Avocados, despite being high in fat are very good for you, and have many health promoting properties:
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Fat In Avocado- Avocados have a huge amount of fat, 25-35 grams on average, and an avocado is close to 300 calories. Still, one 30 gram serving is equal to 1 Weight Watcher point, and is better for you nutritionally than many other popular one point snacks.
A good source of vitamin K, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, copper, and contain more potassium than a medium banana- 877 grams of potassium in one avocado vs 470 grams in a banana. And much less sugar!
Avocados have a fat content of between 71 to 88% of their total calories - about 20 times the average for other fruits. A typical avocado contains 30 grams of fat, but 20 of these fat grams are health-promoting monounsaturated fats, especially oleic acid.
The Fat Smash Diet during phase one recommends one avoid avocado when starting the diet.
Weight Watchers now features avocado as a recommended filling food. They have an plan and also a set of free weight loss tools that you can check out.
Matching Foods:
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Health Benefits
Promote Hearth Health
Avocados contain oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that may help tolower cholesterol. In one study of people with moderately highcholesterol levels, individuals who ate a diet high in avocados showedclear health improvements. After seven days on the diet that includedavocados, they had significant decreases in total cholesterol and LDLcholesterol, along with an 11% increase in health promoting HDLcholesterol.
Avocados are a good source of potassium, a mineral that helpsregulate blood pressure. Adequate intake of potassium can help to guardagainst circulatory diseases, like high blood pressure, heart diseaseor stroke. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Association has authorized ahealth claim that states: "Diets containing foods that are good sourcesof potassium and low in sodium may reduce the risk of high bloodpressure and stroke."One cup of avocado has 23% of the Daily Value for folate, a nutrientimportant for heart health. To determine the relationship betweenfolate intake and heart disease, researchers followed over 80,000 womenfor 14 years using dietary questionnaires. They found that women whohad higher intakes of dietary folate had a 55% lower risk of havingheart attacks or fatal heart disease. Another study showed thatindividuals who consume folate-rich diets have a much lower risk ofcardiovascular disease or stroke than those who do not consume as muchof this vital nutrient.
Promote Optimal Health
Not only are avocados a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acidsincluding oleic acid, which has recently been shown to offersignificant protection against breast cancer, but it is also a veryconcentrated dietary source of the carotenoid lutein; it also containsmeasurable amounts of related carotenoids (zeaxanthin, alpha-caroteneand beta-carotene) plus significant quantities of tocopherols (vitaminE).
In a laboratory study published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry,an extract of avocado containing these carotenoids and tocopherolsinhibited the growth of both androgen-dependent andandrogen-independent prostate cancer cells.
But when researchers tried exposing the prostate cancer cellsto lutein alone, the single carotenoid did not prevent cancer cellgrowth and replication.Not only was the whole matrix of carotenoids and tocopherols in avocadonecessary for its ability to kill prostate cancer cells, but theresearchers also noted that the significant amount of monounsaturatedfat in avocado plays an important role. Carotenoids are lipid(fat)-soluble, which means fat must be present to ensure that thesebioactive carotenoids will be absorbed into the bloodstream. Just asNature intends, avocado delivers the whole heath-promoting package.
Increase Your Absorption of Carotenoids from Vegetables
Enjoying a few slices of avocado in your tossed salad, or mixingsome chopped avocado into your favorite salsa will not only add a rich,creamy flavor, but will greatly increase your body's ability to absorbthe health-promoting carotenoids that vegetables provide.
A study published in the March 2005 issue of the Journal of Nutritiontested the hypothesis that since carotenoids are lipophilic (literally,fat-loving, which means they are soluble in fat, not water), consumingcarotenoid-rich foods along with monounsaturated-fat-rich avocado mightenhance their bioavailability.
Not only did adding avocado to a salad of carrot, lettuce andbaby spinach or to salsa greatly increase study participants'absorption of carotenoids from these foods, but the improvement incarotenoid availability occurred even when a very small amount-aslittle as 2 ounces-of avocado was added.
Adding avocado to salad increased absorption of alpha-carotene,beta-carotene and lutein 7.2, 15.3, and 5.1 times higher, respectively,than the average amount of these carotenoids absorbed when avocado-freesalad was eaten.
Adding avocado to salsa increased lycopene and beta-caroteneabsorption 4.4 and 2.6 times higher, respectively, than the averageamount of these nutrients absorbed from avocado-free salsa.Since avocados contain a large variety of nutrients including vitamins,minerals, as well as heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, eating a littleavocado along with carotenoid-rich vegetables and fruits is anexcellent way to improve your body's ability to absorb carotenoidswhile also receiving other nutritional-and taste-benefits.
Health Benefits:
Avocados contain oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that may help to lower cholesterol. In one study of people with moderately high cholesterol levels, individuals who ate a diet high in avocados showed clear health improvements. After seven days on the diet that included avocados, they had significant decreases in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, along with an 11% increase in health promoting HDL cholesterol.
Avocado Increases Your Absorption of Carotenoids from Vegetables:
Enjoying a few slices of avocado in your tossed salad, or mixing some chopped avocado into your favorite salsa will not only add a rich, creamy flavor, but will greatly increase your body's ability to absorb the health-promoting carotenoids that vegetables provide.
A study published in the March 2005 issue of the Journal of Nutrition tested the hypothesis that since carotenoids are lipophilic (literally, fat-loving, which means they are soluble in fat, not water), consuming carotenoid-rich foods along with monounsaturated-fat-rich avocado might enhance their bioavailability.
Not only did adding avocado to a salad of carrot, lettuce and baby spinach or to salsa greatly increase study participants' absorption of carotenoids from these foods, but the improvement in carotenoid availability occurred even when a very small amount—as little as 2 ounces—of avocado was added.
Adding avocado to salad increased absorption of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lutein 7.2, 15.3, and 5.1 times higher, respectively, than the average amount of these carotenoids absorbed when avocado-free salad was eaten.
Adding avocado to salsa increased lycopene and beta-caroetne absorption 4.4 and 2.6 times higher, respectively, than the average amount of these nutrients absorbed from avocado-free salsa. Since avocados contain a large variety of nutrients including vitamins, minerals, as well as heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, eating a little avocado along with carotenoid-rich vegetables and fruits is an excellent way to improve your body's ability to absorb carotenoids while also receiving other nutritional—and taste—benefits.
