Olives have been enjoyed for thousands of years and are much appreciated for the use of their oil. However there are surprising health benefits that whole olives contribute towards. Olives decrease heart disease risk, anti-inflammatory effects, and even manipulating cellular development!
Over 80% of the calories in 1 cup of olives come from dietary fats, however these are overwhelmingly from monounsaturated fats. Olives contain no cholesterol because they are of plant and not animal origin. Dietary fats have been extensively studied and there are still many controversial views and opinions on how much and what type of fat to consume. As a registered dietitian nutritionist and registered nurse, I hold to the opinion and the research that plant-based fats are superior to animal-based fats and that dietary fat is a healthy part of a balanced diet.
In fact, a group of research participants who increased their intake of monounsaturated plant-based fats without increasing their overall dietary fat intake, showed improvements in LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and HDL/LDL cholesterol ratio. Oleic acid, a type of dietary fat found in olives was able to influence signaling patterns in blood vessel cell membranes, which resulted in decreased blood pressure. Oleuropein, a phytochemical in olives has been shown to decrease oxidation of LDL cholesterol, lower oxidative stress, and protect neurons from damage.
Olives contain a vast array of phytochemicals that give them their color, flavor, and healing abilities. Most likely the phytochemicals found in Olives are responsible for enhancing glutathione in the human body which is a powerful antioxidant. Research study shows that phytochemicals in olives block histamine and lower blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and therefore can be considered as an anti-inflammatory food.
Amazingly enough, phytochemicals in olives have been shown to interrupt the life cycle of breast cancer cells and gastric cancer cells! Even in a person without active cancer, olives can be consumed to lower cancer risk and protect DNA development and replication.
As a supplement, olive leaf extract is known for its high antioxidant levels and boosting the immune system. Olive leaf extract has also been studied and shown to have antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant effects. Taking olive leaf extract orally also seems to lower blood pressure in patients with hypertension. If I could name a favorite brand, I would choose Barlean's Olive Leaf Extract (since I toured factory and met the Barlean family, I would say they are a trustworthy, industrious, and hardworking family business). Barlean's Organic Oils.
Olives are a meaty, zesty, and savory type of fruit that is categorized as a drupe. A drupe is a fleshy fruit with thin skin and a central stone or pit such as a plum, cherry, or almond. They are a staple of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern diet as the plant originates from these two regions. Years ago, an inspirational author, who became the most widely translated female author of all time, Ellen G. White, wrote many articles, letters, and books featuring health and dietary counsel. She wrote back in the early twentieth century "when properly prepared, olives like nuts, supply the pace of butter…the oil, as eaten in the olive, is far preferable to animal oil or fat." Ministry of Healing, 298, 1905.
I prefer to use olives from a glass jar than from a can. In America, most olives from the can are lye-cured, and I would rather stick with as natural and chemical-free foods as possible. Instead, select olives stored in glass jars, cured in a brine, water, or dry-cured with salt. It may surprise you that curing olives is not indicative to color change and there are a variety of olive species that range from green to a dark purple color.
Allouche Y, Warleta F, Campos M et al. Antioxidant, antiproliferative, and pro-apoptotic capacities of pentacyclic triterpenes found in the skin of olives on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells and their effects on DNA damage. J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Jan 12;59(1):121-30. Epub 2010 Dec 10. 2011.
Daccache A, Lion C, Sibille N et al. Oleuropein and derivatives from olives as Tau aggregation inhibitors. Neurochem Int. 2011 May;58(6):700-7. Epub 2011 Feb 17. 2011.
Juan ME, Wenzel U, Daniel H et al. Erythrodiol, a natural triterpenoid from olives, has antiproliferative and apoptotic activity in HT-29 human adenocarcinoma cells. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2008 May;52(5):595-9. 2008.
Kountouri AM, Kaliora AC, Koumbi L et al. In-vitro gastric cancer prevention by a polyphenol-rich extract from olives through induction of apoptosis. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2009 Feb;18(1):33-9. 2009.
Muzzalupo I, Stefanizzi F, Perri E et al. Transcript levels of CHL P gene, antioxidants and chlorophylls contents in olive (Olea europaea L.) pericarps: a comparative study on eleven olive cultivars harvested in two ripening stages. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2011 Mar;66(1):1-10. 2011.
