Olives

=Olives= = =
 * July 25, 2007**

Olives are the food of the week.

This week we celebrate olives as one of the [|World's Healthiest Foods]. Olives are one of our oldest foods and are believed to have originated in Crete between five and seven thousand years ago. After they are harvested, they must go through special processing methods to reduce their intrinsic bitter taste and acquire the great taste that we associate with olives.

**Nutritional Value**
Olives are a good source of iron, dietary fiber and vitamin E, a powerful [|antioxidant] that protects cells from damage from free radicals. They are also rich in health-promoting oleic acid, a health-promoting monounsaturated fat, which promotes heart health, and a newly discovered anti-inflammatory compound called "oleocanthal."