Olive fattening?

Table olives are the queens of the aperitif. Everyone has in mind in Spain, that very cold beer in summer accompanied by some delicious olives. With the arrival of the summer and to show body in the beach or in the swimming pool, we begin to analyze the calories we take and what we consume. Therefore, one of the foods we take a look at is olives. However, are olives really fattening?, are they to blame for our excess weight?

Here in this article, we will analyze these issues and look at the following points:

1. Do olives get fat, yes or no? What are the calories from olives?
2. Do olives raise cholesterol?
3. From the healthiest olives to the most industrial olives
4. How to differentiate healthy olives?
5. Is it bad to eat olives at night?
6. Calories from 100 grams of olives

Also, in our store in Las Rozas de Madrid you have at your disposal a magnificent selection of delicious olives: organic, stuffed  natural and stuffed. Finally, if you would like more information on other olive products, you may be interested in our previous article: Benefits of olive oil

1. Do olives get fat, yes or no? What are the calories from olives?

The olives have about 190 Kcal per 100 g,. If the olives have a special dressing, these calories will increase according to the calories of the dressing.

Let’s also take into account the size of each olive. Because a big fat olive can be even 10 times bigger than an arbequina olive. Another fundamental aspect is its dressing. Olives seasoned only with water and salt or even without seasoning, will not provide more calories to the olives. However, olives seasoned with some oil, paprika and other natural products, can vary considerably the total calories of each olive.

A great increase in calories can also be found in stuffed olives. The stuffing can be of the most varied, from fruits; dates, blueberries, pineapple, fig, to the stuffed ones of pickles or cheese. Therefore, olives stuffed with cheese or dates, will contain a lot of calories.

In short, natural olives do not contain many calories. Stuffed or seasoned olives may contain a little more calories. However, if we compare it with other appetizers such as chips, snacks, olives is the best appetizer, as they are healthier and delicious and have many fewer calories.

Logically, olives are fattening, as any food has calories. However, it also depends on what we take.

Among the olives that are less fattening would be olives of small natural size with little or no dressing. An example of these would be those of Southern Aragon. The most fattening would be the fat stuffed with a calorific filling, like our olives with dates.

Photo: Organic table olives from Málaga, Spain

2. Do olives raise cholesterol?

The olives don’t raise the cholesterol at all, on the contrary it lowers it. The olives lower the bad cholesterol, the so-called LDL for two fundamental reasons; First for its content in extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants. All of them are very beneficial for health and the circulatory system. Second, for its fiber content, which also helps lower cholesterol. Therefore consuming olives will help to lower cholesterol levels.

However, not all olives are the same. One thing are the most industrial olives that we can find in supermarkets with flavors and aromas very different from their natural flavor. On the other hand they are, or the most natural olives, seasoned with common condiments; rosemary, thyme, paprika…

3. From the healthiest olives to the most industrial olives

The most natural and healthy olives are the olives that have not undergone a chemical process from the moment they are picked until they reach your table. The process of curing, seasoning and industrial preservation can add a lot of chemicals that are not beneficial to health. The only olives that are more natural and do not contain any chemical products are the following:

• Black olives from Southern Aragon: they are put into brine only. They can be conserved without liquid or in brine.
• Manzanilla Aloreña de Málaga: Same process as the previous ones. However, aromatic herbs are added to give them more flavour.
• Traditional Machacadas from Jaén. Same as the Aloreñas, but from other varieties of olives: picual, cornozuelo…

Therefore, these are the real natural olives that do not use any chemical preservative. They are also made with citric acid, which is lemon juice or vinegar.

• Light chemical process

All olives should be treated, if you take an olive directly from the tree, it is very bitter by a compound that is found in them, the European. With a process of washing and time, the Europeanine disappears and with it its strong bitterness. However, there is another chemical method to eliminate this compound that is faster, this is the soda. Here would be the rest of the olives.

Some of them, the bitterness is removed and some natural seasoning is added without chemistry. They can also be preserved with natural products such as salt, vinegar and citric acid. This group includes the rest of the olives we sell.

However, the most industrial olives, in order for the olives to be perfect and last for many years, a large quantity of preservatives is added to them. Preservatives that can do us a lot of damage in the long term. In addition to preservatives, they are also often added flavorings, many of which come from petroleum.  Here we would have the great majority of the olives of Campo Real and the great majority of the olives that they sell in the great surfaces.

4. How to differentiate healthy olives?

Differentiating natural and quality olives from more industrial ones is something you can do from home. If the olives you have bought last in the fridge like new for weeks and weeks, it is an irrefutable proof that these olives are very well treated and full of preservatives.

If, on the other hand, the olives have a white layer on top, we find natural olives. The olive contains yeasts that little by little ferment the olive and remove its bitterness. During this process a floating white layer can come out. This white layer is not harmful. The only thing you have to take care of is that the white layer does not get in contact with the olives, because it can spoil them.

The question people should be asking themselves is not whether or not olives are fattening, but how healthy and beneficial they are.

5. Is it bad to eat olives at night?

Not only is it not bad to take a few olives before going to bed, is that a delicious way to say goodbye to the day.

Olives are a perfect aperitif for any time of the day, as it is a food that brings us great health benefits. However, before we go to bed we must take care of what we ingest if we do not want to take a few kilos more.

The fruit and vegetables that we take before going to bed, its liquids will remain retained in our body, reason why we will not feel something more inflated the following day. A copious dinner in carbohydrates we will quickly convert them into fats, which we will also accumulate. Therefore, eating a few natural olives, which contain monounsaturated fatty acids very beneficial for health and fiber, which will help us to make the digestion, accompanied by a little cheese with oil, or a yogurt will be very healthy ways to end the day.

In conclusion, olives are fattening, but much less than other products and snacks. Unlike other foods, olives provide us with a large amount of nutrients including vitamins, antioxidants and essential fatty acids.

6. Calories of 100 grams of olive

On the frequent questions we usually ask ourselves, if the olives fatten or lose weight. Exactly, some normal olives without seasoning usually give us 360 Kcal or 1 500 KJ per 100 g. If we compare it with the normal coca cola, 42 Kcal or 180 KJ, the olives fatten a lot. However, if we compare it with the satiety provided by each type of food, olives take away your hunger, and with coca cola, you are immediately hungry. Therefore, from the real point of view, olives are much better to lose weight than a coca cola.

Photo: Calories from two types of stuffed olives

In a photo we can see that the olives stuffed with pepper have 82 Kcal per 100 gr. In the case of olives stuffed with dates, they rise to 186 Kcal, so the stuffing with dates multiplies the calories by more than two.

Sources:

Benefits of eating healthy olives. Are olives fattening you? Olivenmypickle