Avocados Nutritional Facts – The World’s Healthiest Food Proven Health Benefits

Avocados Nutritional Facts – The World’s Healthiest Food Proven Health Benefits

Avocados are considered a “superfood” and are rich in various nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Avocados, the most beneficial when eaten raw, and of greater importance for keeping up health when incorporated into a balanced and healthy diet. They have numerous health benefits, both as a food and as an addition to natural skin care products.

Benefits of Avocado

Promotes Healthy Heart

Beta-sitosterol, which people find in avocados, helps in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. Research studies showed that laboratory rats when given with avocados for 5 weeks as a part of their daily meal, about 27 percent lower triglyceride plasma levels, and their HDL (good) cholesterol observed 17 percent higher as compared to a control group, which consumed something else. This is the one reason why eating avocados daily can help in protecting the heart from atherosclerosis.

Good Source of Potassium

Avocados provide a good source of potassium. The significant levels of potassium make avocados a powerful fruit in the fight against hypertension. Potassium, one of the minerals that help in maintaining a normal heart rate. According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Potassium-rich foods can reduce pathogenic vascular calcification, which is the hardening of arteries. Dr. Paul Sanders from the University of Alabama at Birmingham led the research. It concluded that eating potassium-rich foods like avocados and bananas reduces the tension of blood vessels and arteries. It also helps inregulating blood pressure. This, in turn, may help reduce the risk of clotting, heart attacks, and strokes. Further, potassium helps in maintaining fluid balance through chemical channels for cells and organs. This balance of fluid is also vital for the functioning of the kidney. This handles the movement of fluid and toxins through the body.

Aids in Digestion

Avocados are soothing for the intestine and aid in digestion. They contain soluble and insoluble fiber, both of which help to keep the digestive system run smoothly. These types of fiber are very important for digestion. They bulk up stools and help to ensure the smooth passage of food through the intestinal tract. Finally, they reduce the symptoms from conditions like constipation and diarrhea. All in all, the huge amount of fiber found in avocados (40 percent of one’s daily requirement per serving) makes this a very important food for optimizing your digestive health.

Improves Vision

Avocados help in making our eyes healthy. They contain carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin. These protect eyes against cataracts, eye diseases related to age, and macular degeneration. These conditions often cause by free radicals that accumulate in the tissues of the eyes cause eyesight issues. The antioxidant activity of the special carotenoids present in avocados will neutralize the effects of those dangerous free radicals.

Skin and Hair Care

Avocados are packed with nutrients that are beneficial for maintaining healthy skin. It enriches skin that is dry, chapped, or damaged. They are added to a variety of cosmetics due to their ability to nourish the skin with essential vitamins and make it glow. It is also used for nourishing dry and damaged hair. Many people use avocados to prepare skin and hair masks. Above all, avocado oil provides relief from plaque psoriasis. [13] Beta-carotene and lycopene are two organic compounds found in avocados. Both of these have been connected to improving the health and tone of your skin and eliminating signs of premature aging.

Relieves Arthritis Pain

The anti-inflammatory properties of avocados are perhaps its most valuable attribute. Between the wide range of phytochemicals, flavonoids, carotenoids, phytosterols, fatty alcohols, and omega-3 fatty acids it contains, avocados are one of the best foods for reducing the inflammation in tissues, joints, and muscles. A 2010 research study from the journal the Physician and sports medicine showed that 300mg of avocado and soybean-based nutritional supplement appears to be more beneficial for patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis.

Prevents Bad Breath

Consumption of avocados helps in preventing bad breath, which is primarily caused due to indigestion or an upset stomach. Halitosis can be eliminated by improving the root cause, digestive health; the antibacterial and antioxidant flavonoids found in avocados also kill the bacteria in your mouth that cause bad breath.

Liver Care

The chemicals contained in avocados appear to be very good at reducing liver damage. These organic compounds help in improving liver health. Liver damage generally caused by a number of factors, with Hepatitis C being the main one. Findings from a research study published by the American Chemical Society suggest that avocados play a major role in toning up and protecting your liver from a wide variety of conditions.

Vitamin K Deficiency

Vitamin K deficiency, a not very common but can be observed in neonatal care. It may lead to a bleeding disorder known as vitamin K deficiency-related bleeding (VKDB). This occurs mostly due to an insufficient intake of vitamin K by the mother during pregnancy. The inclusion of avocado in the diet of a pregnant woman may help in lowering the risk of VKDB in the newborn child since avocados are one of the rare fruits that have a very high amount of vitamin K (almost 40 percent of the daily requirement in a single serving!)