O'Brien, N. M., Carpenter, R., O'Callaghan, Y. C., O'Grady, M. N., and Kerry, J. P. Modulatory effects of resveratrol, citroflavan-3-ol, and plant-derived extracts on oxidative stress in U937 cells. J Med Food 2006;9(2):187-195.
Omar SH. Oleuropein in Olive and its Pharmacological Effects. Sci Pharm. 2010 June 30; 78(2): 133-154. doi:10.3797/scipharm.0912-18. 2010.
Owen RW, Haubner R, Mier W et al. Isolation, structure elucidation and antioxidant potential of the major phenolic and flavonoid compounds in brined olive drupes. Food Chem Toxicol 2003 May; 41(5):703-17. 2003.
Park S, Choi Y, Um SJ et al. Oleuropein attenuates hepatic steatosis induced by high-fat diet in mice. J Hepatol. 2011 May;54(5):984-93. Epub 2010 Oct 31. 2011.
Raederstorff D. Antioxidant activity of olive polyphenols in humans: a review. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2009 May;79(3):152-65. Review. 2009.
Visioli F, Wolfram R, Richard D et al. Olive phenolics increase glutathione levels in healthy volunteers. J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Mar 11;57(5):1793-6. 2009.


MasterCard customers will soon be able to replace their passwords with a "selfie" and a fingerprints to verify their identity and make payments online.
The payment processing company confirmed the decision to introduce biometric checks this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Ann Cairns, head of international markets for MasterCard, told CNBC that biometric checks had been trialled in the U.S. and the Netherlands and will be launching them in the U.K. soon.
"I think the whole biometric space is a great way of protecting yourself when you are doing payments," she said. "There are a whole range of biometrics that say 'I'm me, I'm making a payment' and it just makes the whole thing more secure."
Biometric solutions could include facial recognition, fingerprint scanners or checking the customer's heartbeat using wearable technology such as smartwatches.
The company first revealed the MasterCard Identity Check system in October last year as part of its commitment to improve online payment security.
The system could lead to increased online sales as passwords are replaced with a more convenient solution. According to a survey by MasterCard, 53 percent of shoppers forget passwords at least once a week, wasting more than 10 minutes to reset their accounts and leading to a third of shoppers abandoning their purchase.
"People shop on all sorts of devices, and they expect technology to simplify and secure the transaction," said Ajay Bhalla, president of enterprise security solutions at MasterCard, in a press release. "This is exactly what Identity Check delivers."
Cairns added that the checks could help people in developing markets who may not have official documents of identification.
"If you think about some of the things we've rolled out in some emerging markets, in places like Africa, where people don't have identities because they don't maybe have passports or driving licences, then biometric authentication is a way of saying 'I'm me'" she said.


Although mom and dad might not live together, they can still communicate well. Parenting can be stressful – especially when you are first learning how to organize well with a baby either newly born or on the way.
However, raising children becomes even more stressful during and after a divorce regardless of whether you have primary custody or not. If you are struggling with co-parenting and need a way to set up your child for a successful childhood, it's time to start looking for ways to get more efficiently organized.
Using an application for sharing your schedule will help everybody stay informed during the divorce and custody process. Even if you only have part of the family together. It works on most mobile smartphones and can quickly be distributed among everybody who needs to stay in touch. This will make your routine as a parent much more stress-free.
Anybody who takes on the task of parenting realizes the heavy amount of responsibility that comes with having your own children. Many parents soon surrender to the responsibility and start living through the lives of their children. Here are some applications which will help you organize your co-parenting tasks. Afterward, we will discuss the top features of apps like this.
This app takes all the best features of an organization and messaging app and combines them together.
It may not be the easiest tool to use, but it is free and available to anyone with internet.
Although made for business, this is an app which can be used by family members as well. Isn't free, however.
If your child is old enough to have their own smartphone, using an application can help teach your child some organization skills. It is necessary for children to learn to become independent and responsible at some point so that they can one day have a family of their own.
With a shared-task application, your child will have complete access to the entire schedule. By letting them on the daily schedule and tasks, they won't need to bounce back and forth between each parent to discover who is picking them up from school, where the child will be staying, and so on.
