Liquid calories are stealthy. They go down so effortlessly because the body doesn’t detect their calories the way it recognizes them in solid food, research suggests. As a result, the average American consumes more than 100 calories a day from soft drinks. The average adult takes in more than 100 calories daily from alcoholic beverages alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Jeff Csatari
The Most Surprising Drink for Weight Loss (msn.com)
McDonald’s is always introducing new items for their loyal customers. And obviously, some are more successful than others. But their bubblegum-flavored broccoli, which the fast-food chain developed in 2014 as a tastier version of the leafy green for children, was a complete failure. McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson admitted that kids were confused by the taste.
Olives, a savory Mediterranean fruit, are often cured and eaten whole as a tangy, salty snack. Many people also enjoy them on pizzas and salads or processed into oil or tapenade.
They’re known for being rich in beneficial fats and are included in the popular Mediterranean diet, so you may wonder whether olives can help you lose weight.
This article explains whether olives aid weight loss.
Olives may affect your weight in a variety of ways.
Olives have a notably low calorie density.
Calorie density is a measure of the number of calories in a food relative to the food’s weight or volume (in grams). In general, any food with a calorie density of 4 or more is considered high.
Whole black or green olives have a calorie density of 1–1.5.
Choosing foods with a low-calorie density may boost weight loss, as these foods tend to help you feel full for longer — and for fewer calories (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source, 3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).
Olives also boast healthy unsaturated fats, which differ from saturated and trans fats due to their chemical structure. All fats contain the same amount of calories, but unsaturated fats affect your body beneficially (5Trusted Source, 6).
In particular, replacing carbs and other fats in your diet with monounsaturated fats may reduce inflammation and decrease your risk of heart disease (7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source).
Monounsaturated fats are found in foods like olives, nuts, avocados, and plant-based oils. Some research links diets high in monounsaturated fats directly to weight loss (11Trusted Source).
A 60-day study in 32 women compared diets high monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats with normal diets. The diet high in monounsaturated fats resulted in a weight loss of up to 4.2 pounds (1.9 kg), plus lower fat mass, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (12Trusted Source).
Furthermore, a large review of low calorie diets revealed that high fat eating patterns more often lead to weight loss than low fat ones (13Trusted Source).
The Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes whole foods and seafood while limiting processed foods, may boost weight loss. Olives, olive oil, and other healthy fats are a key component of this diet (14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).
Specific studies on this diet suggest that it may result in 1–4.5 pounds (2.2–10.1 kg) of weight loss (17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source).
All the same, other studies don’t directly associate it with weight loss (19Trusted Source).
Nevertheless, the Mediterranean diet appears to provide a wide range of health benefits, such as reduced blood pressure and waist circumference (19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
Olives have a low calorie density and are a good source of healthy fats, two factors that may boost weight loss by helping keep you full and replacing less healthy fats in your diet.
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The nutritional profile of olives varies based on the type of olive and the curing method. Still, most are low in calories but fairly high in salt and beneficial fats.
The following chart examines the nutrients in 1.2 ounces (34 grams) of black and green olives. This serving provides approximately 10 small- to medium-sized olives (24Trusted Source, 25Trusted Source).
| Black olives | Green olives | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 36 | 49 |
| Carbs | 2 grams | 1 gram |
| Protein | less than 1 gram | less than 1 gram |
| Total fat | 3 grams | 5 grams |
| Monounsaturated fat | 2 grams | 4 grams |
| Saturated fat | 2% of the Daily Value (DV) | 3% of the DV |
| Fiber | 3% of the DV | 4% of the DV |
| Sodium | 11% of the DV | 23% of the DV |
Depending on the size of the fruits, a serving of 10 green or black olives may contain 35–95 calories.
Notably, olives are rich in polyphenol antioxidants, which fight harmful compounds called free radicals in your body. They’re also believed to help reduce your risk of health conditions like diabetes and heart disease (26Trusted Source, 27Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
Whole olives are low in calories but rich in polyphenols and healthy fats. They tend to be high in sodium.
Although olives have a low-calorie density and may aid weight loss in several ways, it’s best to enjoy them in moderation due to their high salt content, as well as their overall fat content.
Furthermore, if you don’t closely monitor portion sizes, olives’ calorie count can add up quickly.
To keep your saturated fat intake within the recommended guidelines, it’s best to limit your intake to 2–3 ounces (56–84 grams) — about 16–24 small- to medium-sized olives — per day.
SUMMARY
Though olives may aid weight loss, they’re high in salt and fat — and eating too many of them may offset your weight loss success. As such, you should moderate your intake, limiting yourself to a few ounces at most per day.
Olives are a scrumptious snack that boasts healthy fats and polyphenol antioxidants. Their low-calorie density means that they may aid weight loss by helping you feel full.
