The Benefits of Avocados

Avocados are a nutrient-dense fruit that are high in fat. But don't be fooled! Fat is not just fat. There's a complex chemistry involved in differentiating fats (don't worry, I won't start any chemistry grinds here). So no, eating fat doesn't make you fat! It's not that simple. If you eat the right balance of the right fats you'll maintain good health, better than if you followed a low-fat diet.

Benefits for weight management

The fats in avocados can be broadly defined as mono-unsaturated fats.

The omega-9 fatty acids have been shown to encourage liver cells to use fat for energy rather than storage.

Avocados also contain a carbohydrate called mannoheptulose, a sugar that blunts insulin release and enhances calcium absorption, both of which are essential in encouraging fat loss.

Therefore, including avocados in your diet can actually help you maintain a healthy weight, whether you're trying to lose weight or not.

The high fibre content of an avocado (9g per avocado) can also help reduce bloating, and helps you feel full.

The Nutrients in an avocado

Avocados offer nearly 20 vitamins and minerals including potassium (helps control blood pressure), B-complex (release of energy from food) Folate (a B-vitamin that is essential to prevent neural tube defects like spina bifida in a fetus during pregnancy), vitamin C (for immunity, healthy skin and gums, and an antioxidant), vitamin K (normal blood-clotting), and vitamin E.

Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant in the body. It is needed for healthy skin, cognitive function, as an anti-cancer agent, preventing loss of vision, and for preventing CHD and stroke.

There is 3mg of vitamin E in a single avocado, which is 1/5th the RDA of 14+ year-olds.

It sort of makes me want to put a gold crown on every avocado I buy. All heil, King Avo!

Some ways to incorporate avocados into your diet

I always make sure I have good sources of fat in my diet everyday. For that reason, I often add half an avocado to my salad during lunch. You can also have some avocado in a sandwich, or you can make a yummy guacamole dip.

Half an avocado will contain about 12g of fat, and 130 calories. And it's fat and calories well spent. Avocados feel almost luxurious to eat, their creamy texture are very satisfying, and can help curb cravings for unhealthy fatty foods.

Some options:

Guacamole is a dip that can be used with crudites (raw vegetables), tortilla chips, or crackers. You can also use it in burritos and wraps, or with baked potatoes. Click here for an easy recipe.

Smoothies - if for some bizarre reason you don't like avocados, but would like to gain their benefits, you can add them to a smoothie. Here's an example of a recipe (you can adjust it to your liking).

Recipe: 1 Banana, 150ml orange juice, 100ml water, handful of mixed frozen berries, half an avocado. Blend those goodies up in a smoothie-maker, and ta-da!

Salads - Avocados will go in pretty much any salad. They really help spruce up a bland salad.

Burgers and baps - Avocados help moisten an otherwise dry burger/sandwich/bap. This can help spare the use of processed fatty spreads. They're also just super yummy, and add a lot of nutrients to a meal.

Picking the right avocado and preparing

When you're picking your avocados in the supermarket, the greener ones are under-ripe and aren't ready to eat right away. If you try eat these, you'll find them hard, and tasteless. The darker purple ones are more ripe. I generally give them a slight squeeze to test their ripeness, they should feel slightly soft, but not too squishy. When you cut it open, it should be green, not brown.

If you're unsure how to cut an avocado, click here to watch a video how to.

Homemade facemask to moisturise your skin

DIY facemasks are a great and inexpensive way to moisturise your face without the added chemicals that sometimes cause reactions in store-bought masks. You simply cut open an avocado and mash up its insides. Adding other ingredients from your kitchen will supplement its effect. For example: Olive oil helps remove old makeup, plus acts as a moisturiser. Combine some different ingredients with the mashed avocado to give your skin a quick pick-me-up. I usually leave the mask on for 20 mins.

So what are you waiting for! Start eating your avocados!

#healthyfats #Avocado