According to the World's Healthiest Foods, a website maintained by the George Mateljan Foundation, the most popular avocado in the United States is the Hass avocado. This avocado has a rugged, pebbly brown-black skin. To buy a ripe avocado it should be slightly soft with no cracks or dark sunken spots. A firmer avocado can be ripened at home within a few days without being refrigerated.
Basic Nutrition
One cup of avocados contains 235.06 calories, 10.79 g of total carbohydrates and 7.30 g of dietary fiber. Based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, these measurements represent 3.60 percent of the recommended daily value, or DV, for carbohydrates and 29.20 percent for dietary fiber. One cup of avocado also provides 2.89 g, or 5.78 percent DV, of protein.
Calories and Carbohydrates
Of the 235.06 calories in one cup of avocado, 201.31 calories come from fat and 32.02 calories come from saturated fat. Avocados are a good source of dietary fiber, with over 29 percent of the recommended daily value. Insoluble fiber accounts for 4.31 g and soluble fiber accounts for 2.99 g. The sugar content is low, with only 1.31 g.
Fats
The total fat content is 22.37 g, which represents a large 34.42 percent of the recommended daily value. One serving contains only 3.56 g of saturated fat, but a large 14.03 g of healthy monounsaturated fats and 2.85 g of polyunsaturated fats. You'll also gain heart-healthy fatty acids in 0.16 g of omega-3 fatty acids, which represents 6.67 percent of the daily recommended value.
Vitamins
Avocado is a good source of vitamin K, with 29.20 mg, or 36.5 percent DV; folate, with 90.37 mcg, or 22.59 percent DV; vitamin B6, with 0.41 mg, or 20.50 DV; vitamin C, with 11.53 mg, or 19.22 percent DV and vitamin A, with 893.52 IU, or 17.87 percent DV. Other vitamins found in avocado include pantothenic acid, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin and vitamin E.
Minerals
Avocado is a rich source of potassium, with 874.54 mg, or 24.99 percent DV; copper, with 0.38 mg, or 19 percent DV; manganese, with 0.33 mg, or 16.5 percent DV and manganese, with 56.94 mg, or 14.23 percent DV. Other minerals include iron, phosphorus and zinc.
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