What is Avocado ?
The avocado Persea americana is a tree native to Mexico and Central America, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel. Avocado or alligator pear also refers to the fruit, botanically a large berry that contains a single seed.
Avocados are commercially valuable and are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world. They have a green-skinned, fleshy body that may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. Commercially, they ripen after harvesting. Trees are partially self-pollinating and often are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit.
Avocados are commercially valuable and are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world. They have a green-skinned, fleshy body that may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. Commercially, they ripen after harvesting. Trees are partially self-pollinating and often are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit.
Health Benefits :
Avocados are rich in potassium. Potassium is needed by the body to regulate blood pressure. Eating a potassium rich diet that includes avocados can help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke.
There are some amazing avocado benefits for your health. If you would like to lose weight, improve your skin and lower your risk of many life-threatening diseases, here’s why it’s worth eating more of this extremely healthy fruit.
Cardiovascular Health: Coronary heart disease is still the biggest killer in the UK and is essentially a disease of inflammation. Some experts believe society’s much increased use of processed vegetable oils, high in pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats are a significant factor in cardiovascular disease. They advise lowering our intake of polyunsaturated fats and increasing the amount of monounsaturated fatty acids in our diet.
Avocado is a great source of monounsaturated oleic acid that research has shown to both reduce dangerous low-density lipoprotein cholesterol at the same time as increasing the more beneficial high-density lipoprotein cholesterol .
Avocados also contain a rich variety of heart nutrients including vitamin E for preventing cholesterol oxidization; folate for reducing dangerous homocystenine levels in the blood; potassium for regulating blood pressure; phytosterols for reducing cholesterol absorption; and dietary fibre to control blood sugar levels.
Skin Benefits: The monounsaturated fats in avocado are also beneficial for improving your skin tone. They are vital for maintaining good moisture levels in the epidermal layer of your skin that make it look and feel soft and healthy.
Omega-9 fats can additionally help reduce skin redness and irritation and are involved in repairing damaged skin cells.
Avocado benefits also include protecting your skin from wrinkles and other visible signs of aging with its antioxidant carotenoids; vitamin E which helps guard against photo-aging from sun exposure; and vitamin C which is involved in the creation of elastin and collagen for maintaining your skin’s elasticity and firmness.
Avocados and Weight Loss: Many people would be surprised that a food high in fat and calories would be considered good for weight loss. However research has shown that monounsaturated fatty acids are more likely to be used as slow burning energy than stored as body fat.
This slow burning energy and the feeling of satiety or satisfied fullness that you get from eating an avocado is one of the reasons they are known for reducing hunger and appetite.
It’s also why including more foods in your diet that are high in healthy fats and less with processed carbohydrates makes such a big difference when you want to lose weight. Snacking on nuts like almonds and walnuts instead of high carbohydrate foods is also highly beneficial for weight loss.
Diabetes: As of 2012 there are currently nearly 3,000,000 people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes and there are believed to be a significant number of undiagnosed sufferers. If the rate of new cases continues, we will reach 5 million people by 2025 which will put a huge strain on the NHS and our ability to treat people with the disease.
The most common symptoms of undiagnosed diabetes include a sudden and large increase in thirst and hunger and much more frequent urinating. A dry mouth, significant unexplained weight loss, vision problems and leg pain are also common symptoms. If you’re experiencing any of these issues then please see your doctor for a simple diabetes test.
For those already living with diabetes, the oleic acid in avocado is especially recommended for its ability to lower ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol while raising the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. Keeping cholesterol levels in check is vital for diabetics as they have a much higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
Having more monounsaturated fats in a diabetic diet is also beneficial for reducing high triglyceride levels and may help improve insulin function and blood glucose levels.
Other health benefits of avocado that can help with the condition include vitamin C for strengthening blood vessels and capillaries, improving immune function and reducing the high premedical exposure experienced by diabetics.
Vitamin E lowers cholesterol oxidization that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. It may also provide some protection from nerve damage in patients with peripheral neuropathy.
Arthritis: The high levels of potassium in avocados are another important nutritional factor for diabetics due to its role in maintaining a healthy heart and regulating blood sugar.
Osteoarthritis is a painful disease of joint inflammation and soreness that affects millions of people in the UK. Many common foods like wheat, corn, milk and sugar are known to worsen symptoms, but anti-inflammatory avocado is one of the few foods consistently reported to reduce arthritic pain.
