Yahoo Lifestyle 5 Reasons to Eat Avocados
Adapted from The Doctors Book of Food Remedies: order your copy today
No Longer a Forbidden Fruit
The usual image you apply to fruit—light, low-kilojoule and virtually fat-free—doesn’t apply to the avocado. An average avocado can contain 1,500 kJ (360 cal) or more. But don’t let this make you go green.
Avocados bring hefty health benefits. They contain high amounts of fibre and that ever-important belly-flattening monounsaturated fat—great news for people who are concerned about diabetes and heart health.
MORE: Top 10 Anti-Ageing Foods
Help for High Cholesterol
Oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat in avocados, can help lower cholesterol. In one study, researchers compared the effects of two low-fat diets. The diets were the same, except that one included avocados. Although both lowered levels of dangerous LDL (bad) cholesterol, the avocado-inclusive diet raised levels of healthy HDL cholesterol.
The fibre in avocados also helps in our cholesterol-lowering quest. Fibre adds bulk to stool, causing it, and the cholesterol it contains, to be excreted from the body more quickly. One avocado packs more fibre than a bran muffin—about 10 g.
More Health for Your Heart
Avocados also pack a potassium punch. Half an avocado provides 548 mg of potassium—more than you’d get from a medium banana or cup of orange juice. Studies show that people who eat diets high in potassium-rich foods have a lower risk of high blood pressure and related conditions, such as heart attack and stroke.
A Fortune in Folate
Avocados may just be the perfect food for mothers-to-be; they’re chock-full of folate, a B vitamin that helps prevent life-threatening birth defects. Half an avocado contains 57 mcg of folate. (Pregnant women need about 600 mcg daily.) But women with a ‘bump’ aren’t the only ones who should be spreading avocado on their toast.
Everyone needs folate: it’s essential for proper nerve function. It may also help fight heart disease by reducing levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that can harm blood vessels when it gets too high.
Perfect for Any Meal of the Day
Avocados can be incorporated into any meal - spread it on toast for breakfast, toss them in salads for lunch, or have them in vegie burgers for a quick dinner.
MORE: 5 Minute Flat Belly Recipes Using Avocados
Adapted from The Doctors Book of Food Remedies: order your copy today
