Then eating seven a day could help to keep the doctor away, health experts advise.

They say it does not matter how the olive is prepared or whether it is green or black. It contains essential amino acids, minerals and vitamins, fundamental to the Mediterranean diet.

Eating seven a day means getting the essential olive oil, with table olives offering also sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and iodide. They are anti-toxins thanks to the B and A E vitamins and contain oleic acid which has heart protection qualities.