Avocado- Luxury Nutrition

Avocado is one of my favourite seasonal food and i just bought an avocado last saturday as the season had come.

Avocado Adds Nutritious Luxury to Many Meals !

From the Commercial Appeal (TN).

"There is something about including avocado in a dish that makes it seem more special. Added to a salad, sliced atop a sandwich or mixed up in guacamole, avocado on our plates seems to whet the appetite so we can't wait to dig in.

Fortunately, avocados are quite nutritious, so we needn't feel guilty about including them regularly in our diets. One avocado half has 15 percent of the daily recommended amount of folate, an important B vitamin, 10 percent of the recommended daily amount of potassium and 20 percent of vitamin K.

Folate is especially important during periods of rapid cell division and growth, for instance during pregnancy and infancy, as it is used to manufacture new DNA. It is also vital for metabolizing homocysteine and keeping this amino acid component at reasonable levels. This helps lower the risk of heart disease.

Vitamin K is involved in clotting blood after an injury, and it is also vital for maintaining strong bones, especially in the elderly. The mineral potassium is essential in all the body's cells, helping to regulate fluid balance and acid-base balance in the body, as well as being involved in building muscle and metabolizing proteins and carbohydrates.

Additionally, avocados contain significant fiber, vitamin C and several other B vitamins.

While we often think of them as a vegetable, avocados are actually classified as a fruit. Unlike most fruits however, avocados are high in fat. Don't let that alarm you, since the fat is primarily the monounsaturated variety. Multiple studies have shown that replacing saturated and trans fats in your diet with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats often results in a reduction of blood cholesterol and a decrease in heart disease risk.

This means substitutions like taking the bacon off your sandwich and adding an avocado slice instead. In place of grated cheese in your salad, cut avocado into cubes and toss them in. You may be eating the same amount of total fat, but your heart will thank you for making the switch to a diet higher in monounsaturated fat.



All fat is high in calories, however, so resist the urge to overeat avocados or any high-fat item. Fat is higher in calories than any other nutrient. So while monounsaturated fats are kind to your heart, adding large quantities of calories from any type of dietary fat can add inches to your waistline."