As you dip your tortilla chip into the guacamole, you might wonder whether it's healthy to eat avocado, since it contains a lot of oil. According to the Avocado Central website, although avocados are high in fat, it is healthy fat that helps you absorb more fat-soluble nutrients such as vitamin A. Avocados contain no cholesterol or trans fat. A 1-oz. serving of avocado contains 3.5 g of healthy fat.
Avocado Nutrients
Avocados contain contain beta carotene, fiber, folate and potassium. Ounce for ounce, avocados have 60 percent more potassium than bananas and less fat than lean beef. An ounce of avocado contains 81 mcg of lutein, an antioxidant which helps to protect your eyes as you grow older. Avocados also contain vitamins K, B-6, C and E, riboflavin and niacin.
Avocado Oil
A whole Hass avocado has less fat than 3 tbsp. of Italian salad dressing. Adding avocado to your salads rather than meat or cheese gives you more nutrients and less fat, while still tasting rich and creamy. According to the Franklin Institute, the main component of avocado oil is oleic acid, which is needed to protect the membrane covering neurons in your brain, called the myelin sheath.
Expert Insight
According to a 2007 article in Seminars in Cancer Biology, phytochemicals from avocados inhibited the growth of precancerous and cancer cells in the laboratory. This indicates that avocado components may offer an advantage in preventing cancer, although more research is needed to verify this.
Avocado can help lower total serum cholesterol and LDL cholesterol while increasing HDL cholesterol, according to Wright State University.
Considerations
Although avocado contains many healthy nutrients and can help you lower your total serum cholesterol, it also has a lot of calories. A serving of avocado is 30 g or about 1 oz. and has about 50 calories. Measure your serving of avocado a few times, until you know what 1 oz. of avocado looks like. If you eat 1 oz. at a time, you can add avocado to your breakfast, lunch and dinner and get all the benefits from your avocado without eating too many calories.
Uses
Use soft creamy avocado as a replacement for butter on your toast and brown rice. Add avocado to your salads and sandwiches rather than cheese or meat which have more calories and unhealthy fats. To make a creamy vinaigrette, substitute avocado for half the oil in your recipe, ounce for ounce, and beat until well combined.
