Avocados are surprisingly good for you….

Today’s Post:  Tuesday, 4-17-2014

Avocados like extra virgin olive oil and almonds have fats that are almost only monosaturated fats.  And, they are high in fiber and are so rich in vitamins from carotenes to many of the members of the vitamin E complex and many, many more you can almost use them to replace a daily multivitamin.

Avocados are so high in nutrition that they are one of the very few foods where you could almost live on nothing else if you had to do it and be in almost OK health.

But incredibly, there is even more.  In an email nearly 3 weeks ago, Jonny Bowden also said research finds that:

Volunteers who ate some avocado every day for a week did get lower total cholesterol by 17%. Not bad in just that short a time.

But I agree with Jonny Bowden who said that the other results were far more important! 

Even though their total cholesterol went down, their protective HDL went UP.  What went down was their LDL AND their triglycerides! 

Regular readers of our posts know that is spectacular because it means that in just one week, their amount of blood vessel and heart damaging small particle LDL went DOWN significantly!

Dramatically increased protection from heart disease in just one week!  Nice to know.

It seems that avocados lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in part because they are high in beta sitosterol which is proven to have that effect.

Even better, beta sitosterol is protective to men reducing prostate problems and symptoms.

Lastly, a high intake of the monosaturated oils in avocados has been linked to a reduced risk of cancer and diabetes.

Another really nice benefit is this:  people working to lose excess fat have been shown to be MORE effective when they include foods high in monosaturated oils such as raw and unprocessed nuts – AND AVOCADOS!

There are three good ways to eat avocados:

1. Dice up small bits to add as an accent to green salads.  (One of my favorite local eaters has a “Mixed Green Salad” that does this along with bits of feta cheese.)

2.  If you need a really simple and portable and good for you lunch that will nevertheless last you for hours, half an avocado or even a whole small one plus a piece of whole fruit will do it.

3.  But my all time favorite is to eat avocados as guacamole using a recipe you like!

It’s spicy.  It’s enjoyable to eat.  And you can have just a bit or quite a bit depending on the circumstances.