For those who are attentive to diet and health, shopping at the supermarket can become a real challenge. We often feel intimidated in front of the shelves. Which products to select? Is it better the unprocessed ones, or the convenience of ready meals? Is it worth spending more on organic? Should we only buy zero-kilometer products or can we indulge in some exotic delights?
But sometimes the solution for those looking for a balanced and healthy diet is right under our eyes. Unsuspected products often turn out to be health mines, while the most publicized ones sometimes don’t deliver on their promises.
There is one product in particular that some people ignore, but which actually hides many benefits for our health. That’s what it is about.
They cost very little in the supermarket but are a mine of omega 3 and help to lower cholesterol
But what product are we talking about? Very simple: humble olives. Some don’t know it, but olives contain a lot of essential elements and vitamins, and what’s more, they are very good. It is a very simple food, present in our tradition for millennia. And for a good reason: they require no special preparation, they are extremely versatile and very healthy. They cost very little in the supermarket but are a mine of omega 3 and help to lower bad cholesterol. A real cure-all for the cardiovascular system. Furthermore, olives are very rich in fiber (important for the proper functioning of the intestine), vitamin A, vitamin E, and calcium, potassium and magnesium.
So let’s not hesitate to put a bag of olives in the cart. They are a very fast and absolutely healthy snack. So we won’t have to feel guilty if we love to munch on something at aperitif time or during breaks from study and work.
A tip for lowering the sodium content
But be careful, olives also have a negative side: they are very rich in sodium as they are generally preserved in brine. To avoid consuming too much salt together with the olives we can use a trick: we throw away the salty water with which we buy them, and rinse the olives carefully. Then put them in the fridge in a new container filled with water. We recommend consuming them within a few days and changing the water daily. In this way we will greatly lower the sodium content of our olives.
If we love to dabble in the kitchen, always paying attention to health, here is a very good sauce of tofu, cherry tomatoes and olives to not give up the taste but delight the palate.