Truly raw olives can be a little hard to come by, though the processed and heated kind are found everywhere. This doesn`t help those of us on a raw food diet very much, as the heated kind can wreak havoc on a body that is accustomed to eating raw. So should you make the effort to procure the raw kind? Is it worth it? Decide for yourself...here are some benefits which the inclusion of raw olives into your diet can bring to you.The taste factorFirstly, adding olives to a salad, with a few Italian herbs, can make what was a simple tomato and lettuce salad into a really tasty meal. If you are having people over for dinner who do not subscribe to the raw lifestyle, the addition of olives will go down very well. As most people are accustomed to strong flavors, they might find a more simple salad boring. Also, olives make excellent raw snacks; because of their high oil content they are very satiating and make great substitute for traditional `movie` snack foods such as popcorn and potato chips.Good fatOlives have a high fat content. Most people are now over the idea that all fat is bad, and that fat leads to flab (no rhyme intended). We know now that there are good and bad fats, and olives have plenty of the good ones, as they have a high content of monounsaturated fats. These types of fats are quite stable, meaning that they provide good protection for our body. They are not as easily damaged as polyunsaturated fats, and so, if we have them in our cells, we are better protected. People of the Mediterranean countries are thought to be as healthy as they are due to their high consumption of olive oil.Weight lossStudies have shown that the consumption of foods high in monounsaturated fats may lead to weight loss. This could be due to its satiating affects, just a handful of olives will ward off hunger, or it may also be that these fats increase the metabolism. Furthermore, other studies have shown that monounsaturated fats, such as those found in olives, can decrease the amount of fat held around the stomach area, when compared to diets high in carbohydrates.Excellent source of Vitamin EOlives have high levels of Vitamin E, in fact, a cup of olives will give you twenty percent of your recommended daily amount. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant which neutralizes free radicals in the body. Tests have shown that Vitamin E may protect the body against cardiovascular disease and it may also enhance the immune system.Olives make excellent snacks, and they also really make a salad a lot more interesting. Another favorite is olive tapenade, which makes a delicious dip for chopped vegetables.
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