Despite their green hue and frequent location near other vegetables in the produce section, avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable. The avocado skin is thick, bumpy and green or black, and the edible inside is pale green with a creamy consistency. Avocados pack a nutritional punch while pleasing your taste buds. Once feared by dieters for their high caloric and fat content, avocados are now considered a heart-healthy addition to your daily plate and may even help you achieve your weight loss goals.
Basic Nutritional Information
One serving of a medium avocado can be measured as 1/5 of the avocado, 30 grams, 1 ounce, 2 tablespoons or two or three thin slices. Each serving has 50 calories, 4.5 grams of fat with 3 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 grams of cholesterol and 1 gram of protein.
Nutritional Benefits
Avocados are rich in essential nutrients such as vitamin E, the B vitamins, potassium, fiber and folic acid. Their fat content aids in your body's absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. The monounsaturated fat content in avocados has also been linked to weight loss.
Avocados and Heart Health
The high content of monounsaturated fat in avocados can reduce your risk for heart disease. This type of fat raises your HDL, or good cholesterol, and lowers your LDL, or bad cholesterol. If you have a cholesterol ratio with a high HDL and low LDL, you are less likely to develop heart disease. The potassium in avocados also contributes to a healthy heart.
Ideas for Using Avocados
You can incorporate avocados into a variety of your meals. You can make guacamole, add them to salads, put a few slices in your sandwiches and add them to fruit and vegetable smoothies to create a creamy texture and increase nutrient absorption. You can also use avocados as a healthy substitute for other products that are higher in unhealthy saturated fats. Instead of cheese as the base of your next pizza, you can try to replace it with avocado. This will eliminate the high saturated fat content from the cheese, increase your essential nutrients intake and still make a flavorful, satisfying pizza.
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