Avocados contain high levels of monounsaturated fats, phytosterols and antioxidants like vitamin E, vitamin C and a variety of carotenoids that may help with reducing the inflammation that leads to arthritis.
More Health Benefits of Avocado: Eating avocados regularly has many health benefits including a healthier heart, better skin, helping you lose weight and treating or avoiding serious health problems like diabetes and arthritis.
There are some amazing avocado benefits for your health. If you would like to lose weight, improve your skin and lower your risk of many life-threatening diseases, here’s why it’s worth eating more of this extremely healthy fruit.
Cardiovascular Health: Coronary heart disease is still the biggest killer in the UK and is essentially a disease of inflammation. Some experts believe society’s much increased use of processed vegetable oils, high in pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats are a significant factor in cardiovascular disease. They advise lowering our intake of polyunsaturated fats and increasing the amount of monounsaturated fatty acids in our diet.
Avocado is a great source of monounsaturated oleic acid that research has shown to both reduce dangerous low-density lipoprotein cholesterol at the same time as increasing the more beneficial high-density lipoprotein cholesterol .
Avocados also contain a rich variety of heart nutrients including vitamin E for preventing cholesterol oxidization; folate for reducing dangerous homocystenine levels in the blood; potassium for regulating blood pressure; phytosterols for reducing cholesterol absorption; and dietary fibre to control blood sugar levels.
Skin Benefits: The monounsaturated fats in avocado are also beneficial for improving your skin tone. They are vital for maintaining good moisture levels in the epidermal layer of your skin that make it look and feel soft and healthy.
Omega-9 fats can additionally help reduce skin redness and irritation and are involved in repairing damaged skin cells.
Avocado benefits also include protecting your skin from wrinkles and other visible signs of aging with its antioxidant carotenoids; vitamin E which helps guard against photo-aging from sun exposure; and vitamin C which is involved in the creation of elastin and collagen for maintaining your skin’s elasticity and firmness.
Avocados and Weight Loss: Many people would be surprised that a food high in fat and calories would be considered good for weight loss. However research has shown that monounsaturated fatty acids are more likely to be used as slow burning energy than stored as body fat.
This slow burning energy and the feeling of satiety or satisfied fullness that you get from eating an avocado is one of the reasons they are known for reducing hunger and appetite.
It’s also why including more foods in your diet that are high in healthy fats and less with processed carbohydrates makes such a big difference when you want to lose weight. Snacking on nuts like almonds and walnuts instead of high carbohydrate foods is also highly beneficial for weight loss.
Diabetes: As of 2012 there are currently nearly 3,000,000 people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes and there are believed to be a significant number of undiagnosed sufferers. If the rate of new cases continues, we will reach 5 million people by 2025 which will put a huge strain on the NHS and our ability to treat people with the disease.
The most common symptoms of undiagnosed diabetes include a sudden and large increase in thirst and hunger and much more frequent urinating. A dry mouth, significant unexplained weight loss, vision problems and leg pain are also common symptoms. If you’re experiencing any of these issues then please see your doctor for a simple diabetes test.
For those already living with diabetes, the oleic acid in avocado is especially recommended for its ability to lower ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol while raising the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. Keeping cholesterol levels in check is vital for diabetics as they have a much higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
Having more monounsaturated fats in a diabetic diet is also beneficial for reducing high triglyceride levels and may help improve insulin function and blood glucose levels.
Other health benefits of avocado that can help with the condition include vitamin C for strengthening blood vessels and capillaries, improving immune function and reducing the high premedical exposure experienced by diabetics.
Vitamin E lowers cholesterol oxidization that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. It may also provide some protection from nerve damage in patients with peripheral neuropathy.
Arthritis: The high levels of potassium in avocados are another important nutritional factor for diabetics due to its role in maintaining a healthy heart and regulating blood sugar.
Osteoarthritis is a painful disease of joint inflammation and soreness that affects millions of people in the UK. Many common foods like wheat, corn, milk and sugar are known to worsen symptoms, but anti-inflammatory avocado is one of the few foods consistently reported to reduce arthritic pain.
Avocados contain high levels of monounsaturated fats, phytosterols and antioxidants like vitamin E, vitamin C and a variety of carotenoids that may help with reducing the inflammation that leads to arthritis.
More Health Benefits of Avocado: Eating avocados regularly has many health benefits including a healthier heart, better skin, helping you lose weight and treating or avoiding serious health problems like diabetes and arthritis.