants experiencing a decrease in their blood cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and LDL:HDL ratio. All of this lowers the risk of heart disease. Good stuff! (2)

4. Olives are one of Nature’s "Smart Drugs"

Olives contain polyphenols, a natural chemical that reduces oxidative stress in the brain. A 2013 study in mice showed that supplementation with olive polyphenols elevates levels of the proteins (known as neurotrophins) nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Both of these play a pivotal role in the growth, development, and survival of brain cells.

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5.  Olives are Beautiful.

Beyond their antioxidant properties, which combat free radicals that cause aging, eating healthy olives help skin stay soft and healthy since they also contain vitamin E and vitamin A. 

Vitamin E prevents the formation of free radicals which can cause skin diseases while keeping the skin moisturized.  In addition, it protects the skin from harmful UV rays and reduces signs of aging. The vitamin E content in olives can also nourish your scalp and increase blood flow to it by aiding in the formation of new blood capillaries. 

Vitamin A balances the skin's pH which is essential for healthy, supple, and younger looking skin.  Olives help hair too.  Eat olives, keep your youthful looks longer (4).  

6. Olives Help Regulate Appetite Control

By eating a few olives before a meal, you can take the edge off your appetite. This is because the monounsaturated fatty acids contained in healthy olives slow down the digestion process and stimulate the hormone cholecystokinin, which sends messages of fullness and satisfaction to the brain.

7. Olives are Anti-Inflammatory

Inflammation is understood to be the root cause of diseases, including and eliminating inflammatory foods and replacing them with anti-inflammatory foods is a key first step for anyone on a health journey!

Olives contain anti-inflammatory compounds called oleocanthal which prevent the formation of inflammatory enzymes that could lead to diseases like arthritis and type 2 diabetes. (5) Oleocanthal's strong anti-inflammatory properties mimic the actions of ibuprofen acting as a natural painkiller. (6)