1. Avocados Are Nutrient Rich
Avocados are an incredibly rich source of nutrients and offer nearly
20 vitamins and minerals in every serving. Of your Recommended Daily
Values (RDV), one avocado typically contains:
- 53% Vitamin K
- 41% Folate
- 33% Vitamin C
- 28% Pantothenic Acid
- 28% Potassium
- 26% Vitamin B6
- 21% Vitamin E
- 19% Copper
2. A Source of Healthy Fats
Although the fat content of avocados is high, they contain ‘good fats’ including monounsaturated fat.
This type of fat can reduce the risk of stroke or heart attack along with the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood.
3. Manage Your Weight
Surprisingly, eating avocados may actually help you lose weight!
A study, published in the Nutrition Journal, found that eating just
half an avocado with lunch helped overweight people feel satisfied and
full for longer after eating.
Participants reported a 40% less desire to eat over a three hour
period, and a 28% less desire over a five hour period after the meal.
They were also more satisfied after their meal and had less desire to
snack!
4. Prevent Diabetes
Avocados appear to be helpful in regulating blood sugar levels.
Keeping blood sugar levels stable is important in reducing your risk
of diabetes – a disease that the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention estimates will affect 40% of Americans at some point during
their lives.
After eating half an avocado with lunch, participants had their blood glucose and insulin levels measured at specific intervals.
Even though adding avocado to the meal increased its calorie and
carbohydrate content, participants showed no increase in blood sugar
levels when compared with those who ate a standard lunch with no
avocado.
5. Fight Inflammation
Chronic inflammation in the body is thought to be responsible for
asthma, allergies, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer … and
most of today’s modern diseases.
Avocado might just help fight inflammation, thanks to its oleic acid
content – the monounsaturated fat in olive oil that’s responsible for
much of its healthful properties.
Oleic acid has been linked with reduced inflammation in several studies.
6. Eye Health
If you’ve read the article ‘14 Foods That Will Save Your Eyesight’
you’ll know just how important the nutrients lutein and zeaxanthin are
in fighting macular degeneration, one of the leading causes of blindness
in the US.
The only way to get lutein and zeaxanthin into our bodies is through
diet, which is why we need to eat more foods rich in these
phytonutrients.
And guess what?
One study has shown that avocados are the best source of lutein among
the top 20 fruits most regularly consumed. They’re also a good source
of zeaxanthin so eat up for better eye health!
7. Healthy Skin and Hair
With healthy fats and inflammation fighting properties, avocado can give you smooth skin and glossy hair.
One fruit also contains over 20% of your daily dose of Vitamin E
which protects body tissue from damage by free radicals, thought to play
a role in aging.
Instead of buying expensive Vitamin E enriched skincare creams, eat avocados or try avocado oil and fight aging from within!
8. Lower Cholesterol Levels
One in three American adults suffer with high cholesterol, doubling
their risk of heart disease. Luckily, there are many natural ways to
lower cholesterol levels.
Research has found that eating avocados regularly may be one of those
ways. Avocados can reduce total cholesterol levels significantly, lower
blood triglycerides, and lower LDL cholesterol (the bad) while
increasing HDL cholesterol (the good).
9. Improve Nutrient Absorption
When it comes to vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, it doesn’t matter how much we eat. It really doesn’t!
What matters is how much we absorb.
Some nutrients are fat soluble, meaning they need to be combined with
fat in order for our bodies to assimilate them. Examples of fat-soluble
nutrients include Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Vitamin K, along
with certain antioxidants.
Adding half an avocado to a salad of spinach, lettuce and carrots saw
participantsabsorb the antioxidants alpha-carotene 8.3 times,
beta-carotene 13.6 times and lutein 4.3 times better than those who ate
the salad without avocado.
10. Role in Cancer Fighting
A small piece of research points to avocado being beneficial in fighting cancer.
One study has shown that avocado extract may stop or slow the growth
of prostate cancer cells. Another has shown that it may help reduce the
side effects of chemotherapy.
