It seems as though everyone is obsessed with avocado nowadays. Whether you have it in a salad or smashed on toast, it’s a delicious green, soft treat to include in pretty much any meal. However, as well as being delicious, it also comes with plenty of health benefits. These are just some of the many health benefits you can enjoy from that green fruit! And yep, it is a fruit.
Full of nutrients
In one single serving of avocado (around 100 grams), you can expect to find plenty of vitamins and nutrients. Over a quarter of your recommended daily allowance of Vitamin K, approximately 20% of your RDA of folate, and just under 20% of your Vitamin C needs. It’s also full of Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin E. Avocados also have more potassium than a banana, and this is a nutrient that many of us don’t get enough of. Upping your intake of potassium can help reduce blood pressure, which is the perfect excuse to pack plenty of avocado into your diet.
It makes other food nutritious
While packing your diet full of nutrients is good, your body also needs to be able to absorb them. However, it seems as though this is another thing that the avocado is good for. One study showed that those who added avocado or avocado oil to their food increased antioxidant absorption 2.6-to 15-fold!
Good fats
We’re often told to try and avoid fats in our food, as it’s bad for us, right?! Well, not always. Avocado is a high-fat food, but not the bad fats that we need to avoid – we’re looking at you McDonald’s. Most of the fat you’ll find in an avocado comes from oleic acid, which is a type of monounsaturated fatty acid that you also find in olive oil. This oleic acid is believed to have plenty of health benefits, including reduced inflammation and even reducing the risk of cancer in some research.
Packed with fiber
Getting plenty of fiber in your diet can lead to many health benefits, such as a reduced risk of many diseases, a reduction in blood sugar spikes (which can lead to diabetes), and it can even help you lose weight. Luckily, the humble avocado is rich in fiber, meaning they’re perfect to add to your diet. Especially if you find that you’re susceptible to blood sugar spikes, which you’ll know if you experience that ‘afternoon slump’ after lunch. It’s also extremely filling, which means it’s excellent to add to your lunchbox!
People who eat it tend to be healthier
There has been quite an extensive study on the impact avocados have on people’s general health and wellbeing. A NHANES study in America analyzed the diets of over 17,000 participants to see what impact eating avocado had on their health. It was found that those who consumed avocado were much healthier than those who didn’t. They were less likely to have metabolic syndrome, which is a risk factor for diabetes and heart disease. They also were found to have a lower BMI, weigh less, and had higher levels of ‘good cholesterol.’ While this is just one study on the health benefits of avocado, there are plenty of other studies that back up much of these findings.
It seems as though this green fruit is packed full of important vitamins, nutrients, good fats, fiber, and so much more. If you want to live a healthier life, then it definitely might be worth adding some more avocado into your diet.
