In fact, olives pack such a healthy punch that working more of them into your diet is one of those no-brainer health-boosters nobody should miss out on. With all the varieties there are to choose from—roughly 500 or so—there is an olive to suit virtually every taste. Better yet, those delicious polyphenols help cut oxidative stress in the brain and can help boost memory. In other words, olives are also a great way to feed your head. Olives also include vitamin E as well as the antioxidant compounds lutein and zeaxanthin, all of which offer additional eye- and skin-health support. To help curb appetite in a healthy way, before sitting down to lunch or dinner, try snacking on a small serving of olives. The monounsaturated fatty acids (plus a bit of fiber) in the olives will help aid digestion and stimulate satiety hormones—so you’ll feel fuller sooner. In addition, olives, particularly black olives, deliver a nice dose of iron, which is important for energy production and immune system function—so dig in to keep levels high. Step outside the supermarket. Head to the local farmers market and look for small-batch, artisanal vendors to get the best, close-to-organic quality. Opt for organic. If you’re buying bottled olives, look for organic brands that have been “traditionally cured” in order to avoid the ones that have been cured with lye. Skip the cans. Try to avoid buying canned olives from large-scale producers, which are more likely to be sprayed with pesticides during the growing process and then treated with harsh chemicals—namely lye, to speed curing—during processing. Buy in bulk. Instead of canned versions, buy the fresher, high-turnover olives you’ll usually find in bins at the market. Buying just the amount you need from the bins will also make it easier to taste-test and find the ones that appeal most to your taste buds. After his initial medical training in his native South Africa, Lipman spent 18 months working at clinics in the bush. He became familiar with the local traditional healers, called sangomas, which kindled his interest in non-Western healing modalities In 1984, Lipman immigrated to the United States, where he became the chief medical resident at Lincoln Hospital in Bronx, NY. While there, he became fascinated by the hospital’s addiction clinic, which used acupuncture and Chinese medicine making him even more aware of the potential of implementing non-Western medicine to promote holistic wellbeing. He began studying nutrition, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, herbal medicine, functional medicine, biofeedback, meditation, and yoga. Lipman founded the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in 1992, where he combines the best of Western medicine and cutting edge nutritional science with age-old healing techniques from the East. As his patient, chef Seamus Mullen, told The New York Times, “If antibiotics are right, he’ll try it. If it’s an anti-inflammatory diet, he’ll do that. He’s looking at the body as a system rather than looking at isolated things.” In addition to his practice, he is also an instructor in mbg’s Functional Nutrition Program. A cutting-edge nutrition deep dive taught by 20+ top health & wellness experts
