How Do Olives Affect Your Weight?

Medically Reviewed on 9/8/2022
How Do Olives Affect Your Weight?
There are numerous benefits of using olive oil for weight loss.

Olives and olive oil both help with weight management. Olives are tiny fruits that grow on olive trees. They contain a significant amount of vitamin E. Additionally, they contain strong antioxidants. They are good for the heart and might help stave off cancer and osteoporosis.

  • Olive oil is extracted from olives and is rich in heart-healthy fatty acids. As a result, it is crucial to have an incredibly healthy Mediterranean diet. Salads, sandwiches, and tapenade are just a few foods that can include olives.
  • Olives are a common snack and ingredient in stews and other foods. They taste rich and salty and have a chewy texture.

How olives can affect your weight

Calories in olives

Although eating olives can help you lose weight, the serving size is typically thought of as being relatively little. In actuality, some producers specify three to five olives per serving.

  • Five Kalamata olives have 35 calories, 4 grams of fat, and 210 mg of sodium, according to the USDA. Five regular black olives provide nine calories and one gram of fat, according to the USDA.
  • Although this may not seem like much, especially for salad toppings, it is unrealistic for most individuals to have just five olives at once if doing so as a snack. If you consume olives to lose weight, calorie counting may be crucial.
  • Although this modest portion size seems to have few calories, eating more than the recommended serving size of five olives causes calories and sodium to increase.

Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet is renowned for its straightforward rules that help you develop better eating habits without making you feel deprived or hungry. This is primarily the reason why it is the best diet for 2022 for the fifth consecutive year.

The Mediterranean diet might be a fantastic way of life decision if weight loss or health difficulties are a worry.

The Mediterranean diet is associated with:

Many of these advantages can be attributed to the diet's high proportion of plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and low proportion of animal-based foods.

Healthy fat

The best type of fat is unsaturated fat, which is why it should be a regular part of your diet. These include:

  • Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs):
    • Unsaturated fats known as MUFAs can help safeguard the health of your heart and blood vessels, lower the levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL; bad) cholesterol, increase the levels of high-density lipoprotein (good) cholesterol, and regulate blood sugar.
    • A study published in Circulation in July 2017 reported a link between higher MUFA intake and lower saturated fat intake and a decreased risk of heart disease and other major causes of mortality.
    • MUFAs are abundant in avocado, canola oil, nuts, and nut butter, olive oil, and olives. 
    • A chain of carbon molecules with one pair of carbon molecules connected by a double bond makes up MUFAs. The fat will be more solid the more double bonds there are. 
  • Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs):
    • They are another unsaturated fat with a connection to heart health. A study conducted on July 2017 reported that switching from saturated fat to PUFA reduced the risk of heart disease by roughly 30 percent, which is comparable to taking statins.
    • PUFAs are abundant in fatty fish, walnuts, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, safflower oil, and other nuts and seeds. They're good for your heart and brain, and they've been linked to fewer cases of depression and inflammation.
    • PUFAs feature two or more double bonds between the carbon atoms that make up the fat's carbon chain backbone. PUFAs are liquid at room temperature.

Comparison of MUFAs and PUFAs

There are different health advantages to both types of fat. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), both varieties lower blood levels of LDL cholesterol when consumed as part of a diet low in saturated and trans fats. By doing so, the risk of heart disease and stroke is reduced.

MUFAs have the added benefit of being high in vitamin E, an antioxidant nutrient, according to the AHA. They may help manage weight by boosting metabolism and preventing fat accumulation in the body.

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How to use olive oil to lose weight in your diet

It's delectable and simple to include olive oil in daily life.

Keep this advice in mind if you wish to shed a few more pounds:

  • Use no more than one tablespoon of olive oil for each serving.
  • Keep a check on your daily calorie consumption.
  • It's crucial that you consume enough water each day.
  • Avoid consuming processed and packaged foods.
  • Make every effort to limit your sugar intake.
  • Try to cut back as much as you can on the salt in your meals.
  • For salad dressing, use extra virgin olive oil in moderation.

What are the primary advantages of using olive oil for weight loss?

There are numerous benefits of using olive oil for weight loss, and each of them has been supported by science.

You can increase your metabolism and get rid of bad fats with the aid of olive oil. Additionally, the oleic acid in it lessens the feeling of hunger and the consequent demand for large meals. Intestinal transit is favored as a helpful ally in the fight against constipation.

Having a robust immune system and producing serotonin, the hormone associated with happiness and sleep that also affects digestion, are additional advantages that aid in the thinning process.

Olive oil aids in maintaining a healthy weight in addition to a host of other health advantages.

What is the nutrient content of olives?

The varieties of olives are countless. They can be broadly divided into two types that include:

  • Green olives
  • Black olives

The differences between green and black olives are not great. They differ slightly in terms of their macronutrient, vitamin, and mineral contents.

A 100-gram black olives contains the following:

Table 1. The nutritional content of black olives (100 grams)
Nutrient Amount
Calories 116 kcals
Protein 0.84 grams
Total fat 10.90 grams
Carbohydrate 6.04 grams
Fiber 1.60 grams
Vitamin C 0.90 mg
Vitamin B3 0.04 mg
Calcium 88 mg
Iron 6.28 mg
Magnesium 4 mg
Potassium 8 mg
Sodium 735 mg
Zinc 0.22 mg

What is the nutrient content of olive oil?

For olive oil, these values are different. An olive oil serving of 100 mL includes:

Table 2. The nutritional content of olive oil (100 mL)
Nutrient Amount
Calories 884 kcals
Fat 100 grams
Sodium 2 mg
Potassium 1 mg
Iron 0.1 mg
Calcium 1 mg
Vitamin K 21 mg
Vitamin E 26 µg

Conclusion

One of the nutritious foods that might help you reduce your waistline is olive oil, but consuming too much of it can make you gain weight.

Just keep in mind that the best diet is one you're likely to follow consistently for the rest of your life. Therefore, instead of attempting quick-fix fad diets or weight-loss programs, concentrate on incorporating more nutrient-dense foods such as olives and various fruits and vegetables into your everyday routine.

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Medically Reviewed on 9/8/2022
References
Image Source: iStock images

Health Benefits of Olives https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-olives#1-3

Table olives and health: a review https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7737178/

Mediterranean diet for heart health https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/mediterranean-diet/art-20047801

How many grams of fat per day to lose weight? https://blog.nasm.org/how-many-grams-of-fat-per-day-to-lose-weight

The Mediterranean Diet https://www.helpguide.org/articles/diets/the-mediterranean-diet.htm