This is Monica Reinagel.

Hello and welcome back to the nutrition divas quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous.

Today we're going to be talking about olives, which types are the most nutritious,

and how olives and olive oil compare in terms of health benefits. When I was growing up, there

were only two kinds of olives at the grocery store,

green olives stuffed with pimentos, and pitted black or ripe olives that you could wear on the tips of your

fingers until your mom made you stop playing with your food.

Today of course most grocery stores have entire olive bars with all kinds of exotic

varietals.

Everything from the tiny brown niswas to the giant bright green sirenola to those shriveled black

Moroccans.

But are they all the same nutritionally? asks Grace or are some types particularly good for you.

Meanwhile, Tanya wonders how olives compared to olive oil in terms of health benefits.

Both olives and olive oil are promoted as healthy foods primarily because they are high in mono-unsaturated fats.

Cultures whose diets are rich in this type of fat tend to have lower rates of heart disease, cancer, and obesity, even when their

total fat consumption is on the high side.

In fact, some researchers theorize that mono-unsaturated fats, like those in olives and avocados,

might be slightly less quote-unquote fattening than other types of fat, because the body metabolizes

and stores them differently.

mono-unsaturated fats also seem to be less likely to contribute to clogged arteries and heart disease.

So what are the differences between olives and olive oil?

Well here's one big difference.

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