in Benefits, Food & Drink
12 Health Benefits of Avocados That Might Surprise You!
Have you ever tried eating Guacamole? If not, let me tell you some interesting facts about this breakfast food cooked using Avocados. Wait! Why Avocados? Well, these 12 mind-blowing health benefits of avocados will give you an obvious, clear-cut reason why you should not ignore this incredibly nutritious fruit which is also rich in taste and flavour!
Health Benefits Of Avocados And Nutritional Facts In Detail.
1. Avocados Contain Almost Every Nutrient That Your Body Requires
You can name any vitamin or a mineral in random and I guarantee you that you will find it in avocados.
These lovely fruits which have a buttery and creamy texture in the inside are enriched with 23 vitamins and minerals which makes them the topmost healthy fruits on the planet.
Here is an overview of Avocado nutrition facts that will totally convince you to include them in your diet!
A. Avocado Nutrition Facts
One cup of diced avocado cubes which weighs around 150 grams consists of the following nutrients.
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Avocados contain good amounts of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate and Pantothenic acid which meet more than 20% of your respective daily vitamin requirement. They also contain Vitamin A, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin and vitamin B6 in little amounts.
Avocados are a good source of Potassium, Copper, Manganese, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorous and Selenium.
B. How Many Calories In A Whole Avocado?
Avocados are high in calories. There are 322 calories in 1 avocado and 240 calories in 150 grams. They help you meet 12% of your daily calorie requirement, 6% of your daily protein requirement and 4% of your daily carbohydrate requirement.
2. Avocado Benefits For Weight Loss
Weight loss is not really a difficult task if you follow the right diet plan and spend the right time and energy in burning calories. A healthy diet involves consumption of certain fruits prior to your lunchtime so that your appetite is reduced.
Avocados are one of the best fruits that you shouldn’t miss to include because these fruits contain certain healthy fats (monounsaturated fats) which can burn your fat, thereby helping in weight loss.
Avocado benefits for weight loss because it also contains good amounts of fibre in it which can keep you full and reduce your appetite.
In fact, there have been few studies conducted regarding the consumption of avocados and weight loss which proved that the consumption of avocados as the part of your lunch regime could reduce the desire to eat for the next few hours.
However, you have to keep in mind that avocados are high in calories which is why you should consume the fruit in reasonable amounts (as an important ingredient for your breakfast or lunch) but not throughout the day.
The best way to consume avocados is to cook guacamole and make it your routine breakfast food!
3. Avocado Benefits For Men
Avocados Increase Sperm Count And Sperm Motility
Avocados are known to increase sperm count and sperm motility because of the presence of folate in it. A deficiency of folic acid is known to cause damage to the sperm’s DNA and reduce the count of sperms.
Moreover, avocados contain good amounts of healthy fats such as omega-3 fatty acids which act as natural mood enhancers.
They Prevent The Chances Of Prostate Cancer
Men can prevent the risk of being prone to prostate cancer by consuming avocados since they contain a carotenoid called lutein along with vitamin E (3.1 mg in one cup of cubed avocado) both of which show antioxidant properties.
They fight the free radical activity, thereby preventing the chances of prostate cancer.
Eating Avocados Prevents Infertility
The antioxidant properties of vitamin E also prevent the chances of infertility. A deficiency of vitamin E may cause damage to testicles which disrupts the production of hormones that are required for reproduction.
Avocados may regulate the production of hormones, thereby preventing the chances of infertility!
4. Avocados Fight Depression
Depression has become the buzzword of recent times. With the increase in mental tensions and the imbalance of work and personal lives, most of them are falling prey to depression, the treatment of which is complicated.
Sadly, we do not know whether it is depression that has been troubling us because it does not show up in the form of any physical symptoms.
Fortunately, you can to some extent get rid of depression by consuming some of the best foods that are good for mental health.
Avocados are one among those foods because they contain folate, omega-3 fatty acids, and an important acid called tryptophan all of which help in enhancing your mental health.
5. Prevents Chronic Disorders
It is our lifestyle habits that determine our overall health! Relying on a healthy diet and indulging in physical activities is the best way to stay away from chronic disorders. Avocados contain fibres in good amounts (7 grams for every 100 grams) which can prevent the most common chronic disorders.
The daily recommended fibre intake is 15 grams per day. A good intake of fibre can reduce the levels of blood pressure, improve your cholesterol levels, improve your levels of insulin and result in weight loss.
This helps you stay away from chronic disorders like obesity, diabetes, Hypertension and other coronary heart diseases.
6. Eating More Avocados Can Prevent Cancer
Prevention is always better than cure! Keeping a check on your diet and including those foods which contain antioxidants and plant pigments is the best possible way to prevent cancer.
Avocados (particularly those which grow in California) contain around 11 carotenoids in the outer peel which imparts anti-cancer properties because they constantly protect your healthy cells from being damaged.
