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Avocados, health and a critical perspective on ‘healthy’ food

Avocados have emerged as a new trendy food with the help of international marketing campaigns, dietary guidelines and medical studies that praise its associated health benefits. The fruit became symbolically associated with a healthy diet. An increase in global avocado consumption and trade has caused transformations in commercial, agricultural and trading practices in producing countries. The promotion of the fruit on international markets orients consumer preferences, which in return impacts the agricultural practices and livelihood of the local farmers who have been producing avocados for a long time.

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 Are Avocados Actually Healthy?

We break down the basics, the good, and the sort of bad. 1 serving = 1/3 medium avocado = 80 cals, 8 grams total fat (1 gram saturated fat, 5 grams monounsaturated and 1 gram polyunsaturated), 3 grams dietary fiber and little sugar, plus vitamins and minerals!

 How Hungry Humans Saved the Avocado

By whatever name, avocados are energy foods: rich sources of fiber, potassium, vitamins C, E, and K, carotenoid antioxidants, and (heart-healthy) monounsaturated fat. Most people love the creamy green avocado flesh—among them 18th-century sailors, who used to spread it on their hardtack, calling it “midshipman’s butter.” Flattering as our attention is, though, avocados did not evolve to please us. They had altogether something else in mind.

 Is Avocado A Fruit Or A Vegetable?

If wondering, "Is avocado a fruit or a vegetable", then you are not alone. Avocados are a beautiful creamy fruit, filled with healthy unsaturated fats! Here's why avocados are a fruit, what they taste like, health benefits, how to tell if they are ripe, and the best recipes to enjoy avocados!

 You’re throwing away the healthiest part of the avocado

For now, if you want to get the most out of your avocado, try this tip: stop letting the dark green bits that attach to the skin end up in the trash. The outermost flesh is actually the healthiest (edible) part of the berry. Those slightly rough pieces are where the carotenoids hide. Carotenoids are essentially antioxidants, though you may also recognize them as natural pigments: they give carrots, apricots, and flamingoes their color.

Articles of Interest

The Problem with Avocados

Unfortunately, avocados might not be as green as they seem—at least from an environmental standpoint: avocados are an especially thirsty crop, for instance, and as demand for this superfood grows, its production has led to deforestation and biodiversity loss. Furthermore, as we have seen with other foods, such as bananas and chocolate, there are additional issues to think about before tucking into your favorite avocado dish.

'I Tried Eating An Avocado Every Day For A Week—Here's What Happened'

The one big downside: Integrating a full avocado every day is tricky. A single serving is meant to be one-third of an avocado; one full medium fruit has 240 calories and 24 grams of fat (even though 15 grams is monounsaturated, the heart-healthiest type, that’s still a lot!).

Are Avocados Good for You?

Over the past 20 years, avocados have been on a trajectory. Americans now eat 8.5 pounds per person per year—up 278 percent since 2000. That’s pushed them into the No. 4 slot on the list of the most commonly consumed fruits in the U.S. As the appetite for these versatile fruits has grown beyond guacamole—hello, avocado toast!—creative cooks are adding them to snacks, meals, and even desserts like chocolate mousse.

Are Avocados Good for You? 10 Science-Backed Effects of Eating Them

In addition to being among the minority of fruits (disguised as a veggie) able to supply your body with a double-whammy of healthy fats, they provide a lengthy list of benefits that actually makes avocados an ideal food to support weight loss. But because avocados are known to contain a lot of fat and are high in calories, it's no surprise that many might still feel conflicted if not curious about other effects that eating an avocado may have on your body—and we're talking beyond just helping you burn some belly fat.

Are avocados high in fat?

The type of fat in an avocado is mainly unsaturated (specifically, monounsaturated), which, when eaten in place of high-saturated-fat foods, can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Olive and rapeseed oil are other well-known sources of monounsaturated fats.

Are you eating too much avocado?

Yes, avocados have healthy fat, but you can have too much of a good thing, nutritionists say.

Avocado Hand Injuries Are Real. Is A Seedless Fruit The Answer?

