06/17/2019 / By Edsel Cook
In recent years, avocados have become the new favorite fruit of Americans. They are rich in healthy fats and other nutrients that are vital to the normal functions of various bodily processes.
Many people enjoy better health by eating avocados. You will get more nutrients and be safer from metabolic syndrome. You will also have a healthier weight and BMI (body mass index), thinner belly, and higher concentrations of good cholesterol.
The improved health may come from how avocados improve the absorption of antioxidants and nutrients that dissolve in fat. The healthy fats in avocados and their oil can increase the absorption of beta-carotene, lycopene, and other fat-soluble carotenoids.
The fruit also contains avocatin B, a compound with potential anticancer properties. Avocatin destroys leukemia cells, and there might be other phytochemicals in avocados that display similar cancer-fighting activity.
Eating avocados helps prevent heart disease. Adding one avocado to the daily intake of a moderate-fat, low-cholesterol diet helps bring down low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels.
Since they fight cholesterol, they are great for weight loss. Eating an avocado with the meal increases the satiation of a person, who will be less inclined to eat more food for up to five hours. (Related: Hold the (contaminated) avocado: Important tips that can help prevent foodborne illnesses.)
Avocados can be considered brain food. One of their many healthy fatty acids is oleic acid. Along with other omega-9 fatty acids, oleic acid can improve cognition and memory.
People at risk of depression can lift their mood by eating avocados. The fruit’s monounsaturated fats can improve depression, both by themselves and by normalizing the intake of fat that also affects mood.
Furthermore, avocados also contain plenty of folate. A 2015 study by the MRC Neuropsychiatric Research Laboratory showed that folate supports dopamine and serotonin that regulate mood.
Those brain-boosting nutrients may also protect against Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases. The bioactive compounds in avocados are essential when it comes to preventing and even curing these brain diseases.
The high levels of lutein and zeaxan