Many people don’t want to eat avocado due to the potentially high fat content. A medium-sized, ripe avocado contains about 30 grams of fat, but 20 grams of them are a healthy variant of fat, which is monounsaturated oleic acid. It’s the same kind of fat that we find in olive oil, which will be able to lower the level of bad cholesterol. Avocados are fruits, but because they are often used in cold soups, creams and salad, we often consider them as vegetables. Avocado is known for its mild, creamy taste; which combine well with dairy products. However, it is often said that avocado is high in calories.
If avocado is available widely in your area at affordable price, then it is a good idea to know the amount of calories. 17 percent of the weight of avocado is fat, but it is still low compared to many foods that we consume. In fact, you should focus on the potential big benefits of consuming avocado regularly. 100 grams of ripe avocado flesh could provide us with 25 percent of our daily vitamin E requirements. It is considered as a powerful antioxidant that can neutralize free radicals and maintain the health of our arteries. Heart attack can be caused by a high level of homocysteine.
Homocysteine is a vital substance that is needed to ensure that our organs can function well. It is used in our body, if we consume enough folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. However, if one is available in low level; then homocysteine won’t be converted into the necessary compounds and they will spill into our blood. Problem could happen when homocysteine starts to accumulate in high level in our body. This could result in stroke and heart attack. People who have folate-rich diet should be less likely to suffer from stroke or any kind of cardiovascular diseases. It means that avocado should be able to ease problem with hypertension.
Avocado is low in sodium, but rich in magnesium and potassium. It means that the fruit is useful for people who are having blood pressure problem. They need to avoid excessive sodium intake and get proper amount of potassium. Avocado is also a good source of lutein, which is a pigment that causes yellowish color, like in peas. Lutein is needed by these plants to protect themselves against sun radiation. By consuming enough lutein, our retina can be protected from cataract, especially if you spend plenty of time outdoor. When buying avocado, it can be a little tricky to choose a ripe one, because to the untrained eye, it can be indistinguishable to the bitter, unripe one.
Press the avocado and make sure that the surface is slightly soft. However, avocado can be overripe when there are sunken and dark spots. Avocado has better flavour when it’s tree ripened, you should be able to spot this by choosing an avocado with slight neck, instead of the one with rounded top. A good trick to make firm avocado ripe is by putting it in the same fruit basked with ripe banana. The skin of avocado should turn somewhat darker when it ripens.