Do you love avocado? Avocado is a very popular “superfood” at the moment, filled with nutrients and good fats. It is also creamy and delicious, and can be used in sandwiches, salads, and omelettes – you can even use it as moisturizer for your hair!
Here are 10 great health benefits of avocado.
1. It Helps Keep You Smart
Here is some food for thought: avocados are filled with omega-3 fatty acids and natural vitamin E, which are both great for your brain. For instance, they improve the blood supply to your pre-frontal cortex, which is the part of your brain responsible for planning, decision making and critical thinking.
2. It Reduces Cholesterol
Avocado is filled with fats that are good for you, with one cup of sliced avocado providing you with 32% of your daily fat recommendation. The reason the fat is so good for you is because it is monounsaturated fat, which may help to lower bad cholesterol – which has lots of other benefits for your body, such as lowering risks of stroke and heart disease.
Another bonus of monounsaturated fats is that they may also raise levels of good cholesterol in your body.
3. It Helps You To Absorb Other Nutrients
Many important vitamins are fat soluble, so they actually require fat to be absorbed into the body. These vitamins include vitamin A, K, D and E – so adding avocado to any vegetable heavy meals will help you to get all the vitamins you can out of the meal.
4. It Can Relive Symptoms Of Arthritis
Avocados contain Polyhydroxylated Fatty Alcohols (PFAs), which is an anti-inflammatory agent that helps your body to reduce inflammation which can later lead to arthritis.
Avocados also contain important antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E that also help to fight inflammation, which may help to relive the symptoms of Arthritis.
5. It Helps Look After Your Eyes
Avocado contains lutein and zeaxanthin, which are carotenoids that are essential to the overall health of your eyes, as they help to protect your eyes from harmful light waves while decreasing your risk of eye disease. Amazing!
6. It is Filled With Fiber
Avocados are very high in fiber, with around 7% of its total weight made up by fiber. One avocado contains around 27% of your fiber for the day, which is great news as fiber is a big part of weight loss and your metabolic health. It can also reduce blood sugar spikes!
7. It Helps You To Lose Weight
Want to lose a little weight? Buy some avocados; they contain monounsaturated fatty acids, which means they are likely to be stored as slow burning energy rather than fat. This mean you’ll feel satisfied and full after you’ve eaten avocado, helping to keep your hunger at bay.
8. It Contains More Potassium Than A Banana
Potassium is an important mineral most people don’t get enough of, but avocados will help. You can find 14% of your recommended daily amount of potassium in an avocado – much more than the 10% found in a banana.
High potassium intake is linked to reduced blood pressure, lowering the risk of strokes, heart attacks and kidney failure.
9. It Is Beneficial During Pregnancy
If you’re pregnant, try to stock up on avocados. Just one cup of avocado contains nearly 25% of your recommended dose of folate, which is essential for both you and your baby.
10. It Is Filled With Nutrients
Avocados contain an amazing 20 vitamins and minerals – including a quarter of your daily vitamin C, which plays an essential role in growth and repair of your body tissues. On top of that, avocado is filled with B-6, which helps your body to fight off infection and disease.
