National Olive Day 2021: Types of Olives Everyone Should Know and The Health Benefits and Nutrition Facts of These Tiny Fruit

Happy National Olive Day! What's not to love about this fruit that grows on olive trees. Rich in vitamin e, Olives dont just go great with martinis but also have huge health kickbacks. Widely incorporated in Mediterranean cuisine as oils or whole (also remember martinis) They have mostly flown under the radar.  Until recently people around the world knew only a few types of olives. The green,  black, pitted, and the best ones were pimento-stuffed, that was the extent of our knowledge when it came to its variants. However, these complex flavoursome olives are diverse in their variants. So on this National Olive Day celebrated on June 1st, let's learn more about these sweet, salty, sour, and incredibly versatile fruit.

There are 14 different variants of olives. The most popular among them is, Kalamata - a greenish-black olive from Greece. Then we have Nyon and Niçoise native to  France and  Picholine from Italy. Cerignola, Alphonso, La Catalan, Moroccan Dry- or Salt-Cured Black Olives, Italian Dry- or Salt-Cured Olives, Gaeta Olive, Stuffed Olives are other variants that hail from Morocco, Italy, Greece, Spain and France. 

An olive has quite a few nutritional and health benefits, One cup of black olives can provide about 40 per cent daily recommended value of copper. It also has about 25 per cent of iron, 15 per cent of vitamin E and it is extremely rich in antioxidants. They also have healthy fats, including oleic acid.

Olive oils are often incorporated in cooking and recommended to control cholesterol. They also work quite well as hair oil.  The abundance of vitamin E serves as a good massage oil. Now, the health and nutritional listicle is no reason to shove a handful of olives into your mouth. While it is healthy, it should be consumed in moderation. So we recommend that you start by sticking some extra olives in the martini and have a great National Olive Day.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 31, 2021 06:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).