As a parent post-divorce, it can be exhausting to raise kids while you aren't together with the other biological parent. As you have learned, you may not get along but will need to still communicate. After all, you both hopefully have the best interest of your children in mind.
Parenting isn't supposed to be complicated. However, things can quickly become complex. In today's world, you should be able to communicate instantly. With an application, you can digitally and instantly inform multiple people other who is doing what, and when.
Whenever big life events come for your child, it's important that you know who needs to take care of what. This is a major part of parenting. Whether you are both together or not. With the right app, you can quickly decide which parent needs to take the kids to school, to the dentist, to their friend's house for a sleepover, and so on.
If your kids play sports, you might both need to coordinate schedules. Using the application, it is simple and easy to arrange who will be the one to take them there, if you will both be there, where they will go afterward, and so on. Remember that in this sort of circumstance, or whatever their special hobby is, it might be common for each parent to be there.
A top-quality application can connect to both Apple and Android operating systems. If one parent has an iPhone, and the other has an Android, the application should still be able to help you both work together.
If your kids bring home a permission slip to go on a field trip, report cards, and so on, it can be difficult for co-parents to share them. The same holds true for just about any sort of physical documents, such as divorce or parenting custody papers. When you don't live together, it can be a heavy inconvenience to transport documents between separate houses.
However, if you have a copy of a document on your computer, you can easily transfer it over to your smartphone's application using the feature for sharing documents. If you only have a physical divorce document, for example, all you will need to do is scan it and transfer it over to the application.
The best thing about most of these applications is that they are completely free of charge to use. However, this doesn't mean that there isn't any sort of premium features. If you like the application well enough and wish to take advantage of some of the extra add-ons, it is affordable. However, you are not required to pay anything in most cases.
With the premium version of Coorganiz, as an example, you can use the application on both PC and Mac computers. They can simultaneously connect the mobile application, allowing the application to become a lot easier to use. Transferring documents using a scanner, for example, is much easier if you can connect to the computer.
When you use a computer, you will be able to share information across platforms. This means you can use a Mac and Android at the same time, or vice versa. Try to find an application which can handle this feature if necessary.
Sometimes we can forget to do things in our schedules. It is easy to become overwhelmed with your existing schedule that you potentially even miss something that you said you would be there for. However, when you are continuously reminded to do something, it becomes a lot less likely that you will forget.
A great feature that comes with a top quality app like this is the ability to receive several different SMS notifications. Put these in advance of each commitment so that you never forget to keep your word and be there for any sort of event.


As Kim Jong-un's regime charges forth with North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs, the foreign ministries of China and Russia have drawn attention to supposed destabilizing actions south of the 38th parallel, including the U.S. deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. As the argument goes, THAAD increases tension in an already fraught situation on the Korean peninsula and encourages escalation by all parties involved. However, this claim disingenuously disregards the escalation already occurring in the Asia-Pacific and belies the reality that THAAD will actually bring greater stability to the region. Proponents of a stable Asia-Pacific should welcome THAAD, not reject it.
Inherently defensive in nature, THAAD consists of a truck-mounted launcher capable of carrying eight interceptors, an Army-Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance (AN/TPY-2) unit, and a fire control unit that manages data and communications. As the 'T' in THAAD indicates, this system counters ballistic missiles in the terminal phase of their trajectory. Once a threat is detected by the AN/TPY-2, the fire control unit relays information about the missile's trajectory and launches a heat-seeking, non-explosive interceptor to destroy the incoming projectile via kinetic energy.
What Armstrong's critique misses and Guoqiang's assertion ignores, however, is that the AN/TPY-2 is likely to be primarily operated in "terminal" mode given THAAD's role in intercepting missiles on their terminal phase. In this mode, it is unlikely THAAD can reach Chinese territory—a fact that the U.S. has attempted to make clear in technical briefings that Chinese officials have repeatedly refused to receive.
