Tiny Fruit, Big Benefits

It's small, it's green, and it's not sweet. But still, you'll want to toss this fruit into every dish you can.

It's the almighty olive. Yep, it's technically a fruit. And like the oil (or juice) that comes from them, olives are great for you. Here's why.

Bite-Size Nutrition
Olives are bursting with antioxidants, monounsaturated fat, iron, vitamin E, and fiber. And according to John La Puma, MD, author of Chef MD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine, they may have the power to protect people from impotence, premature wrinkling, stroke, and heart disease. Not a bad rap. For a little extra pizzazz, make these Herbed Olives.

Do It Like This
Whether you garnish your salad, pasta, or pizza with olives, try these three tips:

• Buy them whole, not pitted or stuffed, for the biggest dose of disease-blocking antioxidants and polyphenols. Get to know these three superhealthy polyphenols.
• Choose black olives over green; they contain more cancer-preventing flavonoids. Here's another food that's better when it's darker.
• Go dark with olive oil, too, for extra blood-clot-fighting polyphenols. And store it in a dark bottle. Here's why.

ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine. La Puma, J., New York: Crown Publishers, 2008.