by Mel Mcintyre

Created on: April 27, 2010

If you’re not putting an avocado or two on your weekly shopping list, then you’re really missing out.

Avocados are fruits, not vegetables. They get a bad press because people think they’re fatty – and therefore fattening. But that’s not necessarily the case.

It turns out that avocados - which the Aztecs called “the fertility fruit” - are pretty nearly the perfect food. Here are 5 reasons why you should consider eating more of them.

1. A Healthy Heart

Avocados are rich in nutrients, with almost 20 different vitamins and minerals to help keep you healthy.

Just one cup of this egg-shaped fruit contains 23% of the recommended daily amount of folate, a nutrient that encourages heart health. A study showed that women with higher intakes of dietary folate had a 55% lower risk of having heart attacks or contracting heart disease. People with folate-rich diets are also at a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease or stroke.

Avocado is just about the only fruit that contains mono-unsaturated fat, the “good” fat that helps keep your heart healthy. If you substitute avocados for other fats, in foods like sandwiches, toast, salads or spreads, you’ll be making a vital contribution to your overall cardiovascular fitness.

2. Lower Blood Pressure

Avocados contain vitamins C & E, vitamin B6, vitamin K, folate, iron, copper and dietary fibre. They contain twice the potassium you’d find in a medium-sized banana, and a lot less sugar. Potassium helps to regulate blood pressure, and guards against circulatory diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

3. Lower Cholesterol

A 3-oz serving of avocado contains about 76 milligrams of beta-sitosterol, a natural plant substance that helps keep cholesterol at healthy levels. Avocados also contain roughly the same amount of carotenoid lutein, useful for maintaining healthy eyesight.

4. Count Calories

Eaten in moderation avocados can be a beneficial part of a calorie-controlled diet. For instance, one ounce (about 3 slices) of avocado contains only 4.5 grams of fat and 50 calories. Compare that to the calories in, say, two slices of toast with butter: a staggering 250 calories.

5. Healthy Balance

The fat content in avocados, made of mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, enables your body to absorb fat-soluble nutrients. You should try to eat avocado as a spread instead of sour cream or mayonnaise to reduce your intake of cholesterol, calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium.

Moderation is the key. Avocados are good for you, but you don’t want to overdo it.

If it’s true that variety is the spice of life, then you should strive to eat a varied and balanced diet. If you eat a varied and balanced diet, your body will get a balance of all the nutrition it needs.

And that should be easier to achieve if one of the items on that diet is an avocado.

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