Behold, the cocktail avocado. No, that's not a weird cucumber. It's the latest in avocado innovation, on offer at British retail chain Marks & Spencer. According to an Instagram post from M&S itself, "It's the avocado you never knew you needed." That may be because the British press is promoting them as the answer to "avocado hand," the name surgeons have given to the particular body of injuries sustained while pitting an avocado.

Avocado Health Benefits: More Than Just Those Healthy Fats

Sure, avocados can be seen gracing the packaging of moisturizers and shampoos. But while those mushy green facials are awfully tempting, this tasty little fruit goes more than skin deep. And guacamole is just the beginning…

Avocados 101: Exactly Why The Fashionable Fruit Should Be Central To Your Diet

Instead of cheese or bacon as a side of your eggs, a healthy portion of avocado is a delicious and healthy alternative.

Avocados may cut the risk of heart disease – new research

In the study, researchers found that those who had higher intakes of avocado also had better diet quality, eating more fruit, vegetables, whole grains and nuts. This shows that no single food like avocado is the solution to preventing heart disease. But having an overall healthy, balanced diet with a variety of nutritious foods is key to promoting good heart health.

Avocados: History of an unlikely but legitimate healthy food craze

From California to Manila, avocados are a common ingredient on restaurant menus around the world. They can be found not only spread on toast and tacos but in ice cream, smoothies, hummus and even pasta sauce.

Avocados: ‘Poor Man’s Butter’ No More

But the fats in avocados, like those in olives and nuts, are for the most part healthy monounsaturated fats — particularly oleic acid, the primary fat in olive oil. “Poor man’s butter,” they used to call avocados when my father was a child. (Now they would more aptly be described as “rich man’s butter.”)

Bite Back At Bad Cholesterol: Eat An Avocado A Day

New research finds that eating an avocado per day, as part of an overall diet rich in healthy fats, may help cut the bad kind cholesterol, known as LDL.

End of the avocado: why chefs are ditching the unsustainable fruit

On the one hand, they are deliciously creamy, versatile and gloriously Instagrammable. On the other, they have an enormous carbon footprint for a fruit, require up to 320 litres of water each to grow and “are in such global demand they are becoming unaffordable for people indigenous to the areas they are grown in”, according to Thomasina Miers, the co-founder of the Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca.

Enjoy avocados? Eating one a week may lower heart disease risk

The creamy, pale green flesh of an avocado is full of nutrients closely tied to heart health. Now, a long-term study finds that eating at least two servings of this popular fruit per week is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Guac Your World: Why Avocados Are So Good for You

Millenials may get flak for being the “avocado toast generation,” but honestly, they may be onto something! Avocados are as nutritious as they are delicious, and they’re jam-packed with vitamins and nutrients. Avocados include vitamins C, E, K1, B6 and folate, plus essential minerals like potassium and copper. They’re low in sugar, loaded with fiber and high in monosaturated fats, aka “good” fats. Oh, and did we mention that they taste great and they’re super versatile?!

Holy Guacamole: How the Hass Avocado Conquered the World

Why one California postman’s delicious mistake now graces toast and tacos from California to New Zealand.

How Healthy Are Avocados?

Here’s a highlight reel of their biggest nutritional benefits, plus delicious recipes to help you enjoy them.

How Many Avocados Is It Safe To Eat Per Week?

It’s no secret that avocados are freaking amazing: They taste like heaven, are technically fruits, and can be enjoyed on toast, in smoothies, with eggs, on sandwiches, and more. When it comes to avocados, the possibilities seem endless.

Is Guacamole Healthy? Here’s What the Experts Say

Guacamole serves up an array of health benefits, and most are due to the avocado itself: specifically its monounsaturated fats. “These are healthy fats that play an important role in the structure and function of our brain and other cell membranes throughout the body,” says Badger.

New Research Finds Eating Lots of Avocados Has Public Health Benefits for Issues Like Obesity

Randomized controlled trial found that families with high avocado consumption self-reported reduced caloric intake and an overall healthier diet.

The Avoca-Do’s and Don’ts: Are Avocados Actually Good for You?

