avocado nutrition fat content
avocado nutrition fat content
Have you been avoiding avocados because you’ve heard that they are high in fat? Well, it’s time to take another look at the avocado. Creamy, soft and delicious, avocados are rich in heart healthy monounsaturated fat, packed with 20 vitamins and minerals and low in calories. When you consider all of the nutritional benefits and think of all of the great ways they can be served, surely you will agree that avocados deserve a place at your table.
Heart-healthy fat?
Avocados have taken a beating because of their high fat content – In some circles they are known as a “butter pear”. Avocados do contain 30 grams of fat, but the fat in avocados is monounsaturated, the good fat recommended by the American Heart Association. Recent studies have shown that people eating an avocado a day for a week can lower blood cholesterol by as much as 17%, raise HDL or good cholesterol levels and lower LDL or bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Avocados, nuts and olives are the only plant foods that contain monounsaturated fat. A serving of avocado is 1 ounce - 2 tablespoons or about one-sixth of an avocado, and contains 5 grams of fat and 55 calories. But when you compare that to butter, cheese or mayonnaise, all weighing in at around 200 calories and 22 grams of fat per 2-tablespoon serving, avocados look pretty good. Plus, avocados are a delicious replacement for cheese and butter on sandwiches, in salads, on toast and with spicy foods.
20 Vitamins and Minerals
Avocados bring 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients to the table, making them a nutritional superstar. Naturally rich in their own right and full of vitamin E, vitamin C, folate and beta-carotene, avocados are also known to be a nutrient-booster, helping the body to absorb more of the nutrients in other foods when they are eaten with avocados.
How Do I Know When It’s Ripe?
Look for firm, slightly soft avocados. They tend to be more black then green when they are ripe. Avocados don’t start to ripen until after they are picked, so often hard avocados are all that is available. If they are hard when you buy them, put them in a paper sack for a day or two and let them ripen. Don’t store uncut avocados in the fridge, keep them on the counter on in a sunny window and use them within a day or two.
To store half of an avocado, replace the seed and store in an airtight bag or re-useable plastic container in the refrigerator. Storing the avocado with the seed will keep the flesh from turning black. Black avocado flesh won’t hurt you, it just isn’t very pretty.
So go ahead – make guacamole. Add avocados to your BLTs. Have a slice or two on your sandwich. Avocados are good for you!
About the Author:
Want more tips on saving your waistline along with your budget? Check out The Deceptive Diet for great results!
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - The Healthy Benefits of Avocados
With all the knowledge about body fat on our weight and health, we tend to adopt weight loss programs and do not stop till we get rid of the last strain of fat from our body. But in spite of having bad reputation, fats are essential to protect vulnerable parts of our body. They also disseminate vitamins A, D, E, and K, that keep the hair and skin healthy. They play a major role in maintaining warmth in the body. However, they can also lead to increased levels of cholesterol and heart disease, and possibly cancer and weight gain as well. What to do then? Just balance you body fat but before knowing the tips for balancing body fat, first make the basics clear- know what are the types of fat so that you can keep the good ones and leave the bad ones.
Many Types of Fats
There are many types of fats- Saturated Fats, Monounsaturated Fats, and Polyunsaturated Fats.
Saturated Fats: In them, carbon atoms are saturated with hydrogen atoms. They raise the level of cholesterol in your blood which leads to heart disease and stroke. They mainly come from animal sources, like meat and dairy products including fatty beef, lamb, pork, poultry with skin, beef fat, lard and cream, butter, cheese etc. Some plant foods like palm oil, palm kernel oil and coconut oil also contain saturated fats, but they do not contain cholesterol.
Monounsaturated Fats: are simply fats having one double-bonded (unsaturated) carbon in the molecule. They can have beneficial effects on your health but when taken in moderation. They help in reducing bad cholesterol levels in blood and lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. They also provide nutrients needed for growth of body’s cell and have high levels of vitamin E. Foods high in monounsaturated fats include vegetable oils such as olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil and sesame oil. Other sources include avocados, peanut butter, and many nuts and seeds.
Polyunsaturated Fats: have more than one double-bonded (unsaturated) carbon in the molecule. They too can have beneficial effects on health, reduce cholesterol levels in blood and lower the risk of heart disease, if eaten in moderation. They have certain fats like omega-6 and omega-3 required by body but can't be produced by itself. Vegetable oils, including soybean oil, corn oil and safflower oil, as well as fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring and trout, some nuts and seeds like walnuts and sunflower seeds are high in polyunsaturated fat.
How to Balance These Fats?
Eating foods that contain a higher level of unsaturated fats than saturated fats can lead to reduced blood cholesterol levels.
- Limit the consumption of saturated fats to less than 7% of total daily calories. If you need about 2,000 calories a day, only 140 of them should come from saturated fats.
- Replace foods high in saturated fats with foods high in monounsaturated and/or polyunsaturated fats. Eat foods made with liquid vegetable oil and avoid tropical oils. Eat fish and nuts. Replace considerable amount of meat with beans or legumes.
- Eat more of those foods that are naturally low in fat, such as grains, fruits and vegetables.
- Avoid fried, spicy, junk and processed food items as well as bakery food.
- Avoid tinned food. If eating them, check the label to find their saturated fat content which should not exceed 20 %.
- Ensure you take only one-teaspoon of oil for a meal.
- Exercise regularly. Practice of Yoga is good for over all health and not only for balancing body fat.
- If you have already gained a lot of weight then try these Innovative Ways for Weight Loss.
About the Author:
Deepa Roy recommends reading more about health related issues at http://www.ayurveda-herbal-remedy.com/ , the comprehensive directory of ayurvedic products companies. The site also contains wide information about general health and natural ways to deal with many diseases.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - How Can You Balance Body Fat?
Tags: american heart association, avocado nutrition, avocados, bad cholesterol, beta carotene, blood cholesterol, good cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, vitamins and minerals, vitamins minerals