The Health Benefits Of Avocado
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The ugly greenish-black rocks in your produce section hide a secret inside: the flesh of the avocado is creamy, rich, full of healthy fats, cholesterol-free, and packed with nutrition that’s hard to get anywhere else. Best yet? It’s delicious and can be used in a huge variety of healthy, filling recipes. The avocado health benefits are numerous for something that tastes so rich that it feels like it ought to be bad for you.
The bright green avocado is actually fantastic for your heart health. Folate-rich diets are much better for preventing heart disease and just one cup of avocado flesh (perhaps a little less than one avocado) has 23% your recommended daily dose. Plus the vitamin E and monounsaturated fats do your heart good. Even the beta-sitosterol found in these fruits is great at lowering cholesterol levels.
Avocado nutrition is jam-packed with vitamins and essential nutrients: A, B, C, E, & K, copper, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. Avocados also contain fiber, protein, and plenty of monounsaturated (the good kinds of) fats. They can help control blood sugar levels, aid in anti-inflammatory functions, increase eye health, and help with healthy skin thanks to the oils found in the fruit.
Because it is the highest fat fruit around – 20 times more than most other fruits – the calorie load on an avocado is very different from many other fruits and vegetables. For vegetarians, vegans, and people on low-fat diets due to high cholesterol these fruits are an excellent source of healthy fat. Every 100 grams of fruit contains about 200 avocado calories, making it a very fat-dense food for people looking to either gain weight or eat monounsaturated fats.
As with any food, moderation is important with the avocado. It’s a wonder food that, when compared to similarly fatty or calorie-dense foods, is much healthier; it isn’t loaded down with saturated fats, sugars, or other “empty calories” that many similarly filling foods are often found to be guilty of.
Because of its many culinary uses, high level of vitamins and nutrients, healthy fat load, and countless nutritional perks, the avocado health benefits are almost beyond measure. Almost, but not quite. Plenty of studies have been performed showing that the avocado fruit is an excellent addition to or substitution into many diets for a wide variety of patients. Give the strange green “alligator pear” a try and your body is sure to thank you. Check out my homemade chunky guacamole recipe for a very delicious way to enjoy your avocado with all its health benefits!
