One of the great things the #instafood has bought with it is the Great Avocado Fiasco. It brought to light to the general populace how absolutely great and awesome the fruit is. Avocados have a great range – raw, smooshed to a paste, baked and grilled. The range of this berry is only rivaled by the amount of recipes online.
Guacamole? Get them nachos.
Salade? Slice them up!
Need a base for your vegan smoothie? Get some of this.
They are even great for cheesecakes and facemasks!
Not only are they a great fix, they are also wholesome and healthy and happen to be a ‘superfood’. They are rich in good carbs, potassium, magnesium and have a lot of minerals and good fats, and high in fiber. Two of the best things about avocados that health enthusiasts swear by is that they are very filling and are packed with antioxidants.
Not only are they healthy but also help prevent cancer, relieve arthritis symptoms and are great for the eyes and hair.
One would think that increasing avocado intake would do wonders, if there’s so much goodness in just one. While avocado a day is great for your health, it’s better not to over do it like with a lot of things.
Avocados are very filling and help prevent overeating, but they are also heavy in calories. On an average, a single avocado can have 200-400 calories (depending on size and type), which is more or less the calories quantity recommended for breakfast. To put it into perspective – a homemade single serving of chickpeas and rice with a salad is about 350-450 calories.
Rationing out helps in reducing weight, but eat a bit too much and you’ll put on weight as fast as you can eat a packet of chips. Granted the fruit has good fat, but no good thing in excess is ever actually good.
Not only that, overeating avocados do more harm than good, from damaging your liver to reducing good cholesterol in the body, it causes gastrointestinal irritation and acts as a blood thinner (which can cause other health problems). They also work against anti-inflammatory drugs and reduce the effects of certain types of medication.
So the question is: do you eat it or not?
The solution is: everyone has a different metabolism, find a balance. Ration out. I’d say about half an avocado every other day is great.
Because all set and done, eating avocados is a lot better than eating processed food. One, no preservatives. Two, it’s filling. Three, overall the good seems to outweigh the bad, by quite a bit and the good is always in the balance of things.
So avocado. Just avoca-don’t-over-do-it.