However, these studies are limited so it may be best to just enjoy avocado for the wealth of other benefits it brings.
11. Strong Bones
While you’ll need more than an avocado to build and retain strong
bones, eating this fruit regularly might give you a helping hand.
Avocados contain a good helping of bone-healthy nutrients including Vitamin K, copper and folate.
Mix your avocado with a variety of other fruits and vegetables for
the best bones you can build – several studies prove that eating fresh
produce benefits bone health in both men and women of all ages.
12. Pain Relief
Avocado extract has been proven to reduce symptoms of arthritis of the bones (osteoarthritis).
Thanks to its anti-inflammatory benefits, it may even relieve other sorts of inflammatory-related aches and pains too.
13. Improve Digestion
Fiber is an important component of any balanced diet – it keeps your digestive system running smoothly.
Even though fruits and veggies are absolutely loaded with fiber, it’s something that most Americans don’t get enough of!
Aim to hit your fiber target by eating more avocado – one fruit
contains 13 grams, around 54% of your recommended daily fiber intake!
14. Important for Expecting Mothers
According to What to Expect, avocados are one of the most important
foods that pregnant women can eat. They’re loaded with folate,
potassium, Vitamin C and Vitamin B6.
In particular, folate is really important for expectant mums…it’s
essential for the healthy development of the fetus in early pregnancy,
while Vitamin B6 helps with the baby’s tissue and brain growth and eases
morning sickness.
15. Control Blood Pressure
According to the American Heart Association, a diet rich in natural
sources of potassium is important for controlling blood pressure, thanks
to potassium’s ability to reduce the effects of sodium in the body.
Avocados are a great natural source of potassium – with one fruit containing 28% of your recommended daily potassium intake.
However, don’t forget that avocados are a high fat food and excess
weight does your blood pressure levels no favors. If you’re adding
avocado to your diet, make sure you reduce your fat intake in other
areas to balance things out.
16. An Energy Boost
Adding an avocado to your lunchtime meal may help you avoid the 3pm
slump! Of all three macronutrients (carbs, protein, fats), fat is the
most concentratedsource of energy for our bodies.
Healthy fats provide a slow, steady stream of energy so you can power
right through the workday. In addition, when they’re eaten along with a
carbohydrate, they slow the digestion of the carbs, meaning you won’t
suffer the energy-zapping sugar crash that typically follows simple
carbs like white bread.
17. Improve Immunity
Avocados are a great source of the B vitamins, which help you fight
off illness and infection. They also give you plenty of Vitamin C and E –
both natural immune boosters.
Vitamin C is so important for our wellbeing that Dr Mark Moyad of the
University of Michigan claims that ‘high blood levels of vitamin C may
be the ideal nutrition marker for overall health’.
18. Enhance Your Mood
An avocado a day might cheer you up thanks to its vitamin and mineral content – especially potassium and folate.
Some studies have found a link between a lack of potassium and
depression. A review of several scientific studies on the relationship
between sodium, magnesium and potassium in depressed patients, found
that depressed men and women all had low levels of potassium.
A 1993 study found similar – depressed patients exhibited lower potassium levels than healthy people did.
Folate, too, is important to stave off low mood and signs of depression, something researchers have recognized since the 1960s.
19. Brain Food
Copper is a brain stimulant, which is why avocados can be classed as a
brain food. After all, they do contain almost 20% of your daily copper
needs.
This often neglected mineral is directly linked with higher thought processes and creative or ‘out of the box’ thinking.
20. Delicious & Versatile
Aside from all the incredible health benefits avocado can bring you,
let’s not forget that it’s an incredibly delicious fruit which can be
used in a variety of ways.
Sure, you can eat it in guacamole, or add it to salads and
sandwiches. But you should know it can be used a whole lot more
creatively than that!
Not everyone knows, however, that the “Win” button can be used in
combination with other keys to perform certain tasks. The combinations
below make it easier to work on a computer and help save some precious
time. See below some 14 combinations that include the Windows button
used with some other keys:
