Avocados, technically fruits, provide more than important nutrients. They reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and living with obesity and improve cognitive function and digestive health.The notion that eating fat makes you gain weight is wrong. Eating healthy fats is a savvy weight management strategy. Having one avocado a day in a calorie-controlled diet for 12 weeks, while adding fat and calories, didn't prevent weight loss.Eating healthy fats helps slow stomach emptying, which keeps you full longer than usual and delays the return of hunger. This satisfied feeling is known as satiety. Avocados, whose fat content primarily comes from heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), fit that bill.Avocados increase your soluble and insoluble fiber intake. Soluble fiber slows down digestion and the absorption of ingested fats and carbohydrates. Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, adds bulk to your stool and helps to eliminate digested food from your intestines.Over time, eating avocados reduces the ratio of visceral fat to subcutaneous fat, which is found just under the skin. This reduction means fat is being redistributed away from the organs.
As pointed out earlier, avocados are rich in antioxidants. Extracts of avocado pulp or the fruit have been found to have cancer fighting properties. An extract containing several antioxidants, including lutein, zeaxanthin, beta carotene, and vitamin E, stopped the growth of prostate cancer cells. Another extract killed oral cancer cells.
Eating one avocado a day for six months increases the amount of macular pigment that results from the increase in zeaxanthin. In addition, avocados seem to increase the absorption of lutein better than taking just a lutein supplement, likely due to the healthy fats.
Avocado is rich in a phytochemical called lutein—a pigment related to beta carotene and vitamin A.You may know lutein as one of the two major carotenoids found in the eye.The other place lutein is found is the brain.
In older adults, eating one avocado a day for six months improved performance on memory tests. However, taking a lutein supplement did not give the same results, so something in the avocado improved brain function.Avocados positively impact the gut microbiome inside your digestive tract, home to trillions of microorganisms and their genetic material. A healthy gut microbiome strengthens immune function, fights inflammation, and protects against chronic diseases.
A 12-week meal plan containing avocados resulted in positive changes to the gut microbiome over the 12 weeks—increasing the overall microbe amount and diversity—supporting gut health.
Also, while this meal plan slightly increased the calories, the waste excreted more fat. In other words, the gut didn't absorb the fat into the bloodstream, which may be another way avocados contribute to weight management.
Avocados may also help support a healthier diet overall. Regular avocado eaters tend to consume more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.People who consume avocados have significantly high intakes of the following nutrients:
Fiber
Healthful monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
Magnesium
Potassium
Vitamin E
Enjoying avocados at mealtime can help your body absorb more antioxidants from other healthy foods. Pairing avocado with tomato sauce and carrots boosts the absorption of vitamin A, which is a crucial nutrient for healthy skin, vision, and immunity.
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