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What is Avocado? and its Benefits - Impressive Health Benefits of Avocado

The avocado is a rather unique fruit.
While most fruit consists primarily of carbohydrate, avocado is high in healthy fats.
Numerous studies show that it has powerful health benefits.

The health benefits of avocado include weight management, protection from heart diseases and diabetes, treating osteoarthritis, and enhancing the absorption of nutrients for the body. It also reduces the risk of cancer, liver damage, and vitamin K deficiency-related bleeding.

Avocado health benefits includes acting as aphrodisiac, helps in treating arthritis, helps with diabetes management, promotes skin health, promotes weight loss, a rich source of fiber, can help improve cholesterol profile, bolster absorption of plant based nutrients, support eye health, contain essential folic acid, and help promote liver function.

 

What is Avocado?

Avocado has a high fatty acid content but contains extremely low levels of cholesterol. Many people tend to stop eating avocado due to its high-calorie content, thinking that it may add to their weight. However, it contains fewer calories when compared to butter and other high-calorie dietary items. 

There is seemingly no end to the long list of health benefits avocado is capable of delivering, making it truly one of the best fruits on the planet. Yes, the versatile avocado is a fruit, being one of the very care fatty fruits found on the planet. From its utility in numerous recipes, to its creamy and delicious taste, everyone can benefit from increasing their consumption of avocado.

Did you know that the word Avocado actually originated from the Nahuatl language spoken by the Aztecs and meant testicle?

Avocados are also known as Alligator Pears, which is mainly due to their shape and the leathery appearance of their skin. The fruit that is grown on Persea Americana, which is an evergreen tree from the Lauraceae family. Although it doesn’t resemble these relatives, avocados are closely related to cinnamon and bay laurel. It is usually tall and can grow up to a height of 65 feet. The approximate weight of avocados is between eight ounces and three pounds, depending on the variety of avocado. It is harvested early and then allowed to ripen gradually when it is sold commercially. This is why avocados are called climacteric fruits, which only ripen after harvesting, just like bananas.

Avocados are available in many varieties, but the most popular of all is the creamy Hass variety. Avocado trees grow well in tropical, sub-tropical and equatorial areas, but like so many other fruits, the cultivation of avocados is the easiest in the Mediterranean climate. That being said, avocados originated in the state of Puebla, Mexico, where evidence in caves dates back to at least 10,000 B.C. Ancient Central American and South American cultures were known to use wild avocados, but it is unclear if cultivation began until the last few thousand years. It only appeared in other parts of the world in the last 500 years but has quickly gained popularity for its unique appearance, taste, and health benefits.

The most popular use of avocados is in the form of guacamole, a traditional Mexican and Central American dip that is also good as a topping on hamburgers and sandwiches. Also, you may use avocado as a replacement for fat content (butter or oil) while baking or just as a replacement for mayonnaise in sandwiches. Here, you add the same amount of avocado as any other fat. This is a way to reduce your intake of unhealthy calories. For instance, 3.5oz avocados contain 14.66g fat, whereas the same amount of butter contains 81g fat. Therefore, avocados can be substituted for butter while baking, so you can cut down on the calories and still have a delicious treat!

 

Benefits of avocado

 

Vitamin K: 26% of the daily value (DV)
Folate: 20% of the DV
Vitamin C: 17% of the DV
Potassium: 14% of the DV
Vitamin B5: 14% of the DV
Vitamin B6: 13% of the DV
Vitamin E: 10% of the DV

It also contains small amounts of magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, zinc, phosphorous and vitamins A, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin).

This is coming with 160 calories, 2 grams of protein and 15 grams of healthy fats. Although it contains 9 grams of carbs, 7 of those are fiber, so there are only 2 "net" carbs, making this a low-carb friendly plant food.

Avocados do not contain any cholesterol or sodium and are low in saturated fat. This is why they are favored by some experts who believe these substances are harmful, which is a debated topic, however.

 

Side Effects of Avocado

The side effects of consuming too much of avocado include:

Care must be taken and consumption of avocado should be avoided if these symptoms are experienced.

How to Select and Store Avocado?
Fresh, ripe avocados with no dark spots should be chosen. Do not refrigerate avocados unless they are ripe. If a portion of the fruit has been used then the remainder may be stored in the refrigerator for future use. Unripe avocados can be stored at room temperature.

Quick Serving Ideas

  1. Salad: Mix chopped onion, tomato, lettuce and avocado in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, lime juice, and drizzle olive oil over the salad. You may add other vegetables or meat to the salad as well.
  2. Soup: Garnish soups with chopped avocado for additional flavor and health benefits.
  3. Fruit: Ripe avocados can be consumed directly.
  4. Dressing: Avocados can be used for dressing food preparations of your choice.