Everything You Need To Know About Health Benefits Of Avocados

Avocados are a stone fruit with a creamy texture that grows in warm climates. Avocados offer nearly 20 vitamins and minerals in every serving, including potassium (which helps control blood pressure), lutein (which is good for your eyes), and folate (which is crucial for cell repair and during pregnancy).

The fruit itself is technically a berry containing one large seed. But keep in mind that the scientific definition of a berry (a fruit derived from the ovary of a single flower) varies from common usage. Botanists will tell you that eggplant is a berry, and a strawberry is not. So I wouldn’t jump at a berry cobbler made by a botanist!

While they aren’t sweet, avocados are a satisfying and versatile food with a creamy, buttery texture. And they have a rich flavor from the high-fat content.

Avocado health benefits are here-:

1. Avocados Are Loaded With Fiber

Fiber is another nutrient that avocados are relatively rich in. It’s indigestible plant matter that can contribute to weight loss, reduce blood sugar spikes, and is strongly linked to a lower risk of many diseases. A distinction is often made between soluble and insoluble fiber.

Soluble fiber is known for feeding the friendly gut bacteria in your intestine, which are very important for optimal body function.

A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of avocado packs 7 grams of fiber, which is 27% of the RDA. About 25% of the fiber in avocado is soluble, while 75% is insoluble.

2. Healthy for the heart

Avocados contain 25 milligrams per ounce of a natural plant sterol called beta-sitosterol. Regular consumption of beta-sitosterol and other plant sterols has been seen to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

3. Avocados can help you better absorb antioxidants.

Some nutrients are fat-soluble. That means you should consume them with fats so your body can properly absorb them. A 2005 study published in The Journal of Nutrition found that eating carotenoids (antioxidants including lycopene and beta-carotene) with avocado or avocado oil increased their absorption.

4. Osteoporosis prevention

Half of an avocado provides approximately 25 percent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin K.This nutrient is often overlooked but is essential for bone health.

Vitamin K is often overshadowed by calcium and vitamin D when thinking of nutrients important for maintaining healthy bones, however, eating a diet with adequate vitamin K can support bone health by increasing calcium absorption and reducing urinary excretion of calcium.

5. Avocado May Help Prevent Cancer

There is limited evidence that avocado may be beneficial in cancer treatment and prevention. Test-tube studies suggest that it may help reduce the side effects of chemotherapy in human lymphocytes. Avocado extract has also been shown to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells in a laboratory.

How to Store Avocados

For storage, keep avocados at room temperature until they’re ripe.

If your avocado is ripe, but you’re not quite ready to eat it, put it in the fridge. They’ll usually keep that way for three to five more days.

To speed up the ripening process, put your avocado in a brown paper bag, and add an apple.

If you have half an avocado or it’s already cut up, squeezing a little lemon juice on it will help keep it from browning.

Are There Any side effects of Eating Avocados?

In addition to the possible health and beauty benefits of avocados, they offer very few dietary risks. Sharp says that other than allergenic concerns, the only reason a person might worry about eating too much of the fruit is if they’re trying to lose weight.

“Because they are so high in calories,” she says, “consuming them in excess could add extra calories to your day, which may cause weight gain if they’re not compensated for elsewhere in the diet.”

Be sure to work with your doctor or a registered dietitian to find out how much avocado you can safely eat without sabotaging your weight loss goals.