5 Reasons To Eat Avocados Every Day
The Healthy Benefits of eating avocados
Avocados are one of the superfoods that can provide you with a lot of nutrients and health benefits.
This fruit, often used as a vegetable, is native to Central America and comes in different varieties. They are also known as butter pear or alligator pear and are unique as a fruit as it also contains oil.
The list below gives good reasons why you should be eating this natural food every day and that it can be eaten on its own or mixed well with other foods.
The end of the article also includes some Avocado tips.
Eating an avocado a day may just keep the doctor away!
1. Relax. Avocados won’t make you fat!
The heyday of food-fat-phobia is over. If you’re still avoiding avocados because of some misguided, left-over-from-the-80 belief that avocados will make you fat, you’re barking up the wrong tree. You’re also missing out on an excellent source of monounsaturated fat – the good fat also found in olive oil – that helps boost heart health.
What’s more, those good fat and fiber-rich avocados can also help curb hunger. Studies indicate that meals that include avocado tend to increase feelings of satiety for longer than those without, so consider adding a few avocado slices to your daily diet to help tame between-meal munchies.
2. An avocado is a creamy, delicious, nutrient bomb.
As with many superfoods, it’s what’s inside that counts, and avocados are a nutritional goldmine. What’s inside? In addition to “good” monounsaturated fat, avocados pack plenty of health-boosting nutrients to help your body thrive. Underneath the tough green exterior lies over 14 minerals; protein, complete, with all 18 essential amino acids; soluble fiber, to trap excess cholesterol and send it out of the system; phytosterols; polyphenols; carotenoids; omega 3s; vitamins B-complex, C, E and K, to name a few.
3. They do amazing things for your long-term health.
OK, so avocados are packed with nutrition, but what does it all mean in practical terms? It means a belly that feels fuller longer; a brain that’s being well-supplied with the nutrients needed to function optimally now and down the road; and a body that’s receiving the nutrition it needs to help protect it from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, degenerative eye and brain diseases.
What’s more, all those nutrients, good fats and fiber in avocados can help naturally lower LDL and raise your good HDL cholesterol, help regulate blood sugar and tamp down inflammation throughout the body and brain. With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why it’s called a superfood.
More Reasons to eat Avocados Everyday
Here are the last of the reasons you should eat Avocados every day plus some Avocado tips
4. Avocados play well with others.
With their distinct fresh green flavor and creamy (dairy-free!) texture, avocados play well with lots of the other foods on your plate. What’s truly remarkable though is that the research indicates that avocados can help with the absorption of carotinoids, the compounds found in orange and red fruits and veggies that can help protect against cancer. So while they may seem a bit indulgent, avocados could turn out to be lifesavers.
5. Treat them right and they'll return the favor.
At times it can be tricky to find an avocado that’s ready to eat with tonight’s dinner, so a little advance planning is necessary. True avo aficionados recommend buying a few firm ones at a time and then strategically staggering the ripening process so the avocados are ready when you are – and don’t all turn ripe at the same moment.
To expedite ripening, AvocadoCentral.com suggests sealing one or two avocados at a time into a brown paper bag, along with an apple or banana. Over the course of 2 to 3 days, the brown-bagged fruit will release gasses, which will aid the ripening process. Remove the ripe-and-ready-to-eat avo, replace it with a firm unripe one, reseal the bag, and repeat!
Some tips:
- Buying avocados? The good news is that conventionally grown avos make the Environmental Working Group’s Clean 15 List meaning they’re relatively free of pesticides, and are OK to eat as an alternative to organic versions.
- Cut into your avocado before it’s fully ripened. Spritz the exposed fruit with lemon juice, cover or wrap tightly and let it ripen in the fridge for a day or two. If that’s not enough, salvage the fruit, cut it into chunks and add it to your next smoothie.
- How you cut and peel your avo matters more than you might think. To do it right, wash the outer skin and pat dry. Cut in half lengthwise. Pop out the seed with a spoon or tap a knife across the top of the seed to slightly imbed it and twist (but be careful not to hit your fingers). Instead of scooping out the fruit, peel the skin off gently with your fingers to get the maximum nutritional bang for your buck. Turns out, the dark green fruit closest to the skin is the most nutritious.
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