What are the benefits and effects of olives? Eating olives often has many benefits
What benefits do olives have, and can you eat them often? So what are the main benefits and effects of olives? Let's take a look together.
The olive is the fruit of the olive plant, a member of the Oleaceae family. People may have begun cultivating olives before recorded history; the Bible frequently mentions olives. Judging from records on the limestone hills of Athens on the Greek peninsula, this may be the place where humans first cultivated olive trees. The Spanish brought them to California in the United States in 1769.
Olive flesh contains carbohydrates, and a small amount of protein, fat, vitamin A, B1, B2, C, E, niacin, the minerals calcium, iron, potassium, sodium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper, selenium, volatile oil, amyrin, tannic acid, and more. Among these, calcium, iron and vitamin A are abundant.
The bitterness in olives comes from the phenolic glycosides and oleuropein they contain. The astringency comes from the large amount of tannic acid they contain. When fully ripe, the flesh has an oil content of 15%-35%, and the pit contains about 5% oil.
Olive oil contains saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The greatest nutritional feature of olive oil is that it is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, namely oleic acid. Olive oil contains the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. It also has other active ingredients, such as plant sterols, squalene, polyphenolic compounds, and more.
Olives and olive oil have many health benefits:
1. Protecting the cardiovascular system: According to research, monounsaturated fatty acids are more stable in nature than polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the lipoproteins and cell membranes they form are not easily oxidized. They also have health benefits similar to those of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and have a good effect on the metabolism of triglycerides and cholesterol in the body.
The oleic acid that olive oil is rich in can lower total blood cholesterol and bad cholesterol levels, increase good cholesterol levels, and thereby prevent cardiovascular disease. In addition, the polyphenolic compounds in olive oil also have the function of reducing coronary heart disease. In the countries around the Mediterranean, people's average intake of fat and cholesterol is similar to that of the United States, but the incidence of heart disease is much lower. Starting with the Mediterranean diet, researchers found that this type of food contains large amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids, mainly from olive oil, and is very different from American food, which contains saturated fatty acids.
2. Preventing cancer: The plant sterols in olive oil can inhibit abnormal proliferation of intestinal cells and prevent colon cancer. Olive oil contains a high amount of squalene, which has the activity of inhibiting β-hydroxy-β-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reduction, and this is related to the activation of cancer cells, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer.
3. Moisturizing the scalp: Warm olive oil has an excellent moisturizing effect on dry hair and scalp.
4. Soothing the skin: External use of olive oil can relieve insect bites, itching and bruises.
5. Preventing constipation: Olive oil can promote intestinal peristalsis to relieve constipation.
6. Preventing gallstones: Olive oil can stimulate the liver to produce bile and prevent the formation of gallstones.
7. Soothing the throat and reducing swelling: Olives contain large amounts of tannic acid, volatile oil, amyrin and more, and have the effect of moistening the throat and fighting inflammation and swelling.
8. Promoting body fluids and quenching thirst: Olives taste sweet and sour and contain large amounts of water and various nutrients. They can effectively supplement the body's fluids and nutrients, and have the effect of promoting body fluids and quenching thirst.