Sliced Avocado pear
You’ve probably seen
avocados being touted as a heart-healthy super-food in recent years.
Realistically, the truth isn't too far off from the hype. The next time you're grabbing
that burrito or turkey sandwich, you might want to consider adding a healthy
dollop of guacamole.
Here are four reasons that you should consider eating a little bit of avocado each day.
1. You
may reduce your risk of heart disease.
Heart disease is the number 1 killer in the United States, affecting nearly 27 million adults, so it only makes sense that we would want to protect ourselves by being more health-conscious in our dietary choices.
Avocados have been shown
to positively benefit our cardiovascular system in a number of ways due to its
low saturated fat and high unsaturated fat content (predominantly the
monounsaturated fat (MUFA) variety). Consuming excess saturated fat (>10% of
total calories) may raise your LDL and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides.
On
the contrary, consuming adequate unsaturated fat in your diet may help lower
LDL-cholesterol (bad cholesterol), maintain HDL-cholesterol (good cholesterol)
and potentially improve your insulin sensitivity.
In addition
its nutritious fat content, avocados also contain a potent mix of nutrients
(e.g., potassium and lutein), including plenty of antioxidants such as
carotenoids, called xanthophylls, and phenols. These compounds can help prevent
inflammation and oxidative stress in the blood vessels while facilitating
improved blood flow.
2. You
may have an easier time maintaining your weight
Eating fat to lose fat; who would have thought? Avocados can help with weight-loss and maintaining a healthy BMI by promoting a feeling of satiety.
A recent study
showed that including avocado in meals helped extend feelings of fullness and
reduced the desire to overindulge. The belly-filling properties of avocados are
aided by their high fiber content, about 14g per fruit on average.
In addition,
higher avocado consumption has been associated with smaller waistlines and
lower BMIs in observational studies. Lastly, some research has even shown that
weight-loss diets higher in MUFA, like the kind avocados, are packed with, may
prove healthier for your heart than low-fat weight-loss diets.
3. You might reduce your risk of cancer
Avocados provide us with numerous phytochemicals that may
help prevent cancer, including the previously discussed xanthophylls and
phenols.
A protein compound called glutathione, along with the xanthophyll
lutein (both found in avocados), has been associated with decreased rates of
oral cancer. Preliminary data also show promising results for avocados'
potential role in reducing the risk of both breast and prostate cancers.
Additionally, preliminary studies demonstrate that a specific type of fav
derived from avocados is able to exert anti-cancer effects on acute myeloid
leukemia cells. Together, these studies show that further research needs to be
conducted to draw more conclusive results.
4. You will protect your skin and eyes well into old age
As it turns out, avocado carotenoids do quite a number of
things for our body. Both lutein and another compound found in avocados called
zeaxanthin can slow age-related ocular decline and prevent vision dysfunction.
In addition, these same two nutrients also act as buffers against oxidative UV
damage, keeping our skin smooth and healthy. The bio-availability (ease of
absorption by our body) of carotenoids from avocados compared to many other
fruits and vegetables makes eating avocados every day a sensible choice.