The American Heart Association recommends that people get most of their fats from sources that contain the healthier polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as avocados, rather than the unhealthier saturated fats and trans fats. Besides being a good source of monounsaturated fatty acids, avocados also contain a number of other important nutrients.
Nutrition Facts
A 1-oz serving of avocado, which is about 1/5 of a medium avocado, contains 50 calories and 4.5 g of fat, including .5 g of saturated fat, .5 g polyunsaturated fat and 3 g of monounsaturated fat. This serving also provides 1 g of fiber, 140 mg of potassium, 8 percent of the Daily Value for folate, 4 percent of the Daily Value for pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin E, vitamin C, niacin and riboflavin and 2 percent of the Daily Value for iron, thiamin, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, copper and manganese.
Significance
The avocado is an excellent source of nutrients, including monunsaturated fats, according to the CDC. Monounsaturated fats can help you to lower the levels of cholesterol in the blood, which is why they are recommended instead of saturated fats. Since avocados do not contain sodium or cholesterol, they are a good choice for some of the recommended fruit and vegetable servings.
Theories
Avocados may help to lower LDL, or bad, cholesterol while increasing HDL, or good, cholesterol and lowering overall cholesterol levels due to their high content of the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid. Their high potassium levels may help to lower blood pressure and the risk of stroke, and their folate content may help to lower the risk of heart attack, according to the George Mateljan Foundation. Including these fruits in meals containing carotenoids can also help with the absorption of these nutrients, due to the monounsaturated fats that avocados contain.
Considerations
Because avocados are high in fat, people should eat them in moderation to limit the chances of weight gain. Fat has 9 calories per gram rather than the 4 calories per gram in carbohydrates and proteins, making avocados very calorie dense.
Those with latex allergies might also be allergic to avocados, according to the George Mateljan Foundation, since they contain chitanases, which are associated with the latex-fruit allergy syndrome.
Expert Insight
The MyPyramid website of the USDA lists avocados as one of the fruits that pregnant and breastfeeding moms should choose often, with the recommended serving size being 1/2 an avocado, which counts as one fruit and three fat servings. All of the foods on this list were chosen for their high nutrient content.
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