Persea Americana, or the avocado, is a tree native to Mexico and Central America. The avocado is a fruit, not a vegetable, but compared to most fruits, it’s an aberration. While most fruits have a high concentration of carbs, avocados are mostly made up of healthy fats. They are super healthy, delicious and available. With all this in mind, here are the main health benefits of avocado. Read on and discover this amazing fruit!
The Main Health Benefits of Avocado
One of the reasons the avocado is so popular is not just that it’s super creamy and delicious, it’s because it’s very good for your health. Studies have shown that avocados can help fight against cancer, they can help improve your sight and are also quite amazing for the skin. Avocado oil is good for a plethora of afflictions and the list goes on. Here are some of the main health benefits of avocado.
- Avocado is incredibly nutritious. In a single serving, which is usually 3.5 ounces, you get 20% of the recommended daily allowance of Folate, 26% of Vitamin K 17% of Vitamin C, 14% of Vitamin B5, 13% of Vitamin B6 and 10% of Vitamin E. Avocados also have small amounts of copper, Niacin, Manganese, Magnesium and Iron. You get all that from 2 grams of protein, 15 grams of healthy fats and 160 calories and no sodium! It’s truly a super food!
- Another health benefit of avocados is that they are chock-full of potassium. You know how people say that bananas are very high in potassium? Well, newsflash for you folks, avocados have more potassium than bananas. You’re getting 15% of your daily recommended dose of potassium with a 3.5 ounces of avocado. Potassium is great for reducing blood pressure, which is a key factor in the development of heart attacks and strokes.
- Avocados are loaded with monounsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids are fuel for the heart and even though an avocado is one of the fattiest plant foods on earth, it’s not bad for your heart. The majority of the fat found in avocado is called oleic acid and it’s this acid that’s bringing goodness throughout your body.
- Eating avocados can lower your cholesterol levels and triglycerides levels. A study took a group of people with similar cholesterol levels and split them in two. One group ate a daily serving of avocado and the other group did not. The avocado group had lower cholesterol levels than those who didn’t eat one serving of avocado a day. More studies revealed that avocados can reduce blood triglycerides by up to 20%, lower LDL cholesterol by up to 25% and increase the good cholesterol (HDL) by up to 11%.
- Avocados are full of antioxidants that will protect your eyes. Forget about carrots, eat avocados if you want your eyes to stay in top shape. One study in particular shoed that eating avocados reduced the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts. Is there anything avocados can’t do?
- Avocado will also help fight against cancer. While the evidence to support this claim is isolated, we believe that it’s a good start and that more studies will reveal that the avocado is indeed a cancer-fighting fruit. In one particular study, it was revealed that avocados reduced the side effects of chemotherapy. Another study showed that avocado extract can inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells in men.
- Avocados will help you lose weight. How is a fatty food going to help you lose weight? Well, it was proved by several studies that avocados will make you feel more satisfied after a meal. In a study, 28% of people had a lower desire to eat over the next five hours following lunch. Being so fatty, avocados in your diet can help trick your stomach into believing that it’s full for a longer period of time. Naturally, if you are looking to lose weight, you should not count on avocados alone. They may be a super food, but they’re not magical.
Nutritious Avocado Recipes
Alright, so we’ve seen how eating avocados will help your body get fitter, stronger and healthier, but how about your taste buds? Well, more good news! Avocados are extraordinarily delicious and insanely easy to incorporate in your diet. Before you begin, you need to know how to choose the right avocado. When out shopping, pick an avocado that is slightly soft to the touch.
Your finger should leave an imprint on the avocado, but not go all the way in. Another easy way to figure out the right avocados for eating, is to take out the little wooden part where the stem of the leaves would be and inspect the color. If it’s dark, then the avocado is overly ripe and it’s no good.
Now you need to incorporate it into a recipe and enjoy it. The most popular avocado recipe is guacamole. You need two ripe avocados (remove the seed and the skin), one lime, half an onion, one chili and one onion. Mash all of them together with a fork (don’t use a blender, you need all of them to be chunky), add salt, pepper and a little bit of olive oil and you’ve got the best tortilla chips dip in the world.
A recent study discovered that absorption of vitamin A is enhanced when avocados are eaten with carrots or tomatoes. Which makes the humble guacamole even healthier than it was previously believed.
A very important tip when working with avocado is that you should never cook them. If you cook avocados, they will become bitter and practically inedible. Also, they tend to oxidize quickly, so don’t cook avocados in big batches.
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