Why You Should Eat More Avocados
If you only eat avocados when you split chips and guac with friends on margarita night, you may want to consider bringing more of this delicious superfood into your diet. Have some of the green gem today in this orange-avocado salad.
A study published in the January 2013 edition of Nutrition Journal suggests that people who eat avocados on a regular basis are actually healthier overall. The study claims that they have healthier diets, weigh less, have slimmer waistlines, better cholesterol, and are at a lower risk for strokes, diabetes, and heart disease. Researchers looked at the results National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and analyzed data from 347 adults who reported eating any amount of avocados.
Not surprisingly, the study was funded by the Hass Avocado Board, which advocates avocado consumption. So while you may want to take some of the information with a grain of margarita salt, the fact that avocados are healthy isn’t new information. Considered superfoods by many nutrition experts, avocados are a great source of monounsaturated fats, also known as “good” fats. These fats can help improve cholesterol levels, decrease the risk of heart disease, and even aid brain activity and locomotion. Avocados are also a good source of potassium, fiber, and vitamins C, B6, and folate. Try not to overdo it though: Experts recommend only eating about half of a whole avocado a day, since about 85 percent of its calories come from fat.
Picking avocados can be a little tricky. If you’re buying Hass avocados—the most popular kind for guacamole and other dishes—try to pick ones with shiny, dark green skin and no brown spots or bruises. Since these types of avocados don’t ripen on the tree, avocados at the grocery store usually aren’t ripe yet. An avocado is ripe when you press on the skin and its firm, but soft enough that a knife could cut through it without difficulty. You can speed up the ripening process a bit by putting avocados in a paper bag and folding the top down. Check them daily to see if they have reached the desired softness—it usually takes a few days for them to ripen. Once ripe, take them out of the paper bag and store them in the refrigerator. Avocados are overripe if they lose their shine and begin to become too soft.
The great thing about avocados is that not only are they the perfect dose of healthy fats and nutrients, they’re delicious too. And they are great in more than just guacamole. Try them in an omelet for breakfast, in salads for lunch, in pasta sauces and tartines for dinner, and even in popsicles and key lime pie for dessert.
