The Wonders of Avocado

Avocados are a green-skinned fruit that grow primarily in tropical countries. While most people know avocados for simply being the main ingredient in guacamole, this fleshy, semi-sweet fruit actually has a whole lot more to offer. Other than having a great taste and texture, avocados actually have a lot of health benefits.

First of all, avocados are rich in antioxidants, particularly those known as carotenoids. These antioxidants help in ridding the body of dangerous free radicals and carotenoids particularly help in combating eye degradation and disease. Avocados are also very high in fibre. In fact, just half an average-sized avocado can contain up to 3.4 grams of fibre, making them a suitable food for facilitate proper digestive and metabolic processes. Not only do avocados help clean out one’s system, they can help in keeping one’s weight in check as well. In addition to this, the fact that it contains oleic acids also adds to the health benefits of avocado. Oleic acid is a fat that signals a feeling of fullness and satisfaction to the brain. This means, therefore, that eating an avocado can help one control one’s food proportions and stay away from over eating. Oleic acid also helps in lowering levels of LDL or bad cholesterol, hence keeping the risk of heart disease at bay.

One of the health benefits of avocado that most people do not know is that it is very high in potassium—higher in fact, that that of bananas. This high potassium content in avocados helps in regulating blood pressure as well as in preventing circulatory diseases.

Avocados are also packed with glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that is known for its age-preserving capabilities. With the glutathione content of avocados, one can boost one’s immune system, encourage a healthy nervous system as well as virtually slow down the overall aging process.
Among the most interesting health benefits of avocado is that they help one get more nutrients out of the other foods one consumes. What this means is that by eating avocados, one actually makes the most out of eating other foods as well because the body becomes more capable of absorbing and taking in the valuable nutrients contained in them. In this light, not only are avocados healthy to eat on their own but they make other foods potentially healthier as well.

While avocados were perceived negatively in the past due to their relatively high calorie and fat content, the calories and fat contained in this fruit are all-natural and hence make great substitutes for other synthetically made fatty, high-calorie foods.

In order to reap the health benefits of avocado, one should find ways to incorporate the fruit into one’s diet. Luckily, there are many ways by which one can do so. As mentioned, guacamole is a well-known way of using avocados. Avocados can also be chopped up and tossed into a salad or made into a paste and used as a garnish or dip. One can even try blending the fruit with some milk and sugar in order to make a refreshing shake. With avocados, just a little bit of creative cooking can go a long way and the health benefits achieved will surely be worth it.