Morning Sickness

During pregnancy, morning sickness is very common. Avocados help in overcoming nausea and queasiness during pregnancy since it contains vitamin B6, which doctors commonly connect to reducing nausea and vomiting.

Anti-cancer Potential

Avocado contains carotenoids and monounsaturated fat, both of which – when combined with other phytochemicals found in the diet – associated with the reduction of cancer. Avocado also contains glutathione, an antioxidant that protects the cells from cancer and the dangerous effects of free radicals. The list of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds in avocados is impressive; it is almost difficult to determine which one has the largest impact. Widely done studies on oral, skin, and prostate cancers, and the results show that instead of metastasizing, the organic compounds in avocados cause cancerous cells to undergo apoptosis (automatic cell death). Research is still ongoing on the relationship between avocados and cancer.

Antioxidant Properties

Avocado contains both vitamin C and E: which helps in enhancing the antioxidant properties of the human body.  Vitamin C recycles vitamin E and helps to reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Avocado also contains antioxidants such as epicatechin, violaxanthin, neochrome, and about a dozen others. Antioxidants neutralize the effects of free radicals, the dangerous by-products of cellular metabolism. Free radicals are responsible for dozens of serious conditions in the body, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, vision problems, premature aging, and cognitive disorders.

Healthy Skin

Avocados contain many vitamins and minerals that help in maintaining healthy skin. Carotenoids found in avocados reduce UV-induced inflammation of the skin due to exposure to the sun. Pure avocado oil helps in protecting the skin against sunburn damage. The high levels of beta-carotene in avocados enzymatically split into provitamin A, which protects the skin from a variety of conditions and the damaging effects of the sun.

Anti-Aging Properties

Research published in 2007 showed that lutein and zeaxanthin may decrease signs of the aging process by protecting the skin from damage due to UV rays and radiation. Consuming avocados and applying pure moisturizing avocado oil to the skin provides healthy aging due to the antioxidant properties of compounds, lutein, and zeaxanthin.

Strengthens Bones

As mentioned, avocados contain zeaxanthin and lutein, which reduce the risk of cartilage defects, which is also one of the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Furthermore, the levels of essential minerals in avocados are significant, including zinc, phosphorous, copper, with trace amounts of calcium and selenium. All of these minerals lowers the risks of osteoporosis and improvements in bone mineral density.

Nutrient Absorption

According to a research study published in the Journal of Nutrition by Ohio State University, the fat in avocado helps the body absorb carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, and convert them to vitamin A. Findings indicate that the absorption of carotenoid antioxidant molecules helps to protect the body against free radical damage. This increases three to five times when we eat salad along with avocado. Adding sliced avocado to a mixed salad may further make a healthy meal even better! This makes avocado a great element as an appetizer since it prepares the digestive tract to function at its highest level during the meal to come!

Blood Glucose Level

Apart from the fruit, the leaf extracts of avocados also provide health benefits. An animal study conducted on non-diabetic and diabetic rats suggests that the leaf extracts may help in lowering blood glucose levels. The metabolism of starch-based foods into simple sugars (like glucose) can cause spikes and dips that are dangerous for diabetics. Fiber helps to slow the breakdown of food into usable sugars, so it absorbs by the body in a more balanced way. Furthermore, the majority of carbohydrates in avocados make up of 7-carbon sugars. This cascades relatively rare form of sugar that actually inhibit the enzyme, hexokinase. This helps avocados to control the way that glucose metabolized by the body, thereby protecting the overall health of diabetic patients.

Useful for Athletes

Athletes require a lot of energy and must maintain optimal nutrition to fuel their bodies. Avocado, like a number of other foods, provides vital nutrients and healthy fats to athletes. This helps to maintain energy levels and good health. Moreover, they contain phytochemicals that are natural fuel sources for our bodies.

Improves Cognitive Function

Avocados may help improve the cognitive function in healthy older people by increasing the lutein content in the body. Lutein, a carotenoid found in fruits and vegetables which has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. According to a 2017 study in the journal Nutrients conducted by Tufts University, a fresh avocado daily increases lutein levels in the brains and eyes of healthy older adults, which in turn helps to enhance their memory and problem-solving skills.

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