All the same, you should control for portion sizes because olives’ calories can add up quickly.
This popular Mediterranean fruit makes a great replacement for any processed foods or high-calorie snacks in your diet.ADVERTISEMENTStart a custom weight loss program
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Written by Cecilia Snyder, MS, RD on May 11, 2020
Easter Sunday is the most important date in the Christian church.
In the bible, it is the day when Mary Magdalene found that an empty tomb in the cave in which Jesus had been placed following his death by crucifixion on the previous Friday.
It signifies the end of the 40 days of Lent, meaning Christians who gave up something during lent to signify Jesus’ time in the wilderness, can indulge themselves again.
Easter Sunday is also when church bells will be rung again, having been silent during Lent.
The name Easter is derived from ‘Ostara’ or ‘Eostre’, a pagan goddess of fertility, whose feast was celebrated on the Vernal Equinox. The word East is also derived from her names, as is Oestrogen, the female hormone. In Saxon culture, the Hare was sacred to Ostara and the modern tradition of the Easter Bunny is a distant echo of that.
However, In most languages other than English and German, the holiday’s name is derived from Pesach, the Hebrew name of Passover, a Jewish holiday to which the Christian Easter is intimately linked.
Easter depends on Passover not only for much of its symbolic meaning but also for its position in the calendar. Read more about the date of Easter.
The Easter Bunny is now an established part of the Easter traditions. In Europe and America, the Easter Bunny visits the garden of children leaving chocolate eggs and treats for the children to find on Easter Egg hunts.
Rabbits and hares don’t have any direct connection to any Christian tradition and it is interesting to note that the pagan goddess, Ostara was always traditionally accompanied by a hare. The modern tradition derives from a German custom that was first recorded in the 16th century. It may seem strange for a rabbit to be laying eggs, but as eggs were part of the foods banned during Lent, then the reintroduction of eggs would have been a welcome treat, no matter how they arrived in the garden.
It was once thought that hares could give birth without conceiving, which may have made them a way of explaining the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. It is also said that the sight of Rabbits appearing from their underground burrows is a reminder of Jesus appearing from the tomb after his resurrection on Easter morning.
On Easter Sunday, the traditional meat for dinner is lamb. The lamb was a sacrifice during the Jewish Passover, and it became a symbol for Jesus. It is also seasonal as Spring lamb is particularly tender and noted for its subtle flavour.
Three facts about Easter Sunday
Though the method of calculating the date has changed, Easter first became an official Christian holiday in AD 325 at the first council of Nicaea presided over by Roman Emperor Constantine.
Easter is celebrated at different times by Eastern and Western Christians. It is because the dates for Easter in Eastern Christianity are based on the Julian calendar, while Western Christianity follows the Gregorian calendar.
The idea of the Easter bunny giving candies and eggs is said to have originated in Germany during the middle ages.
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Keeping a stash of cut fruits and vegetables on hand has doubled my family’s produce consumption, and it also makes packing lunches and cooking dinner faster and easier. While there are some potential downsides to storing cut fruits and vegetables — they spoil faster and reportedly have fewer nutrients after a few days — I’d say the increase in actually eating up our produce is worth those negatives. Here are five ways I’ve learned to make cut fruit and vegetables last longer.
Storing cut fruits and vegetables in water seems counterintuitive, but it is a great way to store hardy vegetables like carrots, celery, and potatoes after they are cut. To prolong their freshness, always store in fresh cool water and change out the water every few days for even longer-term storage. Water even works to preserve guacamole’s greenness and to store cut apples.
Many home cooks know that a little lemon juice in water can prevent apples from browning, but there are also a few products (like Ball’s Fruit-Fresh) that contain citric acid for preserving the appearance of fruit. You can mimic the results of these products (and add flavor) by tossing fresh fruits with a little lemon or lime juice or sprinkling vegetables with a spice mix like Tajín seasoning before storing.
Paper towels and an airtight container is the best way to store salad greens (even cut romaine), but it also works well for peppers and strawberries. The towels wick away moisture while the container keeps spoilage at bay.
Freezing cut fruits and vegetables is an especially easy shortcut for lunch fodder. It preserves the fruit and vegetables, but also keeps them cool in the lunch box. This works well for berries, corn, peas, carrot slices, and peppers.
Let’s say that the peppers you cut on Sunday are looking a little sad on Wednesday — throw them in a hot oven to roast while you cook dinner and then use them the rest of the week in wraps or on scrambled eggs or sandwiches. Turn cut berries or apples into a quick sauce with a little bit of water in a small saucepan on the stove — then add this fruit sauce to yogurt or smoothies throughout the week. That way your hard work doesn’t go to waste and you can still enjoy your daily intake of fruits and vegetables.
Mws R Writings 