If you’ve been out to brunch in the last decade, you may have noticed a loud new addition to the dining staples; Avocado. Slather it on toast, slice it in a sandwich, or slap it on a salad, this strange little fruit has been popping up everywhere. But what’s with the sudden popularity and why hasn’t it tapered off like so many other food trends? And finally, are avocados good for you?

The bad news about your avocado habit

America’s insatiable appetite for guacamole is threatening Mexican forests.

The Many Health Benefits Of Avocado You Need to Know

Food trends are constantly changing, but thanks to the health benefits of avocado, the fruit has been in the spotlight for quite some time now. Its fame is partially due to its deliciously creamy, nutty taste—and, of course, how photogenic it is when spread atop toast. But we also need to give credit where credit is due: There are tons of nutrients packed into each and every avocado.

The Nation That Gave the World Avocado Toast Now Has Too Many Avocados

A glut has Australia rethinking ways to serve the green fruit: Grilled, pickled and in parfaits, smoothies, chocolate cupcakes, spaghetti

The Political Saga of Avocados

How does such a nutritious fruit have such a contentious record?

The violent underbelly of the avocado industry

Americans consume a lot of avocados, and you may have heard how a lot of those avocados come from Mexico. But a podcast from Texas Public Radio focuses on a part of the avocado trade that you may not have heard of. In Mexico, armed groups and cartels use violence to try and control this lucrative business

These Health Benefits of Avocado Will Solidify Your Love for the Fruit

Get the lowdown on all the avocado nutrition facts, how much you should snack on, and the best ways to use the supercharged superfood.

These Health Benefits of Avocado Will Solidify Your Love for the Fruit

Get the lowdown on all the avocado nutrition facts, how much you should snack on, and the best ways to use the supercharged superfood.

What actually makes avocados bad for the environment?

The soaring demand for avocados in Europe and North America has led to a trebling of global production in just over 20 years. However, this popular fruit is increasingly controversial because of the environmental impacts of farming and distributing them around the world. These issues are not inherent to avocados themselves, which could still be a part of a sustainable, healthy diet. But rather they reflect some of the deep-rooted problems associated with their production.

What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Avocado Every Day

Native to the warmer regions of Mexico and Central America, avocados—originally referred to as aguacate or alligator pears—are fruits unlike any other. Avocados are characterized by a large central seed surrounded by a uniquely smooth and creamy green flesh that is encased by a rough outer skin. Botanically, avocados are actually berries! However, their nutritional profile does not reflect that of a berry. These exceptional fruits contain the highest amount of fat, calories and protein of any fruit.

What's in a Name? The Avocado Story

On May 15, 1915, in the posh new Hotel Alexandria in Los Angeles, a cadre of California farmers gathered to decide the fate of a new crop. The ahuacate, a pebbly-skinned, pear-shaped fruit, had been a staple food in Mexico, and Central and South America since 500 B.C. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors fell in love with the fruit after observing its prized status among the Aztecs.

Why Are Avocados So Fickle?

These fruits have a unique ripening process. Here’s how to select the perfect one.

Why the Avocado Should Have Gone the Way of the Dodo

Its large pit and fleshy deliciousness are all a result of its status as an evolutionary anachronism.

Why You Should Eat More Avocado

Here is some very good news for guacamole lovers everywhere: A new review of scientific literature suggests that eating avocado may help prevent metabolic syndrome. Dubbed “the new silent killer,” metabolic syndrome is the term used to describe a combination of three or more risk factors for heart disease and diabetes (like high blood pressure, high triglycerides and large waist circumference).

Resources

10 unsung health benefits of avocado

Avos: you smash them on toast, mash them in guac and chop them into salad. But have you ever stopped to think about why they’re one of the heroes of your fruit bowl? Avocados are a powerhouse of nutrients that can help your long-term health.

9 Health Benefits of Avocados

The avocado, also known as Persea americana, is a powerhouse superfood. Avocados contain healthy fats, anti-aging, disease-fighting antioxidants, and nearly 20 vitamins and minerals.

The Nutrition Source

Although not sweet, avocados are botanically classified as a fruit with a large berry and single center pit, grown from the Persea americana tree. They are believed to have originated in Mexico or Central America, with Mexico being the leading producer worldwide.