In addition to misrepresenting THAAD's capabilities, critics decrying THAAD's role in escalation ignore China's efforts to advance its military capabilities began long before THAAD made its way to the Korean peninsula. As early as 2006, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) observed, "China continues to invest heavily in its military, particularly in its strategic arsenal and capabilities designed to improve its ability to project power beyond its borders." Again, in its 2010 QDR, the DOD noted, "China is developing and fielding large numbers of advanced medium-range ballistic and cruise missiles, new attack submarines equipped with advanced weapons, increasingly capable long-range air defense systems, electronic warfare and computer network attack capabilities, advanced fighter aircraft, and counter-space systems." More recently, China's militarization of contested island chains in the South China Sea makes clear that its actions have already upset the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific.
Regarding Russia's views, both its ambassador to the Republic of Korea (ROK), Aleksandr Timonin, and Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov have expressed objections to THAAD's deployment. The two have claimed that THAAD will escalate tensions and may even be used to spy on Russian troop movements within its borders.
To be fair, experts at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies 38 North project have stated that, as of current plans for the system's deployment, THAAD's AN/TPY-2 radar coverage will envelop the entirety of Russia's Primorsky Krai region, which includes the strategically vital port at Vladivostok, and a portion of Khabarovski Krai further north. However, it is important to remember that Russia has disregarded similar objections regarding its aggressive posture in Eastern Europe. The Baltic States in particular are completely engulfed by Russian anti-access/area denial systems and routinely experience blatantly hostile airspace incursions by Russian fighter aircraft. By contrast, the U.S. deployment of THAAD on the Korean peninsula is explicitly defensive. And again, Russia will be unaffected when the AN/TPY-2 is in its terminal mode.
The most legitimate objections to THAAD have come from the ROK itself. Protest groups, such as the Seongju Struggle Committee to Stop THAAD Deployment, claim that THAAD's deployment may harm the environment and will escalate military tensions on the Korean peninsula. Ironically, these same protestors have established roadblocks in an attempt to prevent environmental testing equipment from reaching deployment sites.
To ease tensions and promote understanding, Bonnie S. Glaser, Daniel G. Sofio, and David A. Parker of the Center for Strategic and International Studies have argued "the United States should continue to seek to try to assuage Beijing's concerns about THAAD by [again] offering to give Chinese officials technical briefings on the system's capabilities." Cooler rhetoric from all parties involved would also prove beneficial.
Rather than sullying "its international reputation" and risking that "neighboring states may increasingly see China as a threat" if it continues to strong-arm Seoul, as Lee Hee Ok of Sungkyunkwan University has warned could happen, Beijing should recognize the ROK's need for protection from the North's growing missile capabilities. With these tensions resolved, the ROK can focus on expanding its trading relationship with China, already China's fourth largest. Likewise, other Asia-Pacific nations may see China's acceptance of THAAD as a sign of the nation's magnanimity, and thus be more willing to embrace the presently-faltering Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership being touted by China.
Instead of allowing THAAD to separate China from its neighbors, Beijing can actually use THAAD to bring Pacific nations together through diplomacy and economic cooperation. In other words, the ongoing THAAD deployment is a potential win for all parties involved. Everyone not named Kim Jong-un should welcome it with arms wide open.
—Collin Meisel is a Major General John G. Rossi Military Fellow at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, and a McCourt Scholar and Master of Public Policy candidate at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy. Follow him on Twitter @collinmeisel.
This entry was posted in Asia, International Relations and tagged AN/TPY-2, China, Russia, South Korea, THAAD. Bookmark the permalink.
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I'm really excited to finally be able to share this news with you.
Is the name for my upcoming exhibition in Pigyard Gallery in Wexford, Ireland. It is a selection of 11 previously unseen watercolours. It opens on February 9th with reception at 6pm. Exhibition will be open daily throughout February.
Pigyard Gallery is a small gallery situated inside Spectrum Art & Framing on the main shopping walkway in the Selskar area of Wexford, Pigyard Gallery stands at the heart of the town's cultural quarter.
It is great oportunity to show my artwork to Wexford based art lovers.
If you would like to recieve a reminder a day before the exhibition please subscribe to my newsletter or contact me.
You can see Pigyard Gallery page here.
Above detail of 'When I grow up' watercolour painting which is part of the exhibition.
Below detail of 'Crimson Riddle' which is also going to be in the upcoming exhibition.