For the love of olives.

Before I begin my tribute to olives, I will admit that these delightful little oily specimens are probably the only food that I really, REALLY dislike. Green olives. Black olives. Olive dip. Olive bread. Greek salad. Sense a pattern? Anything with a slight olive flavour is a no go, except olive oil. So I apologise, if I offended anyone but this brings me to my next point.

Olives.

 What is the relevance?

Firstly, the Jewish festival of Chanukkah (Hanukah, Hannukah, etc.) is approaching faster than you can say doughnut, where we celebrate all things oil (specifically olive oil). If you've read my previous blog posts you might remember I spoke about the story of Chanukkah and the connection with oil a few years back:

http://rantingsfromaranga.blogspot.co.il/2011/12/sufganiyah-hebrew-ball-shaped-doughnut.html

There are many other "olive" references in Judaism as it bears a lot of symbolic significance. One of these representations I found particularly relevant now. The olive branch, throughout history has been a symbol of peace. Back in the time of Noah, after the disaster of the flood had been averted, Noah sent out a dove from the Ark to check for dry land. The dove returned with an olive branch and since then it has resembled peace and harmony amongst different cultures and religions. The olive may also symbolize longevity because the trees have a long life of productivity, however it is the peace symbol that I can relate to at this point in time because of all the perverseness that has been happening in the world right now. So in celebration of the upcoming festival of lights and in the hope of peace, I'd like to shed some light (no pun intended) on the nutritional pros and cons of this funky fruit.

Agriculturally, the olive, sourced from the olive tree - is a fruit. Nutritionally, the olive is a fat. And cuisinally (not a word), the olive is a seasoning or flavouring. Unlike majority of fruit, the olive needs to be cured before eaten rather than eating it directly off the tree. A ripe olive can be black or green in colour, depending on where it's from. Olives contain something called hydroxytyrosol, which has been shown to reduce cancer risk, Alzheimers disease and prevent bone loss. Olives can also function as anti-inflammatories and anti-histamines. The fat content of olives (as you may have guessed) is pretty high, particularly in oleic acid (a monounsaturated fat) which has been shown to reduce cholesterol, blood pressure and the risk of heart disease. They contain large amounts of fibre, vitamin E and iron. They also contain a nice amount of phytonutrients which are a fancy word for nutrients that aren't essential (like other vitamins and minerals) but can be really helpful in reducing disease risk. The oil from olives is dissimilar to the juice from fruits, where we might lose a lot of the nutrients from the fruit.

What about the other side of the coin? Because there always has to be another side.

 As with all "good" fats, there is such thing as too much of a good thing. Too much fat is still fat and even though it offers a lot of benefits, it can still cause weight gain. Another issue is that olives are often stored in salty brine which can have negative effects on blood pressure. Large amounts of olives might also cause diarrhoea (which sometimes might be a useful thing). There is also a Talmudic reference around olives and their negative impact on memory. However, it also mentions that olive oil does the opposite (which interestingly is supported by studies that show olive oil consumption reduces Alzheimers risk).

 Apparently this can be solved by eating olives with olive oil?