Avocados Supply You with High Nutrition

At first the avocado, while tasty and a great addition to any Mexican dish, had a bad reputation due to its high fat content. But what we’ve learned since then is this green fruit that originated south of the border is actually very healthy.

When you hear that 75% of an avocado’s calories come from fat, that might sound alarming. But most of the fat in avocados is monounsaturated fat. This kind of fat has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol – cholesterol that harms the heart – and increase HDL cholesterol – cholesterol that helps keep the heart healthy. Reducing your LDL cholesterol by eating avocados is very important. High LDL cholesterol levels are a sign of cardiovascular disease, which is a major cause of heart attack. And when you eat avocados to lower your LDL cholesterol, you’ll be increasing your HDL cholesterol at the same time. HDL cholesterol is good for your heart, because it helps prevent cardiovascular disease and lowers your risk for heart attack.

Not only is the fat found in avocados healthy fat, but avocados contain 20 minerals and vitamins that are essential for good health – including more potassium than a banana. They are rich in vitamins and minerals such as vitamins B, E and K, and are also rich in potassium, iron, magnesium, zinc and more. Here’s a snapshot of what the vitamins have to offer: Vitamin B is important to help your metabolism, enhance the immune system and have been shown to help reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer, Vitamin E helps protect our cells from free radicals that can cause cancer, and vitamin K is important to help keep our bones healthy.

While vitamins are very important to keep healthy, so also are the minerals found in avocados. Potassium is an important electrolyte that the body uses to make sure that it is functioning normally. Iron is used to help carry oxygen to all parts of the body. And zinc is essential for the immune system and has been found to be important to brain function as well. That’s just a few of the important minerals found in avocados.

It’s not always easy to get the recommended 25 grams of fiber each person should eat in a day. That’s another good reason to reach for an avocado and slice it up. You’ll add a gram of fiber for every 1/5 of avocado you eat. Mash up an avocado, add some fresh salsa to it, and you’ll have a fiber-rich, healthy dip for your next snack or even your next party.

If you’re still having trouble “seeing” the full benefits of the avocado, then try this – add some slices of avocados to your next salad or sandwich. Once you do this we think you’ll see better what we mean, literally, since avocados contain high amounts of lutein a phytonutrient, which can help protect your eyes.