Nutritional Values of Black Olives

Most of you are familiar with olive oil and also both black and green olives, but some people are still unaware of the difference between them. Green olives are the unripe olives which are harvested before ripening, while black ones are the ripe olives. Once the olives get fully ripened, they turn to purplish black color. These are cured and are packed in both non pitted and pitted forms. There are several types of black olives such as Gaeta from Italy, Nyon and Nicoise black olives from France, Kalamata olives from Greece, etc. Sometimes, even green olives acquire black color too due to processing, but aforementioned are primarily classified as black olives. Green olives are firmer and denser compared to black olives. Let us have a look at the nutritional values and health benefits of black olives.

Nutritional Values of Black Olives

As discussed earlier, there is much difference in the nutritional values of black and green olives. However, black olives are rich in oil content compared to green version. The following are the nutritional values present in an ounce of black olives.

• Calories – 32
• Sodium – 200 mg
• Iron – 0.9 mg
• Calcium – 24 mg
• Vitamin E – 0.5 mg
• Vitamin A – 113 IU
• Protein – 0.3 g
• Fat – 3 g
• Carbohydrates – 2 g

Following are the health benefits of black olives:

Gastrointestinal benefits

Black olives have higher amounts of dietary fiber and iron. Dietary fiber is useful for people suffering from conditions such as constipation. Also, they accelerate the metabolism and aid in preventing colon cancer.

Cell protection

Vitamin E in black olives is beneficial as they give protection to the cell walls and prevent inflammation and other problems. Due to vitamin E, cells are safe from free radical activities.

Benefits of fat

Fats present in black olives are healthy for body. These are monosaturated fats and are useful in controlling and bringing down the cholesterol levels. Thereby it helps in staying healthy and in preventing heart problems.

Antioxidants

Regular intake of black olives acts like a good antioxidant for blood stream. That is low density lipoprotein oxidation is decreased and thus, plaque formation in coronary arteries is reduced. Also, it further leads to healthy functioning of heart. Thus, black olives are good for healthy heart.

Phytonutrients

Black olives are a great source of phytonutrients such as flavonoids and polyphenols. These have anti inflammatory properties that help in fighting some health conditions such as osteoarthritis, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Phytonutrients reduce the intensity of these conditions.

The aforementioned are a few health benefits of black olives. These benefits make them an indispensable ingredient in most healthy foods. If not olives, their oil is the most flavored ingredient in cooking because of low cholesterol and fat levels.