A perfectly creamy, ripe avocado is something most people can’t say no to. Not only is it one of the most nutrient dense fruits around, but the health benefits of avocado can improve the way you look, function and feel. Aside from their healthy monounsaturated fats, avocados are loaded with Vitamins like A, E, C, B, and K, as well as minerals like potassium and calcium.
6 Amazing Health Benefits of Avocado
Teeth & Bones
This delicious fruit is excellent for the health of your bones! 1 avocado contains 18mg of calcium, a mineral that is important in the support and maintenance of healthy bones! It also contains bone-supportive minerals like phosphorous, magnesium and manganese.
Regular consumption of avocados can help not only maintain bone health, but can reduce your risk for developing osteoporosis later in life.
Other nutrients in avocado which are important to maintain strong bones include Vitamin D (plays a crucial role in preventing falls and fractures), Vitamin K (works in synergy with vitamin D to help regulate osteoclasts production which help make way for new bone deposits), Vitamin C (important for the production of collagen which maintains healthy bones and cartilage), and Boron (reduces the amount of urinary calcium and magnesium excretion).
Muscle Development
Avocado contains all 9 of the essential amino acids: Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan and Valine. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and thus are essential if you plan on building healthy, strong muscle. Eating avocado will help ensure that our bodies have what they need in order to recover and build new muscle.
All fruit and vegetables contain amino acids, however, the avocado contains the complete 9 that are required for proper protein synthesis. With just one amino acid left out (if you don’t properly combine foods, or if you refuse to eat avocado), you can starve the body of vital proteins which can lead to problems like stunted growth, depression and indigestion.
Hair, Skin & Nails
Want beautiful looking skin, hair and nails? Add more avocado into your diet! This awesome fruit is packed with the nutrient biotin (Vitamin B7), and helps protect our cells from damage. When we are biotin deficient, our hair and nails become brittle and skin extremely dry. You can also apply an avocado mask to your face and hair to help improve the look and feel of your skin and hair in just a few short hours.
Avocados also contain Vitamin’s E and A. Vitamin A helps the skin tissues re-build, and is essential when it comes to healing wounds, scrapes, bruises and other damages inflicted on the skin. It also helps keep skin aging symptoms at bay. Vitamin E on the other hand is an effective antioxidant which helps prevent skin roughness, length of facial lines, wrinkle depth and scars. Riboflavin and niacin in avocado is also crucial to help maintain skin complexion, lustrous hair and strong healthy nails.
Cardiovascular
Avocado is incredibly beneficial to the health of our heart, veins, arteries and capillaries. They are a rich source of monounsaturated fat, and contain a compound called beta-sitosterol which lowers LDL cholesterol while raising good, HDL cholesterol.
Avocados contain vitamin B6 and folic acid, which help regulate homocysteine levels (which, when elevated, are normally associated with an increased risk of heart disease), and are a rich source of potassium which helps in controlling blood pressure levels.
The monounsaturated fats in avocado can also reverse insulin resistance, and are a great source of soluble fibre, both of which act to help regulate blood sugar levels. Not only that, but avocados have high levels of folate, helping to protect against strokes.
Immunity
A strong immune system is necessary to help fight off disease and illness. You can help improve the functioning of your immune system by consuming none other than the avocado! Avocados are high in selenium and zinc, which are important for proper functioning of the immune system. They are also rich in Vitamin C, which is a strong immune boosting antioxidant, and Vitamin E, which promotes antibody production to help protect against a variety of diseases.
Avocados also contain Vitamin B-6, folic acid, Vitamin A and Iron, which all play a part in improving immunity and our overall health. Cells of our immune system require all of the nutrients present in the avocado in order to help combat pathogens like viruses, bacteria, and carcinogens.
Not only does the avocado contain a plethora of immune-boosting nutrients, but it also helps aid in the absorption of nutrients from other food when properly combined. When we eat avocado with salad greens or other carotenoid-rich vegetables, we actually absorb these nutrients better, and thus help increase the strength of pathogen-fighting cells!
It must also be recognized that avocado is a great source of the master antioxidant glutathione, which aids in scavenging and destroying free radicals which can lead to diseases such as cancer.
Digestion & Metabolism
Avocados may be high in fat, but don’t let this phase you! Avocados are a wonderful source of L-carnitine, an amino acid that helps regulate fat metabolism. Numerous studies have shown that avocados not only promote weight loss, but they help to regulate blood sugar and thus satiates us longer and prevents blood sugar spikes or drops.
Thiamin and folate in avocado are two major players in the proper functioning of our metabolism and riboflavin helps to properly process fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Avocados also contain Vitamin B5. Vitamin B5, or Pantothenic acid, an essential vitamin required by the body for cellular processes, nutrient processing and optimal maintenance of fat.
The Vitamin A content in avocado helps keep your digestive tract healthy, protecting the epithelial cells lining your digestive tract. Avocado also contains five different chemical compounds which help reduce liver damage, and are a great source of fibre to help keep you regular, and prevent constipation and diarrhea.
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/avocado-health_b_2678819.html
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/01/17/avocado-benefits.aspx
http://www.undergroundhealth.com/15-amazing-health-benefits-of-eating-avocados/
This is one fruit I never seem to eat enough of. I think it’s just the effort of cutting it open and scooping it out that seems to put me off buying it! Mad I know, especially as its health benefits are awesome!
You can use it instead of margarine or butter, and it’s great added to salads.
* Note to self – Must try harder!