The goodness of olive...

Olive oil is the only kind of edible oil whose 70% of fat is mono-unsaturated. Oil is extracted from oil and the quality of olives greatly determines the quality of oils. There are about 700 types of olives grown in wolrd. Different grades of olive oil has different quantity of anti-oxidants level. The quality of olive-oil not only depends only on the quality of olives, it also depends on the extraction process.

Those suffering from diabetes and coronary heart disease do benefit from consumption of a MUFA rich oil in the prescribed amounts. There is some new evidence regarding the benefits of this oil. It seems that olive oil has a role in getting rid of Helicobacter pylori infections, which is a common bacterial infection of the gut with symptoms such as heartburn, acidity, pain in the abdomen.

There are also some studies to show that consumption of olive oil may retard gallstone formation. All in all, a good oil to use in its pristine and virgin form! ......Neelanjana Singh, Senior Nutrition Consultant PSRI,New Delhi.

A very easy and delicious recipe for you. It is from my mother's recipe book. Just boil the fresh olives till they become soft. After cooling, make a fine paste of them, add sufficient quantity of sugar and small amount of salt to it. You may discard the seeds. A delicious sweet dish is ready for you. Take it after a heavy lunch or dinner.