Avocado Benefits More Than A Super Bowl Dish

Avocado Benefits More Than A Super Bowl Dish

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Guacamole mmm. We all know how delicious guacamole is as a dip with corn chips or a tray of fresh vegetables. Did you know that on Super Bowl Sunday, Americans consume about fifty million pounds of avocados in their guacamole in just one day? All the avocado benefits are too numerous to list here just accept that theyre good for you. This attractive pear-shaped fruit is packed with nutrients, essential fatty acids and proteins, easily digested without increasing your cholesterol level. And the vitamins A, B1, B3, B4, D, and E to mention just a few from the four-page list of avocado benefits. I like to slice them and arrange them around a salad; their flesh is thick, rich and creamy and simply delicious.

Avocados are from Mexico and can only grow in a tropical or sub-tropical climate. Lets take a closer look at its properties and lets get the calories out of the way first. A medium avocado contains about 300 calories. Higher than most fruits but hey, look at these other avocado benefits. Each has about 30 grams of fat, most of which is healthy mono-unsaturated fat. Over double the amount of potassium contained in bananas, very high fiber content, more protein than any other fruit and another avocado benefit - it will help lower your cholesterol.

Researchers found that a study of subjects with high- level cholesterol were able to lower it by 22% over a seven day period by eating one whole avocado per day. The study also showed an 11% increase in good cholesterol over the same period. Now thats an avocado benefit.

Interestingly, avocados are generally harvested before they ripen. And if they are left to ripen on the tree, they dont fall off. Many producers use the parent tree as their warehouse to store the fruit - and the tree keeps them fresh. But if we dont have access to our own avocado tree, how do we select them in the supermarket? The most popular is the California Haas avocado which has a very dark, pebbled skin and weighs around half a pound. They should be firm of course, but slightly soft without cracks in the dark green skin.

Look for a short neck at the top because this indicates that it was ripened on the tree, giving it a richer flavor another of those avocado benefits. You can choose unripe ones and keep them on the counter at home as they ripen, their skin turns darker. Dont put them in the fridge as this will halt the process refrigerate them once theyre ripe. Slice them just before you use them because the flesh oxidizes and darkens; try sprinkling a little lemon juice on the cut surfaces. And if you have one which is too ripe, use it as a spread on your morning toast instead of butter thats one of the avocado benefits I enjoyed in South Africa.

Try this guacamole recipe. Youll need three avocados, juice of half a lemon (or a whole lime) two tablespoons each of finely chopped onion and olive oil and two tablespoons salt. Add some chopped cilantro and mash the avocado with the other ingredients, cover well and refrigerate for at least one hour. Youll have enough guacamole to serve a dozen people and leftovers for you to snack on later, when theyve gone enjoy your avocado benefits.

About the Author:
Todd Michaels is an expert on juicing. He has written a number of articles that can be found all over the internet. If you are interested in avocados and want to learn more about all of the avocado benefits, visit http://www.juicinganswers.com.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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