Originating from Mediterranean Europe, olives were brought to the Northern American region by the Spanish colonists, with missionaries planting the first tree in California in the eighteenth century. Since then, the United States has cultivated the crop, and to this day, remain as one of the top twenty olive producing countries in the world. Olives have long been hailed as a health food as it provides wholesome benefits to the body.
As you probably already know, there are two kinds of olives sold in the market, namely green and black olives. Green olives have been harvested while still unripe hence the color. Black olives, meanwhile, have been allowed to fully ripen prior to harvesting. This, along with the processing methods used, are the reasons for the dark hue of the latter type of olives.
Green olives and black olives are almost nutritionally identical except for its sodium content. As it turns out, green olives have more than twice the sodium content as compared to that of black olives. 15 grams or five medium pieces of green olives contain roughly around 215 to 360 milligrams of sodium. 15 grams or five medium black olives, on the other hand, have about 115 to 125 milligrams of sodium.
Read further and learn more about the benefits of olives and why the Superhuman Food Pyramid recommends this vegetable.