When the activity of free radicals is curbed, you can retain your healthy cells which reduces the risk of cancer.
Avocados are particularly known for reducing the risk of colon cancer because of its good fibre content.
Remember that discarding the outer flesh can be a disadvantage and may not provide you with the best benefits.
7. They Improve Your Digestion
You can avail the best digestive benefits of eating avocado daily because of its rich fibre content. This is a great advantage for people suffering from constipation since fiber-rich foods can add more bulk to your stools which helps in a smooth and easy bowel movement.
Avocados contain good amounts of vitamin C which can prevent the chances of gastritis because vitamin C exhibits antioxidant properties.
The best way to consume avocados for digestive health is to pair up the sliced cubes of avocados along with other fruits such as papayas, pineapples, bananas or mangoes that help in an easy digestive process.
8. Avocados Keep Your Heart Healthy And Safe
Most of the heart diseases across the world occur due to the blockage of arteries due to a high cholesterol content.
We seldom notice that we have been consuming a large number of fast foods, particularly street food which are the main culprits of increasing bad cholesterol in our body.
Certain foods contain heart-healthy compounds which help in reducing bad cholesterol from the body. Avocado is one among them which contains a compound called Beta-sitosterol which helps in maintaining required levels of cholesterol.
Just an ounce (which is around 28 grams) contains 25 milligrams of beta-sitosterol.
Apart from avocados, foods like wheat, dairy products like yoghurt also contain Beta-sitosterol.
9. Health Benefits Of Avocados For Pregnant Women
Pregnant women need to pay attention to the intake of folate because it is the deficiency of folate that might cause miscarriage or birth defects in most of the cases.
Proper care is needed right from the first month of pregnancy because certain disorders might occur even before a woman knows that she is conceiving.
Neural tube defects (NTDs) is one such disorder in which the brain or the spinal cord of the baby remains underdeveloped.
Spina Bifida and anencephaly are the most common NTDs that may occur due to the deficiency of folic acid.
Avocados are a great source of folate. Just a cup of avocados (which is around 150 grams) helps you meet 30% of your folic acid requirement.
If you are expecting a child, it is best advisable to start consuming avocados right from the first month of pregnancy!
10. These Green Fruits Help In Osteoporosis Treatment
Avocados and some of the soy products contain compounds called Saponins in them which can prevent the chances of Osteoporosis or Osteoarthritis which are common to occur due to the onset of age.
In addition to saponins, avocados also contain good amounts of calcium and proteins in them, both of which can help in the development and formation of bones
Avocados also contain decent amounts of phosphorous and magnesium which can help in strengthening your bones.
11. Avocados Help In Improving Eye Vision
Avocados can lower the chances of macular degeneration and reduce the risk of cataracts which may occur due to the deficiency of certain nutrients and antioxidants.
Avocados are a good source of zeaxanthin which can protect your eyes from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.
Also, lutein present in avocados can prevent macular degeneration which occurs due to the damage of retina. Sadly, macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss.
Regular consumption of avocados benefits your overall eye health because avocados also contain vitamin A in good amounts.
12. Avocados Are The Perfect Food For Diabetics
Avocados are highly beneficial for those suffering from high blood glucose because, though avocados contain a good amount of carbohydrates, the glycemic value of avocados is low (less than 15) which is a great advantage.
Glycemic index is the rate at which the carbohydrates get absorbed by your body. The lesser is the glycemic index, more is the benefit since there wouldn’t be any spike in the blood glucose levels.
People suffering from Diabetes tend to witness an increase in the levels of cholesterol but this can be curbed by consuming avocados because of the presence of healthy fats (monounsaturated fats) which can raise the amounts of HDL (good cholesterol).
Avocados are a source of fiber which can effectively control the levels of blood glucose!
Interesting Fact About Avocados No One Knows
If you are someone with an imaginary mind, you will understand why avocado is also called as “alligator pear”. Well, ‘Has Avocado’ is a popular variety of Avocado that looks like an alligator!
Here’s how a ‘Has’ avocado looks like.
Summary!
Guacamole which is a breakfast food (that belongs to Mexican cuisine) is probably the best recipe made from avocados and the best food that you can include in your regular diet because avocados contain almost every vitamin and mineral that our body requires for healthy functioning.
The presence of antioxidants and some plant pigments like Zeaxanthin and lutein contribute to some of the major health benefits of avocados.
Consuming Avocados regularly helps in fighting depression, preventing chronic disorders like cancer, improving digestive health, heart health, eye vision and osteoporosis treatment.
Three major avocado benefits for men include improvement in sperm quality, prevention of infertility and the prevention of prostate cancer.
Pregnant women can benefit from eating avocados, that is the prevention of neural birth defects due to the presence of folic acid.
What more? When in doubt, eat avocados!
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