Thursday, May 31, 2012

Avocados....good for you or not so good for you?

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So I am going to go ahead and say that while avocados are delicious they are not good for you. I know I'm sad about it too. While there are some good nutrients in avocados that are beneficial, I think the high fat content makes them not the best food to get these nutrients from. From the USDA food database, one whole avocado can have 322 calories and 29.47 grams of fat! The fat breakdown is about 4.3 grams of saturated fat, 19.6 grams monounsaturated fat, and 3.6 grams of polyunsaturated fat. The polyunsaturated fat is known to help protect against cardiovascular disease. So only 3.6 grams of good fat in one avocado! You have probably heard though that monounsaturated fat is good for you. Well yes it is one of the "good fats" but your body can synthesize it or make it if it needs it. What your body cannot make is two polyunsaturated fatty acids-omega 3 and omega 6. So these are important to supplement by diet or supplements; such as fish oil. Avocados do contain a small amount of these two fatty acids but I feel that there is not a enough to justify eating all the other fat that is found in an avocado. 


Source: http://www.dailyperricone.com/
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We still like to use it as a decorating and flavor adding add on to salads for instance. It is the amount of avocado after all! Think about the above when indulging huge amounts of guacamole!!

Jennifer

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