Is it true that olives are fattening?

Or at least that’s what many of us have heard for years. But is it really so, or is it just a bad name?

Now that we are increasing consumption of this delicacy, this question is more “in the spotlight” than ever. The reality is that most of the fruit of the olive is made up of vegetable fats, which gives it its bad reputation, but like many of the healthy foods we eat, we should eat it in large quantities so that the caloric intake is excessive.

In our case, for every 100 g of olives we eat between 150 and 180 kcal, so as an example we could say that 10 olives would give us around 40 kcal! We don’t think so, do we?  And that’s without counting the countless benefits of the nutritional contributions.

We have always heard how wonderful olive oil is as a food for the organism, however little is said about the fact that olives, apart from having the same properties as oil obviously, are a much more complete food as many compounds of high nutritional value are lost during the oil extraction process.

It is essential to emphasize that its fat content is of the polyunsaturated type such as omega-3 and omega-6. These essential fatty acids reduce the level of triglycerides and sugar in the blood, help to lower blood pressure and prevent diabetes.

Olives are rich in vitamin A, antioxidants and minerals such as magnesium, sodium, phosphorus and above all potassium and calcium. The latter two promote intracellular purification, the elimination of liquids, nourish the bones and act as muscle relaxants among other functions.

They help to prevent heart disease, because of their iron content they are very good for people suffering from anaemia, they favour the correct functioning of the system and they are a source of fibre.

For all these reasons, don’t forget to include your favourite olives in a healthy diet. Your body and your palate will surely appreciate it.