I Like Fat Fruits

There has been avocado in my diet, daily - for about a week now. Those California handrolls and sandwiches I had in Sydney were packed with avocados. During my usual grocery shopping there, I see them... soft and ripe, irresistable.



So I've been having salads and breads with avocados. Very yummy. And then I remember the fat content of an avocado in the midst of devouring it, I looked it up on the internet:

1) Avocados have a high fat content - about 20 times the average for other fruits. A typical avocado contains 30 grams of fat, but 20 of these fat grams are health-promoting monounsaturated fats, especially oleic acid.

2) Oleic acid helps lower cholesterol. Tests have shown that subjects consuming avocados for a week (that's me!) had significant decreases in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, along with an 11% increase in health promoting HDL cholesterol. Oleic acid has also been shown to offer significant protection against breast cancer, prostate cancer as well as oral cancer.

3) Avocados are a good source of vitamin K, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate and copper. Avocados also contain more potassium than bananas, and Potassium helps regulate blood pressure and reduces risk of stroke.

4) Anti-oxidants addicts alert: avocados are also a very concentrated dietary source of the carotenoid lutein; it also contains carotenoids such as zeaxanthin, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, plus significant quantities of tocopherols (vitamin E). We all know this is good for skin, nails, hair, eyes...

There, enough reasons to go grab those green goodies now. But if you have a latex allergy, you may very likely be allergic to avocados!